Our Enthusiasm Was, In Fact, Unlimited

It's not every Monday night one finds oneself surrounded by bodies and balloons, dancing with abandon to a strong drum beat. Less than a foot in front of me, Paul DeGeorge of Harry and the Potters has one arm wrapped around a sweaty, grinning college girl and the other arm holding a microphone between his face and another's, both mouths belting out the word "love" and spraying spit everywhere. I'm singing along at the top of my lungs and dancing as though I'm in the Peanuts Christmas special, pausing when I feel a hand tousle my hair. I turn around in time to see Joe DeGeorge's Gryffindor tie fly over his shoulder as he reaches out to connect with more members of the crowd. Above all of us, several inflatable lobsters are circulating amongst a sea of balloons.

That was the end of the Unlimited Enthusiasm show at the Black Cat in Washington, D.C., and all members of Camp Jump and Yell were feeling both the energy and the love.

I've seen Harry and the Potters five times now, and though last night's performance doesn't beat out last summer's show at the Starlight Ballroom in Philadelphia as my personal favorite, it was still absolutely epic. The night began with a few camp announcements and two raps from Dumbledore, which were hysterical and set the tone for the rest of the event.



The crowd was definitely more wizarding nerds than any other type, and I felt a bit bad that Uncle Monsterface (who really kicked off the night) didn't get a better reception. The videos they played throughout their set were amusing, and my friend Nicole and I agreed that our faces hurt from grinning by the time their performance had ended. "Lobster Building" was particularly fun, and the ten seconds of "In My Room Of Requirement {It's Always Christmas)" got a lot of cheers (at least from me).

Math the Band played next, and their manic performance energy and frantic instrumental attacks had the crowd writhing almost instantly. Their enthusiasm is positively infectious, as is their music, and the epic finale of "Four Square Or Square Ball" and its ultimate patriotic breakdown was brilliant.

Harry and the Potters were as fun as ever, singing their oldest songs at triple the album speed and bringing new improv stories to the table. Joe rocked a Gryffindor-colored sax during "Save Ginny Weasley From Dean Thomas," and there was fun crowd interaction during "The Human Hosepipe" (Oh no you didn't!). Plus we sang "Hagrid's Beard" at least five times. It was everything I expected, and just short of everything I had hoped for.



All in all, I must say it did feel more like a regular show than I had expected. The video screen was nice and the commercials/sketches gave the audience something to watch while the bands switched equipment, but the 'camp activities' were limited to face painting, voter registration, a photobooth and the post office (which I do think is a brilliant idea). Some of the comments on the CJY forum make it seem like other venues are getting different activities, so I suppose it's just luck of the draw.

Still, I'm not complaining. The bands were great, the crowd was fun, and the enthusiasm was unlimited. I hope to see more imaginative tours like the Unlimited Enthusiasm Expo in the future, because last night was a lot of fun.

And for the record, I think band members should personally distribute nametags before all shows. It was the perfect way to set the tone for the night.

Find my full photo collection from the show in color HERE or HERE in black and white.

We Are Wizards

So, this weekend I took a trip with Delma from the Northern Virginia Harry Potter Meetup Group [DADA] and her children to see the East Coast premiere of 'We Are Wizards' at the New York Underground Film Festival.

As a quick note: this is the final year for the festival, which has taken place for a decade and a half. Be sure to keep an eye on Migrating Forms, the next step for two of the NYUFF directors (Nellie Killian and Kevin McGarry).

'We Are Wizards' was nicely shot, though it didn't have a very cohesive storyline. It began telling the story of several Harry Potter bands - full disclaimer, I am a wizard rocker and friends with the Horntail family - and they were entertaining and served as a good introduction to wizard rock for the uninitiated. The story then gets a bit lost, delving slightly into fan culture and then focusing on the Warner Brothers controveries. While I loved the archival footage illustrating 'the man,' I wanted a bit more resolution on how the battles were settled; it felt like quite a lot of buildup for not a lot of answers.

Seeing the film was a great experience, though, because I fall along the line of the film's subject matter and so did a great deal of the audience. For those of us who were familiar with the story, it was an amazing chance to watch our history documented and see hidden glimpses of the stories behind the people we know and love. It was almost like watching Rocky Horror at times - audience members calling the Christian woman a witch when she motioned towards her 'crystal ball' and singing along with various wizard rock lryics. The moments focused on Brad Neely (creator of an audio commentary track for the first HP film titled 'Wizard People, Dear Readers') brought some of the biggest laughs of our showing, with his high-pitched warble retelling the story of Harry P.



All in all, it was a great weekend - though I was too young for the after party, for shame - and I thoroughly enjoyed the film.

Bonus: We stayed at the Hotel Le Bleu, which is a nice hotel stuck with little consideration to location in Brooklyn. It had a very sleek, modern design and classy color scheme, but failed to differentiate between bedrooms and bathrooms. Open showers and frosted glass doors make it much more appropriate for those with close relationships than for near strangers.