In Which the Swedish Scene Takes on the Rest of the World

Sweden isn’t exactly the largest country in the world, nor is it the most regularly thought of. To be perfectly honest, if someone had mentioned the words “Sweden” or “Swedish” to me more than a year ago, I would have taken a moment to sit and think about how delicious it would be to have a package of Swedish Fish in my hands at that very moment. (Sidenote: They aren’t called “Swedish Fish” in Sweden. In case you were wondering.) My perception changed drastically around a year ago when there was a sudden upsurge in Wizard Rock bands popping up in Sweden. Some of the first bands I was in contact with were Johnny B. Lovegood and Seamus Finnigan’s Wake. I maintained correspondence with them as I made my plans to study abroad and told them how I hoped to visit them while I was in Europe. To my dismay, I have not had the opportunity to meet either of these performers. Despite that, I was rewarded with a gift beyond meeting just two Wizard Rock bands – I met eight.

On 1 November, The Advance Guard put together a Wizard Rock Halloween event in Stockholm, the capital city of Sweden. This event was the third or fourth (it was a little unclear) Wizard Rock show ever in Sweden, despite the large number of bands in the country. When Sweden wrocks out, they really do it!

The venue was the basement of a building containing a library and it was packed! The line-up consisted of seven performances (one of which had two bands involved) and it all fit into a two hour time slot! Each band was expected to take up about 15 minutes, which I was a little worried about at first. However, things were handled so well that the time limit caused little to no issues. It only left the crowd hungry for more.

When talking to each of the bands prior to the beginning of the show, I discovered that more than one person enjoyed the talents of The Proper Use of a Rubber Duck (another of the bands playing that night) as one of their favourite Wizard Rock bands in existence. After watching their set, I can absolutely understand that opinion. This band, consisting of two wonderful girls, writes with a flair that anyone can appreciate. Their first song was “Percy’s Awesome Song” and they have written two others since.

Among the other sets, one that sticks out is the performance of His Silver Hand and Wit Beyond Measure. The pair of bands (each is a one-woman band) created a skit in which Sirius Black and Severus Snape are partners in Potions class. The biting comments from Severus and the thoughtless responses from Sirius was both witty and very comical, much of it leading into songs that fit the story they had created. It’s only natural that Severus Snape would carry his guitar to Potions class and sing with Sirius Black…. right?

The final set that night was really a show-stopper. Solitary Snape took the stage and really commanded the audience. Before I had even made my way up to Sweden, I had challenged Dreaner, the singer for Solitary Snape, to inspire the audience to dance. I told him that if no one else was dancing, I’d start it and get the people around me to join in. I found that I had nothing to worry about. Not only was the entire venue dancing, but they were singing along and knew what was being sung in the songs in Swedish that were over my head!

If you’re curious, quite a lot of the music was actually in English. This isn’t to say they neglected their native language, for about half the bands performed at least one song in Swedish, but they write mostly in English because most of them read the books in English. There’s a fun reason for that fact, too. The simple reason is because it takes a while for the Swedish translation to come out. However, the fun reason is because the translator is terrible and lazy. Doesn’t sound like much fun, does it? Well, during my time in Sweden I was informed of just how bad the Swedish translations are. Not only is the translator inconsistent with some of the translations (Snivellus is translated differently in different places, for example), but some of the jokes in the books go right over her head. My favourite one is the line that says something along the lines of “ran away faster than Snape from a bottle of shampoo.” It has been translated roughly to “faster than Snape down a soaped pole.” So that is the reason, from my observation, why much of Swedish Wrock is written and sung in English.

Overall, I had an amazing time in Sweden with The Advance Guard and the Wizard Rockers! They were an amazing group of people and I have rarely been in the company of such dedicated Harry Potter fans and HP Alliance members (and I’ve been to Wrockstock and Wrock for Darfur!). My advice to anyone going in or around Europe… make a trip up to Sweden and contact the Wizard Rockers around Stockholm first so a show can be organized! It will be worth every extra dollar, pound, euro, or kronor!

I was hoping to have my video of interviews with all the Swedish bands that performed ready by now, but the editing process is taking longer than I expected. Soon as it’s ready, I will be posting it as well. In the meantime, enjoy what Wizard Rock has to offer you and look forward to my next column on the life of an up and coming Wizard Rocker. What is life like for a new Wizard Rock band who just wants to share his music? Find out next time when you read about my chats with Roger Davies.

‘Til next time,
Dinah Saur

A list of all the bands that played at the Swedish show:
The Proper Use of a Rubber Duck
Krum Viddy
Nevilles and the Trevor
Ginger and Moon
His Silver Hand
Wit Beyond Measure
Solitary Snape
Swedish Shortsnouts



For more live Swedish Wrock experiences, check out the YouTube channel of Erik from the Swedish Shortsnouts.