The Harry Potter Alliance

By Matt Maggiacomo

November 15, 2009

Whomp The House Tour 3: Fatigue, Surrogate Families, and The Future of Wizard Rock

Note: This blog was written 36 hours ago, which can be an eternity in tour time.

I’m not exactly sure why it’s been impossible for me to write a second tour blog until now. Probably has something to do with the fact that I’m more or less braindead and have been for weeks. Maybe braindead is the wrong word. More like incapable of doing anything besides driving to shows and playing them. I’ve been thinking a lot, but so far I’ve been unable to work those thoughts into words. Even as I write this, I’m struggling against the urge to stop writing this. I guess I’m just tired.

It’s been a long tour. Justin and I came out of the gates with a lot of optimism and excitement, and while I wouldn’t exactly say that it’s been beaten out of us, I can definitely call this the most difficult tour of my career. Attendance has been solid, people have been supportive and generous, merch sales have been a-okay; on paper, it’s been a great tour. But the drives have been long, sleep has been a challenge, and my health has been questionable. I feel run down, and I feel like my brain and body need a serious vacation.

At the moment we’re in the home stretch, and this time around our home stretch involves a lot of time spent with our second family: hp-ohio. Honestly, if I was anywhere else I might be totally checked out by now, but as we passed into Ohio before our show at Monica’s house on November 11, I felt totally energized. Knowing I’d see many people who’ve treated me like family over the years lifted me out of fatigue and homesickness and all of a sudden I was ready for a party. Despite staying up a bit too late and plunging back into fatigue and — well, sickness — I was lifted back up by an amazing show in Ypsilanti MI and some quality time with Steph Anderson of Tonks and the Aurors. Have you met Steph? She’s the Bruce Springsteen of wizard rock. You can’t be in a bad mood when you’re hanging with The Boss. Last night we played one of our best shows of tour in Akron OH, and this time around the after-party was at Squib Girl’s house. SG and her husband (Squib Guy) are really like a second set of parents to me. Their generosity and love over the years has been a blessing and a source of comfort, energy, and enthusiasm. We capped the night with a round of beerball, a game that involves hitting cans of cheap beer with a baseball bat (some would call this alcohol abuse, I call it exercise!). When the Natty Ice ran out, we started hitting cans of Clamato. Probably the highlight of tour for me.

Today, we drive to Pittsburgh for a show at Freya and JP’s house. They are younger than me and so I can’t call them surrogate parents, but they have become two of my best friends in this community and so the honorary family leg of this tour continues for another day. I feel at home without actually being home, and I think that’s really what I’ve been needing the most.

Enough about me — I’ve learned a few things about the state of wizard rock on this tour, and I’d like to share them with you. First of all, it isn’t dead, dying, or even waning. For every person that has dropped out or lost interest, it seems that there’s somebody to replace them. I’ve seen a lot of new fans of wizard rock on this tour — at many shows it’s been a 50/50 ratio of new and old fans. We’ve had our best attendance ever for house parties (previously we averaged 15 to 20 people per show, and this time around the average is close to 30), and we’ve drawn huge crowds in places like Akron and Santa Monica. Last night’s show in Akron was the biggest success in terms of attendance — over 100 people in a small city in November? Honestly, that’s almost unheard of, and it makes me feel very optimistic about the future of this community.

Last weekend we played at Wrockstock, a wizard rock festival in Potosi MO. I always approach major events the same way: I start at Point A and I go where the wind takes me. I ended up in conversations with many different people over the course of three days, and I was surprised to learn that some people view Wrockstock, LeakyCon, and other conventions as the community’s last resort, as the only remaining way that HP fans are able to come together. I disagree. I’ll end up playing 130 shows this year, and each of these shows is a chance for HP fans to come together. Wizard rock shows aren’t just your everyday, run-of-the-mill concerts; they’re community reunions, friend meet-ups, and above all a chance for people to come together with a common purpose. And you can bet on this: so long as Justin and I are involved, there will be a wizard rock show near you in the near future.

Shows Played: 34
Money Raised For the HPA So Far: $792