Harry and the Potters The Trunk Space Saturday, June 22, 2013
Harry Potter fans are an intense bunch. Folks dressed up as their favorite Gryffindor heroes or Slytherin villains are standard fare, but wizard rock takes the adoration to a whole new level. The genre is exactly what it sounds like it would be -- bands singing about the Harry Potter universe. Harry and the Potters were pioneers of the genre, paving the way for equally kitschy bands like Draco and the Malfoys and Remus and the Lupins.
The crowd for openers JJCnV, Father's Day, and iji was quite different than the über-Harry Potter fans that sauntered in around 10:30. The previous crowd was full of Trunk Space regulars who weren't afraid to mosh to Fathers Day's hilarious thrash songs, and sang and danced along to iji's two-piece get-up.
As soon as Zach Burba and his cowboy hat-wearing friend wrapped up iji's set, the venue was full of young fans decked out in Harry Potter garb. The degree of Harry Potter fandom was a little daunting -- these girls with lightning bolts drawn on their faces and Harry Potter T-shirts reacted like tweens seeing a boy band. Fans shouted out requests regularly and knew most of the lyrics, even from the band's b-sides.
Siblings Paul and Joe DeGeorge introduced themselves as Harry Potter year seven and four respectively, explaining that the band is a solo project made possible by a time turner. These siblings returned to Trunk Space to celebrate their 11th anniversary as a band after performing a free show at Burton Barr Library earlier that day. A fan commented on the lack of pizza, which was in abundance at the band's 5th anniversary show at Trunk Space.
The band used a laptop to provide the backing track to "Problem Solving Skillz" and "Back to School." Harry Potter, year seven had some initial trouble getting the laptop to sync up properly, blaming the issues on Voldemort.
Harry Potter's strong bonds with the Weasley family extend even further to "cousin Barry," who was really Zach Burba. Harry Potter, year seven called him up to the stage to play drums early in the set, and he stuck around for the majority of the show.
The band performed its 30-second song "Accio Hagrid" three times last night, providing some of the more interactive moments of the evening. Most fans knew the dance moves already, but the Potter brothers filled the rest of us in by coaching us to follow along to the hugging, hand hearts, and screams that follow getting tangled in Hagrid's beard.
After wrapping up "Dumbledore," Harry Potter, year four darted to the back of the venue and said he was going to play piano and insisted that the show wasn't over yet. The lights came up as Harry Potter, year seven caught up and the duo invited fans to gather around the piano. Harry, year four thanked the mixture of muggles and wizards for coming out to the show and gave a shout out to Trunk Space before performing "The Weapon" and "Save Ginny Weasley."
The band closed with a ridiculously long adaptation of "Louie Louie" changed to "Luna, Luna." Fans were instructed to sit down as Harry Potter year four sang the song by gargling, then he ran back to the stage to play saxophone as fans occupied most of the floor space. Things got even more ridiculous as Harry, year four lead a conga line outside and eventually brought fans back in.
Check out the critic's notebook, more photos, and some videos on page two.
Father's Day moshing
"Problem Solving Skillz"
"Monkey Suit"
Critic's Notebook: Last Night: Harry and the Potters at The Trunk Space. Personal Bias: I've read all the books and I've seen the movies multiple times, but I felt like a casual fan compared to everyone else. The Crowd: Mostly young girls with glasses and Harry Potter T-shirts. Overheard in the Crowd: "I feel like Michael Bluth singing along with the Sugar Foot Theme song." Random Notebook Dump: This is the dorkiest show I've ever been to, but my face hurts from smiling so much.
