Presto Electro

This spring break was one for the record books. As many of you may know, last weekend was Denton's own Music Conference, NX35. From Thursday, March 11^th, to Sunday, March 15^th, musicians celebrated and demonstrated the staggering amount of musical talent and know-how Denton has to offer.

The Schedule is already impressive enough to boast about, but that is only just the beginning! The plethora of shows and panels officially sponsored by NX35 only served to get the ball rolling, and the good people of Denton really grabbed on to the spirit of the event and made something amazing out of it.

Denton was filled-to-bursting with celebratory parties, performances and picnics. My personal start to the NX35 festivities was an awesome house-show/picnic/chili cook-off with live screen printing. I'm not joking. The artists in this town don't mess around!

The event took place at one of the many great houses in the Oak-Hickory Historic District with a huge yard. The owners put on a free show with nine awesome local bands right across the street from the campus. And they provided free brownies and drinks, three local artists, and live screen printing. I'm not sure why, but screen printing always seems to make its way into these events. There was even a screen printing going on at the Free Flaming Lips Show.

Which brings me to the coolest part of NX35 2010: On Saturday, Midlake and The Flaming Lips played an AMAZING and FREE show at The North Texas Fairgrounds!

I just happen to live a stone's-throw away from the fairgrounds, so my friends and I all met at my house and walked over to the fairgrounds. We got there about 15 minutes after the gates opened, and walked right in. There wasn't even a line! I convinced everyone to leave super early to beat the crowds and I pretty much felt like a jerk when there was no line at all.

Fortunately that feeling didn't last long, because it was an absolutely gorgeous day, and the fairgrounds were full of amazing people. The sun was out, it was clear and warm but not TOO warm, with a nice breeze, and this show was basically the social gathering of the year!

Interesting people were all over the fairgrounds, but my favorite of the bunch was a roving band of bohemian musicians. I have no idea what band (if any) they were a part of, but one of the largest groups on the fairgrounds was a big circle of people banging on drums and playing instruments together out in the middle of the field. They produced a really beautiful racket that was reminiscent of Animal Collective, unplugged, and it was amazing.

They created the perfect soundtrack for a fantastic gathering on a fantastic day in this fantastic city of ours. And it only got better, from there! I'm afraid I've run out of room, but check out my next update for the rundown on the actual performances.