My First Wizard Rock Concert!

Okay, this is going to be really long. Last night, February 11, 2011 I went to my very first, well you can read the post title. The show was at the Sidewalk Cafe in New York, and featured, Mary Beth Schroeder as Nagini, Lauren Fairweather as herself and Matt Maggiacomo as the Whomping Willows. I had a great time and met a lot of nice people. I don't know much about writing reviews of shows, so this is more going to be more my favorite parts/a set list.



I got to the Sidewalk Cafe with my dad at about 7:15. The show started at 8. Since we needed dinner this actually worked out. They lets us go into the room where the music is played and served us there. Sitting in this room already were Lauren and Matt (Although I did chat with both of them I'm using their first names here because it's faster than writing out their full names each time, not because we're super close best buddies, though they are definitely both very very nice). This lead to me sneaking furtive glances over at them trying to figure out if I should say hi, or just chill. I went with sitting with my dad. We switched tables twice, trying to get the best view of the stage that we could, which paid off. By the time we finished eating, other people had arrived and were talking to Matt, so I was able to go over and say hi and chat with him without feeling really awkward. After talking about books (mostly Harry Potter but also His Dark Materials, which Matt likes and I don't, plus my recommendation of the Hungry City Chronicles) I also talked to Lauren. I was able to successfully not be a scary fan girl exploding with excitement (I think).

The show started off with Nagini (I know that's not her real name, but it's the name she preformed as so shush). Her set list was:
Wormwood and Wolfsbane
Grindelwald's Song
On My Way (cover)
Lily's Eyes/Eyes (I'm going to take a quick break from listing songs to give a little anecdote about the show. I mostly know these song titles because she announced them before singing. This song however, she didn't say the title of. Luckily there was a nice guy named Jim there who clearly knew all of her songs. I leaned over and asked him what the song was called when she finished. He said Lily's Eyes, then called up to the stage and asked to be sure, since on the CD, it's listed as Eyes, and she answered him and everything. I felt awkward about semi-interrupting the show, but no one seemed to mind.)
Running in the Dark Alone
Lady Gaga/Ron Weasley (This song had no real name. I spoke to Nagini after the show and she said it was sort of made up at the time. I thought it was excellent. It seemed to parody the song Paparazzi. )
Power of Love/Nerd Girl Mash Up.

Next up was Lauren Fairweather. Her set list was:
I'm Going to Hogwarts
Painfully Obvious
Nerdfighterlike (I got the T-shirt for this song after the show.)
Black Santas
Howler
Engines Make Me Hot (Kaylee's Song)
Maybe              } (These songs are both from her upcoming CD, The Prince's
It's Real For Us }  Tale. I'd heard Maybe from her youtube video, but I was really excited to hear It's Real For Us. I loved this song, because even though it was describing how Lily felt to finally have an understanding of why she's different, I feel like it also sums up why the Harry Potter fandom is so attached to this community. It is real for us.)
And Then I Died

So after Lauren played I met this very nice girl name Alison (I met a lot of nice people. There's a reason she gets a special shout out). See, I know Lauren's music very well, and while I've listened to Matt's music too, I don't know it as well. So Alison was nice enough to help me out with my set list by racing Matt to knowing the song titles (Seriously, the one time he announced the title before she could figure it out from his talking about she looked really disappointed. She did however, beat him to the punch all the other times). So thank you Alison!

The Whomping Willows set list:
Fall in Love Tonight
I Believe in Nargles
Wizard Rock Hearthrob
On Behalf of Neville (This has been stuck in my head all day today. It's awesome. I'm also proud to now be a member of the Neville Longbottom Dance Squad.)
House of Awesome Theme Song
Your Flying Car
I Killed my Owl
Courting a Ghost
Party All Night (I must digress here. Throughout Matt's set, there was this drunk guy who kept interrupting, luckily to yell how awesome he was, rather than heckling. I guess the best way to describe it would be positive heckling? Anyway, during this song he interrupted to share that EVEN THOUGH he had bought shots for everyone [not like it was an all ages show with kids there or anything] they were kicking him out. He was also swearing a fair bit. Matt remained pretty calm the whole time. He'd let the guy come on stage an hug him earlier. When firewhiskey guy tried to get him to make the Sidewalk Cafe let him stay, Matt simply said it was a family show, and waited for the guy to be dragged out. He didn't get mad or make a scene. I was impressed that he handled it well and didn't seem to let it get to him.)
Draco and Harry

So after the show I talked to Matt and Lauren about the show, mentioning it was for this blog. Since this was the final show of tour I asked how they felt about it being over.Lauren said the tour "exceeded expectations", citing the crazy weather as a problem but stating that a lot of people showed up which made her happy (My notes literally read, lots of ppl = happy). Matt said he felt mixed because he likes touring but "is glad to sleep in [his] own bed," a sentiment that Lauren shared.

As someone who didn't get to bed until about midnight since it took a while to get home, I agree that there is no better feeling than sleeping in one's own bed. Thank you to Matt and Lauren for talking to me both as a fan and a psuedoreporter (I literally didn't think to do a set list or anything until I was there and wrote everything on a napkin). Thank you to Mary Beth for going over her set list with me after she preformed. Thank you to Jim and Alison for helping me get the right song titles. Thank you to everyone who sad they liked my TARDIS shirt (I don't know for sure where I got it but it looks like it's available here for those of you who asked). Most of all thank you to my parents for letting me go to this show, and to my dad (part of the aforementioned parents) for coming with me.