Harry and the Potters are sticking it to the MAN!!!

intertextuality (n.):

Intertextuality is a relationship between two or more texts that quote from one another, allude to one another, or otherwise connect. In the work of Roland Barthes, intertextuality is the concept that the meaning of an artistic work does not reside in that work, but in the viewers. In the work of Julia Kristeva (who coined the term in 1966), intertextuality suggests the interdependence of texts, the continual deferment of meaning through and between texts.
(from Wikipedia)

I am sure J. K. Rowling has no idea the number of young minds that she's touched or, more accurately - the subculture that she's spawned. Yesterday, Serene and I decided to attend the Harry and the Potters all-ages gig at the Blind Pig. While standing in line to get into the venue, we managed to catch a glimpse of 1) a significant proportion of the Huron, Pioneer & Community high school population, 2) the above mentioned subculture in all its Boarding School garbed glory (re: de rigeur argyle socks/ sweater and striped tie. There was even an individual who was passking out flyers for her podcast called, Snapecast - "All Snape, all the time." And she wasn't even a teenager!!!

The show, I have to admit, was the best 10 bucks that I've spent on a live act in a while. The boys were awesome on stage; they brought passion, energy and more importantly a relationship with their peers who were in the audience. The songs predictably revolved around the characters in Rowling's books. However, Harry and the Potters added a tangibility to them by writing songs that speak about teen angst, first dates and trying not to go out with Ron Weasley's sister. And the best thing about it was that most of the kids in the audience knew the lyrics to the songs!!! We were dumbfounded...

Thinking about the show, two things come to mind. Firstly, I remember being 16 and not being allowed to watch the acts that I liked because they performed in clubs and venues that had age restrictions. An all-ages show, like the one yesterday, are hard to come by and sorely needed. Secondly, what's up with copyright these days? I think that society (or more specifically corporations) are literally intepreting copyright to the extreme. Prosecuting teens for lip synching to unauthorized music on youtube is a case in point. Another is that of James Joyce's grandson getting engaged in copyright battles with academics who founded a career on Joyce's work. Yesterday's show highlighted the how wonderful it can be when young minds are engaged in works of art so much so that they are able to spin secondary lives and even music out of it. In the words of Harry yesterday, "Voldemort can't stop the rocking"!

[Serene's take:
It was absolutely fabulous!! An hour after the show, my cheekbones were still aching from smiling and cheering so much throughout the performance. The band played with Draco & the Malfoys- think Draco and his crew dropping out of Hogwarts, incarnated as the Gallagher brothers and living out of the Malfoys' mansion basement churning out Oasisesque music. And in case you think the music of Harry and the Potters is of the pensively literary variety as say The Decemberists, think again. We're talking more The Pixies meets The Cure meets Weezer school of alternative geek/punk rock. Wicked! Oh, but with bubbles at the end...

And on a narcissistic note, the people at The Blind Pig scrawled a huge "M" on my hand for "Minor" when I entered. I would like to thank Oil of Olay and the people at Neutrogena for helping me mask the fact that I'll actually be turning 30 in three months... ]