Bassnectar's Bass Center festival last weekend drew a lot of complaints from the local residents of Commerce City in Colorado. Some of them said the concert was too loud while others claimed that they thought an earthquake was hitting the city.
The Bass Center, the inaugural festival organized by D.J. Lorin Ashton, also known as Bassnectar, was held last Saturday at the Dick's Sporting Good Park. Aside from Ashton, the event also featured performances by AlunaGeorge, Lupe Fiasco, Wu-Tang Clan, Flying Lotus and Flux Pavilion.
The event was a success for fans of dubstep but it was met by complaints made by some residents living in the city. According to CBS Denver, the bass thumping and other beats generated by the concert were so loud that they can be heard and felt by people living about five miles from the venue.
Local resident Joe Quillin told the Commerce City City Council that he thought he was experiencing an earthquake due to the vibrations he felt inside his home.
"I thought it was an earthquake," he said in his complaint according to CBS Denver. "I looked and realized it was bass."
Quillin and the other complainants then blamed the City Council for issuing a permit to Bassnectar to hold the concert due to the high level of noise generated by the event. Mayor Sean Ford of Commerce City, on the other hand, admitted that the council did not conduct a proper research on Bassnectar and his music before issuing the permit, Westword reported.
Despite this, the council maintained that Bass Center did not violate the guidelines for noise levels within the city, which are 105 dBA (decibel A-weighting) for bass tones and 85 dBA for treble tones.
Ford also noted that since the Dick's Sporting Good Park is located in a remote area in the city, residents living near it should expect to hear loud noises from the venue especially during concerts and other major events.
