sukimon

Last month, I had the chance to see Harry and the Potters play at the Main Street Museum in White River Junction, Vt. Yeah, they rocked.

Fronted by Harry Year 4 (Joe DeGeorge) and Harry Year 7 (Paul DeGeorge), Harry and the Potters play a blend of garage rock and indie-pop melodies. Their DIY attitude and enthusiasm is infectious and will have you hopping to such songs as “Voldemort Can’t Stop the Rock,” “We Gotta Save Ginny Weasley,” and “Stick It To Delores.” They also played their love ballad, “My Wizard Scar Still Burns For You,” but don’t reach for that lighter, ’cause that’s a muggle thing to do.

After the show, I chatted with the boys for bit and bought for a friend a black t-shirt with the words “My Guitar is a Horcrux” silkscreened in silver, like the stuff Dumbledore uses in his Pensive.*

Harry and the Potters have a couple of albums out, with a new one to be released within the next couple of months. Personally, they are so much better live and I prefer the Internet Archive recordings of their California shows, specifically, their show at the Westside Jewish Community Center. But I recommend getting their albums, especially their self-titled release and “Voldemort Can’t Stop the Rock!” The artwork is great and the CDs are inexpensive, even for a cheapskate like me.

As of this post, the Potters are preparing for their 2006 Summer Reading and Rocking tour. Check their website for concert dates. And while you’re at the Potters’ website, also check out their tour diary. It’s very well written and hilarious. Favorite section:

Yes, Minneapolis is a real rock city for sure, so they were ready when the Potters rolled into town. Prince gave us a good tour of the Park. He was making crazy claims about being the half-blood Prince, but I really think it was just a ploy for him to regain some relevance. Everyone knows Prince is a pure-blooded rocker.

Rock on, Harry Potter.

* – If you don’t know what a Horcrux, a Pensive, or who Dumbledore is, start reading the books already.

Yes, Sukimon’s been laying low for the past couple of months, which is, like, forever in webtime. Springtime is always a busy time: work deadlines, high school coaching, attending a friend’s wedding, etc. But all that’s taken care of now, so time to catch y’all up on stuff. First up: Retro Game Night III.

Retro Game Night III was held on March 18, the day after St. Patrick’s Day. In post-celebration, we dubbed Retro III, “St. Sukie Day,” St. Sukie being the patron saint of retro. Just go along with it.

Anyways, for Retro III we set up a video projector and screened films that were also video games: Star Wars (original version), Flash Gordon, Cloak N’ Dagger, and The Last Starfighter. This was a big hit and the films gave everyone a chance to take a break from the 20-minute seshes of Warlords.

Game-wise, we also busted out a couple of the Apple Mac Classics and set up Crystal Quest. One Retro Night participant spent the whole night on it, resulting in a score of over 1.7 million points. Other than the pre-requisite sessions of Warlords, Fast Food, and Dragonfire, Mario Brothers for the 5200 got a ton of play. Low points of the night included Star Wars – Rebel Squadron and the awful Shaq-Fu.

Just as important as the gameplaying itself is the food. Pizza and soda/beer is a must, but this time a couple of folks brought a ton of cookies, a cake, and a much needed and yummy veggie platter.

Another epic night of gameplaying, eating, and movie watching.

The Crystal Quest Queen.

Crystal Quest High Scores. Ridiculous.

Oh, the agony.

Han shot first, but here he can only watch.

Are you feeling this?

3 highschool-aged kids, same score. Must be a generational thing.