35 Denton is upon us once again. Sure, you could go out without any plans and manage to have a swell time, but wouldn't it be much better if you let some strangers on a blog give you questionable advice? Here's a list of We Denton Do It-approved things to both do AND not do during the next three days. We'll be updating with some coverage during the festival on our Twitter, Facebook and Instagram so make sure to follow us there if you haven't already. Oh, and don't fest too hard, y'all!
Things to do:
Follow their the @35Denton Twitter account and follow any of the popular festival-related hashtags. Sure you have a program and your own little schedule planned, but things are gonna change. A band may change venues. Wristband pick up locations might move around. Any number of things can change from the printed schedule, so make sure you're continuously up to date with their Twitter account. Heck, turn on notifications for it. Also, they tend to let you know if a venue is at capacity or if a show is running behind, too.
Wear your vintage 35 Conferette or NX35 T-shirt. Remember that word Chris Flemmons made up that never caught on way back when? Bring back those memories. Hopefully, you’ve washed the Flaming Lips confetti off of it since then. Ahhhh, memories.
Pace yourself. Four beers before 5pm on a Friday? What are you, a Dentonite or something? You may be festing a little too hard. Do your best to make it through to the venue shows at the end of the evening (and maybe even the after parties).
Enjoy the non-35 Denton shows. Just because you spent some money getting your pretty wristband doesn’t mean you should ignore the free shows going on that aren’t part of 35. Your Facebook events page is probably filled with house shows and other day shows that aren’t affiliated with 35 in any way and are sure to be a blast. There's a Springtime Jamboree going on at Macaroni Island on Saturday that looks to be amazing.
Open yourself up to the non-music programing. Grab a program and look through everything. There are daytime panels and lots of other events going on that don't necessarily involve letting bands pummel your ear drums or moving your feet to the beat. Jessie Frye is hosting a panel dubbed "Cherry bombs" that will discuss women in music that looks to be interesting. Oh, and we're even hosting an "Instawalk" on Saturday that starts at 6pm at Shift Coffee.
Things not to do:
Don’t leave your rain jacket at home. Yes, we know Delkus says there's no rain scheduled after this afternoon, but we can’t remember a 35 when it hasn’t poured at least once. If you don’t bring a rain jacket, be prepared to steal a stranger’s umbrella. Just make sure it’s a nondescript one!
Don't stay just within the confines of the festival. Support the local businesses that will be surrounding the festival by shopping and eating. They can get a little cranky from all of your bullshit, so justify it by spending your money there.
Don't wait. Get to the popular shows well before the band you want to see is scheduled to play. 35 Denton shows can get to the 1-in-1-out point very quickly. Don’t think you can show up ten minutes before starts and expect to get in. Plan ahead, get there early and stay through the opening bands you may dislike.
Don't heckle the 35 volunteers. These people are working their butts off for free so you can celebrate flunking your midterms. If you’re one of the guys that normally walks right into Dan’s Silverleaf without anybody asking you to pay up this is gonna be a rough weekend for you.
Wear your wristband anywhere other than your wrist. It ain’t a necklace and you don’t want to cut off circulation to your foot. Keep your wristband on your wrist where it belongs.