Yesterday at NX35: The Sun'll Come Out, Tomorrowpeople

The Internet thinks your Interstate 35E sucks. Constant rain and two major wrecks in the 45-mile stretch of highway between Dallas and Denton made the drive an absolutely miserable mess. I was feeling sorry for myself that my trip took an hour and a half--more than twice the usual time--until I talked to a few people whose trips took topped the two-hour mark.

The weather also seemed to have a dampening effect on the foot traffic in and around the Denton square. Daniel Rodrigue yesterday noted that every show he saw had more than 50 people in the crowd, but that wasn't the case for me last night.

Apparently, I wasn't the only one held up by the weather. I got to Hailey's at about 9:30 expecting to catch the end of the recently reformed Tomorrowpeople's set. Instead, to my befuddlement, Grassfight was on the stage and Tomorrowpeople's Erich "Jody Powerchurch" Scholz was leaning against the bar watching their set.

Apparently, Grassfight showed up late and Tomorrowpeople had to take the stage early. Odd, since Grassfight is from Denton and didn't have I-35 to blame, while Tomorrowpeople had to make the drive from Dallas.

Scholz said the band's set went well, despite a very sparse crowd.

"I didn't know what to expect," he said. "But it was as good a crowd for us as it was for Grassfight."

Scholz, who went to school in Denton and misses the days of the Fry Street Fair, said he really wants to see a big music event succeed in Little D once again. But he admits the weather probably would have kept him home if it weren't for his obligation to play.

"It's dreary and freezing," he said. "If I wasn't playing, I would be at home in front of a fire, watching TV."

Scholz also let me know that the band is working on writing new for a new album. They'll probably take a hiatus from playing live until they've written about six new ones. So far they've got two.  

So I may have to wait until April or May to catch them again. Oh well, at least I got to hear Grassfight live for the first time. They were good--pretty yet intricate guitar melodies, aggressive drumming, Joy Division-esque vocals. Even better is today's forecast: partly sunny!