By Devin Ruiz, 16, Ramona Convent (Alhambra)
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When I walked into the Troubadour to see Harry and the Potters, a three-piece wizard rock band that performs songs based on the Harry Potter series, I was really walking into “Unlimited Enthusiasm Summer Camp”! It was a place where my closeted geek could run rampant and all pride was left at the door. The first order of business was to get my Unlimited Enthusiasm nametag (everyone who came got one).

[Editor’s note: Muggles beware, the rest of this review may contain references that you won’t totally understand.]

Next I faced the Sorting Hat. This would determine which of the four Hogwart’s houses I was placed into. I ended up in Ravenclaw joining Cho Chang, Roger Davies and Luna Lovegood. Inside this excited summer camp they provided free cookies, toothbrushes, kazoos, face painting (where I received my own dark mark), and even postcards to send home to mom and dad. With all the excitement I almost forgot I was at a concert, but slowly I made my way to the stage followed by people ranging from early teens to adults in their 40s, dressed in their best Hogwarts uniforms.

The first band, Best, included a rapping Dumbledore and videos that went along with their upbeat music. The second band was Uncle Monsterface. Their mascot was a green monster. Half of the show he was a sock puppet, then out he came in full Monsterface form, basically a man in a suit with a mask. Uncle Monsterface came into the audience and even had two audience members play super Mario on a large TV that took up a quarter of the stage while the band sang a song about old school game consoles. Then came Math the Band, which made the word of the day “danger.” They had the audience yell “BOOYAH” every time they said that word.

Finally, Harry and the Potters came on! The band had two Harry Potters, one who was Harry year three and the other year seven. They also had Ringo Weasley as their drummer; he was one of Ron’s 207 first cousins. Harry and the Potters played songs about Hedwig, Harry’s owl, Professor Umbridge and Cornelius Fudge. They also sang their most popular songs like “Save Ginny Weasley” in which they sang “Are you petrified Of being petrified?/ Are we going to have to save the school again?/ We’ve got to save Ginny Weasley from the basilisk/ We’ve got to save the school from that unseen horror.” They also performed a song about HP’s most loveable character, Hagrid. During this one everyone in the audience sang and participated in an inside joke-esque choreographed dance that was easy to catch on to the second time around. The song and dance goes: “Hagrid is fun to hug,” give yourself a hug  “Hagrid is full of love,” make a heart with your hands. “Just don’t get stuck in Hagrid’s beard,” point to your beard. ”AHH!” make the “Home Alone” screaming face. Singing and dancing along to this song only enhanced the nerdy fun!

The Harry and the Potters concert was even nerdier than any midnight book release party I’ve been to or the hours spent reading any HP books. But, it was also one of the most fun and most energetic shows I’ve gone to. In a sea of Potter fans dressed up in uniform, I felt free to jump along, sing out loud and even participate when asked. BOOYAH!