Festival review: The best and worst of 35 Denton

A.Dd+, pizza and, of course, the weather.

DENTON — 35 Denton music festival was a weekend full of fun, new sounds, and dance parties. Here are a few of our best and worst experiences from the fest.

The best:

David Minton

Thee Oh Sees performed on Main Stage Two on Sunday at 35 Denton.

Man, Man Man was the real thing – Performing last on Friday night at The Hive, Man Man brought a crazy stage show, which prompted wild “mosh-like” reactions from the crowd. Coupled with the band’s interesting sound, Man Man got The Hive buzzing.

Thee Oh Sees a must see – With its pop-folk brand of music, the group from San Francisco was one of the best closers of 35 Denton, forcing people to jump up and down with excitement. Lead singer John Dwyer also had the most unusual vocal style of the weekend.

Brooklyn grooves – With the first night intended to provide the opening course for the music lovers’ appetites, Sinkane brought the funk, delivering psychedelic sounds for The Labb crowd, giving it a measuring stick for the sets viewed after.

Kiwis over everybody else – Many of the bands featured at the four-day festival were from the U.S., but some bands traveled from foreign lands such as Ghost Wave and Ruby Suns, who both traveled from New Zealand. Though different, each brought a great sound from the far away Island—wowing audiences.

A.Dd+’s wardrobe – The rap duo from Dallas truly brought the noise, creating a hopping crowd. While the music was good, it took a back seat to their attire as one donned a vest with Jimi Hendrix on it and the other sported pink shoes and blue socks. These outfits were the best of the weekend.

The worst:

Alexandra Olivia

Solange performs a choreographed dance with her guitar player during her set on Saturday at The Hive during the annual 35 Denton music festival.

Mother Nature – Ok, so the worst part of 35 Denton was the rain that made an appearance Saturday night, prompting Solange Knowles and a hand full of others to postpone and or move to different venues. Rain-rain should have gone away and come again another day.

The sauna under J&J’s – Located under the delicious pizza restaurant is an underground basement area in which artists were forced to sweat out their performances. Seriously, the venue left much to be desired but probably helped concertgoers shed some weight gained before marching into the basement.

Don’t listen to Chelsea – Chelsea Light Moving came to 35 Denton with an abundance of hype, but sometimes hype just isn’t enough. Lacking any musical direction, the band flopped on the Main Stage Sunday evening, delivering a lackluster performance.

The Solange fiasco – When the headliner is hidden from the majority of the 35 Denton audience, that may be a problem. Solange Knowles, originally slated to perform on the Main Stage on Saturday, instead performed in The Hive, disallowing a bundle of people from seeing “Beyoncé lite.”

No more Pizza – Too many food trucks were selling the same product, pizza. With J&J’s on the square, pizza was not a necessity, and yet, two food trucks located essentially next to each other both flung dough in the air. How about some other food trucks for next year?