Yesterday was fun. My daughter and I went to see the Parselmouth's and the Remus Lupin's at the Eugene Public Library. It's the first time either of us have heard any of the Harry Potter themed bands, and we were not disappointed.
Yes, I came home with a massive, permeating, throbbing headache…but it was so damn fun. The Parselmouth's made up for in personality what they may have lacked in musical talent - which is so important when you are working with a theme. They stayed in character throughout, with love songs to Lupin, songs about making fun of Weasley's, criticizing Hermione's name…all the things you might find a Slytherin teen doing. In between songs they told little stories about life at Hogwarts. Very nice.
The Remus Lupin's were more of a “typical” band, musically speaking, but they did keep the theme - the singer WAS Remus Lupin, werewolf, ex-Defense of Dark Arts instructor. Highlights were a song praising Fred and George, while disparaging Percy, and a lovely ode to the memory of Cedric Diggory. The are calling this summer “The Summer of Harry Potter Love”, because it is apparently an anniversary year for the original “Summer of Love”. This makes sense, this summer we not only get a new movie (Order of the Phoenix), but we get the very last book in the Harry Potter series - The Deathly Hollows.
Some odd things about the crowd: There was a line wrapping around the side of the building when we got there, the room was packed. But towards the end of the Parselmouth's set, people started leaving. By the time the Remus Lupin's came on, the crowd was maybe 3/4 of what it had started as. By the time they got halfway through their set, the crowd was maybe half. By the end, there were maybe 30 people left. Hardcore. Mostly teens, a few “adults”.
Which brings me to my next “huh?” moment. Why did people show up with 2-year olds? It was advertised as wizard ROCK. Having to do with Harry Potter. Did their 2-year old read Harry Potter? Did they really think that a loud rock thing was a good way to spend formative ear-drum growing time? Duh. I wonder how many people didn't get to come in because these people loaded up the front of the room with their kids who really were too young to appreciate or deal with the music/theme? And I can't imagine the Lupin's left with a very good opinion of people here.
Overall, it was a fun show. Loud and silly, with all participants fully aware that the only thing any of us had in common was the love for a book series.
