Wizard Rock at Hogwarts Square - 7/20

While the rest of the Portland folk were at Mugglefest on Friday, I took a bus down to Cambridge, MA to see The Hungarian Horntails, Draco and the Malfoys, and Harry and the Potters play at Harvard Square-ahem, I mean Hogwarts Square.

This was a big concert to celebrate the release of the seventh book of the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. The show was free, so Harry Potter fans flocked from all corners of the courtyard. There were people dressed up as famous wizards, Dementors, Death Eaters, and one person came as a Snitch.

Photo courtesy of carrie227

There was an overwhelming attendance in Hogwarts Square. The place was filled up like Lollapalooza or Bonnaroo. My friend Danii remarked at this saying, "Fergie can't even get this!" I was happy that so many people came to see these three bands. Some newcomers to Wizard Rock thought these bands were created solely for the book release party. Boy, were they wrong.

Wizard rock started in the cradle of Boston with Harry and the Potters in 2002. Harry and the Potters is made up of two brothers who represent Year 4 Harry and Year 7 Harry, and they perform songs about events that unroll in the Harry Potter series. They often throw around events and terms from the book in a humorous fashion with songs like "SPEW" and "Cornelius Fudge is an Ass". Draco and the Malfoys were the second wizard rock band to form, and as expected, they performed songs with a darker, yet still humorous take on the wizarding world.

The Hungarians Horntails is a little different from the first two bands of wizard rock. This band is under the genre of dragon rock, and the members consist of three kids (and I really mean kids). Just watch this video of "I am a Dragon and I Don't Care":

As you can tell, the entertainment value of The Hungarian Horntails is HUGE. I've never seen a younger rock band perform in my life, and they keep a surprisingly good stage presence that keeps the crowd loud and cheerful.

The Hungarian Horntails were on first, and boy, were they loud! There's no doubt that some of their stuff falls under a different type of "screamo." It was cool to see these kids keeping the audience alive. I really wanted to burn Dumbledore's butt at this point!

Draco and the Malfoys came on next with "Party Like Your Evil", a new anthem from their newest album. They played songs like "Pansy", "Potions Yesterday", and "99 Death Eaters", a parody of Nena's "99 Red Balloons". These two brothers may be evil, but they certainly knew how to rock!

Draco and the Malfoys - Part Like You're Evil

While they were playing, Harry and the Potters were trying to stop people from seeing Draco and the Malfoys.

Harry and the Potters were on next for the big finale. They started off with their popular wizard rock anthem, "Voldemort Can't Stop The Rock". Harry and the Potters played many songs from all of their albums including "Keeping Secrets From Me", "the Human Hosepipe", "Fluffy", and "Save Ginny Weasley From Dean Thomas". Near the end of the show, a large mass of the audience were jumping up and down, and it was an incredible sight to see.

Harry and the Potters - Stick It To Delores

I never stayed in one place at the concert. I was always moving around the entire yard with my friend Danii, having the time of my life. I even got to work merchandise for Draco and the Malfoys, and I made friends with a lot of the band members from all the bands. I had such a great time; it made me glad that I spent $20 to take a bus down to Cambridge.

So what is going to happen to wizard rock when everyone is done with the final Harry Potter book? Will the whole craze die down, or will wizard rock keep the spirit of Harry Potter alive? I hope that wizard rock lives on forever, because it's a great way to celebrate music and reading. It can also open up other genres like robot rock with inspiration from the I, Robot series, or hobbit rock with inspiration from the Lord of the Rings series. The possibilities are endless.

I talked to Harry and the Potters and Draco and the Malfoys, and they both said they wanted the wizard rock phenomenon to continue. There's a lot of hope for wizard rock, and the Hogwarts Square show is one of the major reasons why. Though many fans made pilgrimages, there were many newcomers to the idea of wizard rock. With hundreds of wizard rock bands across the world, there is no doubt that wizard rock will prevail and stay alive, because Voldemort can't stop the rock!