Mike Thrasher Presents a Harry and the Potters No-Show
Last night my wife and I got a sitter for 5 hours so that we could head to north portland and see the Harry and the Potters show at the Wonder Ballroom. If you didn’t know it, my wife is a HUGE Harry Potter fan and going to the Harry and the Potters concert has become a tradition in our family. HATP sing songs from the point of view of Harry Potter about scenes in the books. The music is not great but for a fan of the stories its a lot of fun to go and listen. The shows are an all ages event with the opening bands usually spawning from other characters in the stories (Draco and the Malfoys are my favorite openers so far). Last night was the 4th HATP concert we have attended in as many years here in portland. Unfortunately Harry and the Potters did not play during the time we had at the event. In fact when we finally gave up waiting and left the (all ages) show at 10:05 PM, Harry and the Potters had still not taken the stage. And despite the long and fun history of their shows, none of the opening bands had any affiliation with the Harry Potter books what-so-ever. It was a pure and utter disappointment.
When leaving the venue and mentioning our dissatisfaction over the event we were directed to contact Mike Thrasher of Mike Thrasher Presents as he was in charge of booking and directing the event. My wife called Mike Thrasher today to make sure he understood that for an all ages show starting the headliner and the only band listed on the tickets after 10PM was ridiculous. We had gotten a sitter but I felt miserable for the parents that had brought their children and who had left the show completely unsatisfied. Unfortunately Mike Thrasher is an arrogant man who has little concern for the audience he is apparently booking shows for. He countered my wifes concerns by brushing aside her comments and telling her that their was nothing he could do control the timing of the show as that was up to the artists. He was unreceptive to her suggestion that for a show that caters to a younger crowd he should work to ensure the shows started earlier. After all it was his name on the poster outside as well. Making people wait 3 hours to see the only band listed on the ticket is not acceptable by any measure.
The worst part about it is that if he is right and its up to the artists to maintain a timing appropriate for the audience, then last nights debacle falls squarely on the shoulders of the DeGeorge brothers. I would think with such an active following the DeGeorge brothers ( the Harry and the Potters band) would take into account the time constraints on a young audience. Unfortunately it appears that they have become disconnected from their audience in the glory of becoming stage performers.
Is this the bitter rant of someone who feels slighted? Sure. But it doesn’t take away from the fact that last night Harry and the Potters let down a lot of fans who left before they ever took the stage. And Mike Thrasher made a ton of cash by misrepresenting a show. And it is important that everyone know that this happened, because you should be forewarned should you be in a position to support either of these parties. I hope you will understand that it is not in your best interest to do so.
I couldn’t have said it better myself. Thank you for supporting my addiction. Thank you for sitting with me as we waited for HOURS to watch a band we never got to see actually perform. Thank you for complaining on my behalf and not about me. You are an amazing husband.
What a jerk! Well I certainly won’t go to any of his shows. It’s just a shame that Harry and the Potters would play a part (no matter how small) in such a lame showing. I’ve never been to their show, but I have come to expect it to be excellent none-the-less based solely on the rave reviews of my friends.
True, Mike Thrasher is a jerk, he’s made a living ripping off show-goers and bands alike for the last 15+ years.
The press information released by Harry and the Potters for the show clearly stated that this was going to be their biggest, most event packed, varied, most elaborate tour ever. In fact, it wasn’t even billed as a Harry and the Potters tour, it was billed as “Unlimited Enthusiasm Ltd presents: Camp Jump’n'Yell” and listed about a dozen acts/activities after that. Its summer-time and I doubt your kids had a big work meeting the next day, you should’ve done your research, let them stay up and party. I stayed til the end and everyone (including the littlest of little kids/parents) had an awesome time.
Hey Nate,
I am really glad you had a good time at the concert. And you obviously had different information that we did. We had friends tell us harry and the potters where coming to town, so went and hit ticket master to get details. It listed harry and the potters and mentioned unlimitedentusiasm.com but we though that was more of a producer credit or something.
It was not until we arrived at the wonder ballroom and saw the posters that we saw there were 3 opening acts and even then we thought it must be a mistake.
We didnt bring the little one this year we arranged for a sitter because she was not feeling well. We based the schedule for the evening on the previous 3 shows we had attended.
Maybe you are right, and we didn’t do enough research, but the tickets for the show we bought said harry and the potters which is who we expected to see.