Whomp the House! continued

Ok, now that I have a little more time, I wanted to explain the show a little better. For starters, let me explain Wizard Rock to you if you have no idea what I'm talking about. Wizard Rock is music based on or inspired by the Harry Potter books series. The songs are sometimes funny, and sometimes sad, but always entertaining. The songs cover all genres, from punk rock, to folk music, to rap (or Wiz-Hop). But I find the best part about the music is when you hear a song for the first time, listen to the lyrics and go, "Oh yeah, I remember that part of the books!" So it does help to be a Potter fan to really understand the music, but not completely necessary to enjoy it.

So here goes... I was highly anxious because we were running behind due to the heavy traffic, and then the accident that caused more traffic. I was ready to piss my pants if I didn't get there THIS SECOND! I believe we made it to "Kelli's House" right at 7pm, the time the show was supposed to start. We were actually the first to arrive, other than Kelli and her two friends. The bands had yet to arrive, so we waited around and chatted a bit. Around 7:30, three Hufflepuff girls showed up in Harry Potter garb, followed by Matt and Justin. Matt Maggiacomo is The Whomping Willows (aka Big Whompy) and Justin Edward Michaelman is Justin Finch-Fletchley and the Sugar Quills. Around 8pm, the show began with introductions all around the living room. Yes, there were just us eight "audience" members, plus the "bands", cozied up in recliners and on sofas. It was fabulous. The guys took turns performing songs, passing the guitar back and forth after Justin broke the D string on his (and of course had no extras). I was new to Justin's music, but thoroughly enjoyed the enthusiasm he put into each song, not to mention he totally rocked the kazoo in a few songs. I particularly enjoyed "Expelliarmus," "Krum" and "Umbridge is Dumbridge." Whompy's music was more mellow, but just as powerful. He's my favorite Wizard Rocker, and he played all my favorite songs including, "I Found a Loophole," "I Believe in Nargles," and "The House of Awesome Theme Song." Together they played probably a total of 2 hours. They included some Muggle music (stuff they play when they're not wizards) and did a few cover songs. After the show, it was nice to be able to go and tell them to their face how much I enjoyed their music. Really, how cool is that? These are not just a few of my favorite Wizard Rock bands, they are a few of my favorite bands... period. So all in all, it was an awesome night, and I would go again in a heartbeat. I'll be watching MySpace for others to be touring in the area, which isn't likely, but I can hope. Now I know one thing's for sure - nothing is going to stop me from going to Wrockstock!!!

Please enjoy the lovely photos, and videos! (I apologize in advance for my poor video skills.)

Justin on the left, Matt on the right

Matt playing "I Believe in Nargles." I sort of missed the beginning of it.


Justin playing "Expelliarmus." I didn't tape the part where he explained the song, but it's basically about how Harry was being stupid in The Seven Potters chapter for using Expelliarmus, his "signature spell" and giving himself away. Be sure to hoot along!


Matt playing "I Found a Loophole." It's a love song about Hermione. This is my absolute favorite Whomping Willows song!


This video was pre-"House of Awesome Theme Song." I didn't tape the song, just some of the discussion beforehand.


Or if you want, you can view them all on my YouTube channel.
And that's all, folks. Tell me what you think!