Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Posted at
02:44
by
Ryan Stewart
VIDEO: Harry and the Potters do "Platform Nine and Three-Quarters" live in Purgatory Chasm
I've got a flashlight in one hand and a wand in the other. Evening's last light is trickling through hundred-foot trees. There's a stream of us hopping from one boulder to the next, squeezing between caverns, trying to keep our dress robes from dragging on the dirt path. It's opening night of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, and I'm going to see Harry and the Potters. In a cave.
Alright, so it isn't really a cave - we're in Sutton, MA, and this is more of a deep ravine. But the thing's called Purgatory Chasm - how legit is that? The Potters - Norwood's own Paul and Joe DeGeorge - have done some cool stuff over the years. Replete in Gryffindor ties and lightning-bolt scars, they've taken their ace catalogue of Potter-themed pop ("4 Privet Drive," "Voldemort Can't Stop the Rock," "Save Ginny Weasley") to libraries, bars, bathrooms, and Harvard Yard. But this might be the raddest thing they've ever done.
Armed with two mikes, a guitar, a xylophone, and a single Little Drummer Boy-style drum, the duo has trekked over 100 of us fans out into the middle of nowhere to perform hits like "Hagrid" and "Stick it to Dolores" in a back-to-nature acoustic setting. And despite the lack of electricity - real wizards don't need it - they keep the songs energetic with sharp harmonies, dance moves, rabid audience call-and-response sections, and nerd-tastic in-jokes. (When Harry shouts "FUN CHECK!," you applaud; "MAGIC CHECK!" cues a Harry to jam away on his xylophone; "CAVE CHECK!" elicits a gang-shouted "OH, YEAH!" from the audience. Because, obv., we're in a cave.)
Imagine a cross between the Talking Heads and Raffi. In a cave. With only flashlights for lumos. Perched on boulders encircling the duo, we sang along in a resounding chorus well into the night - but not too late. Because, duh, we're all going to the midnight screening of HPatHBP. Although, y'know, if they'd gone on we might've stayed: as the Potters say of themselves, it's "better than pretend."
-- Mary Delsener
