first ever full NX35

Centro-Matic at NX35 (4)

Originally uploaded by inmemoryofradio

Now that SXSW has come and gone for the year, I thought I’d give a brief rundown of NX35, which happened the weekend before SXSW and was pretty darn incredible. NX35 was created as a showcase for the Denton music scene, a way of calling attention to this incredible local resource and I think it was a huge success. At the end of the festival, I felt rejuventated, happy, and proud to live here. I love that it is just the music with a minimum of other hoopla. And only $65 for an all-access wristband (compare to the hundreds of dollars at SXSW). I’ll pull out some favorite moments for those that didn’t get to attend this year, and recommend that everyone come next year.

–Centro-Matic’s set at Dan’s. Will Johnson does this great hop with one leg high in the hair. I bet he can do a mean grand battement! And there was a super-adorable proposal in the front row during the set.
–The saw player for Laura Gibson. I thought, oh what a tired gimmick, when I saw the percussionist pull out the saw, but then he was amazing! Spooky and gorgeous.
–Sarah Jaffe’s set at Hailey’s. Words can hardly do this justice but Jaffe is a rockstar. I knew her music and liked it, but this set helped me remember why live music is viable and why being a human is sometimes the absolute best.
–mixer at the Loophole. It was supposed to be for booking agents, but was actually a lovely assortment of musicians, agents, bar owners, etc. I chatted with a good number of folks and they reminded me of one of my favorite things about Denton: the extreme scarcity of pretentious jerks. There are some in this town, but not nearly as many as other places, based on my research. Everyone was friendly and warm and had either just played a show, or was just about to. Gotta love this place.
–The trick-or-treat atmosphere around the square. People bouncing from venue to venue, despite the cold weather. Fun. Very fun.
–Loved seeing the same people night after night. Usually I’d see a given friend once every few months, at NX35, it was every night for 4 nights. It was like summer camp for adults.
–The woman who played a typewriter as an instrument during the Robert Gomez set at Dan’s. Typewriters make me swoon.
–Seeing Billy Roy’s one man band discovered by a whole new audience. I’ve been seeing the man play 12 instruments for as long as I can remember, and it was great to see him featured so prominently every night of the festival, excuse me, conferette.
–Also notable and fantastic!: George Neal (as always), the early set times, the no-smoking at Dan’s, the house show(s).

On the organization side, there were a few snafus, but I thought overall it was relatively smooth. I appreciated how un-slick and processed the organizers were with the press, saying things like, “I went in with no expectations, and I went in thinking it would be a complete disaster.” My only real complaint was the website, which was poorly-designed if you just wanted to see a schedule of who was playing when. But the positives far outweighed any negatives. There was a spirit animating a lot of the performances, musicians really giving everything. The talent per capita here is unbelievable. I hope the conferette remains just as unique and feisty next year, and that Denton-dwellers can appreciate what we have here and protect it.