The SPACE tour was really an amazing experience… I mean, I literally stood less than ten metres away from people who before this I had only seen through my computer screen. And that never necessarily gave me the view I wanted. But you probably don’t even know who Starkid is, do you?
Starkid, or Team Starkid, is a group of young preformers from the University of Michigan. Their claim to fame is their parody musical, “A Very Potter Musical”, its sequel, “A Very Potter Sequel” and their two original musicals, “Me and My Dick” and “Starship”. (All of Starkid’s musicals can be found on Youtube, under the name StarkidPotter). They created with them a subculture to the Harry Potter culture and a lot of inside jokes. The Potter Musicals feature Darren Criss (of Glee fame) as Harry Potter, Joey Richter as Ron Weasley, Bonnie Grueson as Hermione Granger, Dylan Saunders as Dumbledore, Jaime-Lyn Beatty as Ginny Weasley and Rita Skeeter, Brian Holden as Remus Lupin, Lauren Lopez as Draco Malfoy, Joe Walker as Umbridge and Voldemort and a slew of other people. Their videos have passed 100 million views on Youtube, and have recently announced their intent to “A Very Potter Threequel”, with Darren Criss in it when his schedule between “How to Suceed in Business Without Really Trying” and “Glee” allow it. This, however, doesn’t mean the Starkids haven’t been busy. Putting on “Starship” of which Darren isn’t in, but he wrote a lot of music for, made them busy as it put Joe Walker in as Commander Up, Dylan Saunders as Pincer and Tootsie Noodles, Jaime Lyn Beatty as Neato Mosquito, Brian Holden as Junior, Lauren Lopez as Taz and Bugette, Meredith Stepien as Mega Girl, and Joey Richter in the starring role of Bug. Their original music as well as humor makes them well remembered and has gained them a grand following.
Fast forward to Early Fall 2011, where they announce that 7 members of Team Starkid will be touring for all of November. In Canada, with only two locations, the tickets sold out fast, even with the two extra shows being added. These concerts were to be held in London and Toronto. Thanksgiving weekend for us, the tickets went on sale, and some like Toronto, sold out in seconds, others like the London one, lucky for me, sold out within the hour. It took me 3 tries to get my tickets, in my hotel room in Ottawa. Three tickets, and 123 dollars later, I knew I would be able to go see Starkid. Finally! I had eagerly watched their LeakyCon footage and I was almost as excited as I was when I went to the Wizard Rock Concert in Grade 9. I was ready to meet a bunch of likeminded Harry Potter fans. I was happy to be able to go and scream until I couldn’t hear myself (If you find any of the footage on Youtube, you can hear me sing, extremely badly, because it was scream-singing more than anything else). I knew all the songs, and I knew that while we might me standing in line for hours, we were still going to see them, hear them preform, maybe even touch them. It never occurred to me that I was going with three people who were all shorter than me, and it may not have seats.
We ended up arriving in London at about 5:30. By then, there were already about 100 people in line… Or so it seemed. We had a little bit of a worry when we couldn’t find the venue, which was tucked away in a very sketchy area, but we banded together with about 7 other people and eventually found the line. We got to know our line-mates too! That’s one of the things that I love most of all about Harry Potter concerts. You go, with a couple friends and you end up making a bunch of friends along the way, that was the way it was at the wrock concert, when I joined a Harry Potter Roleplaying game and at the Starkid concert. Two of our new friends lived in London, which was especially nice for them! They were both 13, and were just as excited as we were! The other three we met had traveled by train from Ottawa, where they went to Nepean, and knew my uncle…
The concert itself, while hard to see, was amazing. Half of it was because there were about three hundred people around you jumping up and down for joy. The screaming and the sheer exhilaration were the best thing there, utterly surrounding you. The Starkid's shiny outfits! And just so much fun! After so many songs, but not nearly enough at the same time, sweating, not able to stop smiling and just can't believe my luck, it was over. And we rushed to buy merchandise! I got a purple shirt and a program. Expensive, maybe, but so awesome! By the time we got home from London, it was midnight, I had no voice and I could not have been happier.
Charlene Kaye, and the London 7pm Show (OURS!)
Joey Richter on stage.
< - STARKID!
Fans are insane and will even get pictures taken with the buses.
Some new friends from Ottawa we met!
An epic beginning to an amazing show!
Look! They're in front of me! Not on a screen!
Great Day!