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May 11, 2012

20 Minutes of Pure Entertainment?

dontcare_01As often happens, Ye Olde Magick Blogge got me thinking this morning. In the last paragraph Andrew talks about the time he spends on each trick or routine. He says that to fill the allotted time he needs each trick to run about 6 minutes, but he finds 3 to 4 minutes more comfortable. I have to agree, even though he certainly doesn’t need my approval.

In a recent issue of one of the magic magazines there was a picture of some old goat and the story talked about how he could ring out 20 minutes of solid entertainment from a single lame trick. Whoopee do. I’ll guarantee you that it wasn’t magic entertainment, even if it was entertainment at all. How often have all of us sat and watched one of these entertaining routines, filled with lame jokes and humorous insults drag on and on and on and on.

Offhand, I can’t think of a single long routine (and by that I mean 6 minutes or more) which was magically entertainment. Even people like David Williamson, probably my favorite magician, quits becoming a magician and becomes the foole. He does this better than anyone, but it’s not magic. (Note – I don’t consider illusionists magicians – they are dancers – pure and simple)

If you need to fill time and haven’t got enough material do something between the tricks. Dance, tell jokes, do imitations or strip if you have to. Just don’t add unnecessary crap to stretch out a magic trick.

idiotI suppose that I could be accused, again, of thinking like a magician. Believe me, today’s audiences are much more aware than the drooling idiots we frequently think our audiences are.

Take care………

im21

Filed Under: Magic Commentary 2 Comments
April 4, 2012

The price of censorship

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I doubt anyone reading this blog (Hi Mom!) is unaware of what’s been going on with Hank Lee’s Magic Factory:

Harry P. Levy, the owner of Hank Lee’s Magic Factory, admitted he made 134 false transactions between 2009 to 2011 on a customer’s American Express card totaling $561,927, according to a stipulation of facts signed by Levy and prosecutors. The document was filed in Federal Court in Boston Friday.

Certainly the obligatory pundits on the Café and Genii have beat this to death. Just reading through the threads shows a lot about this hobby. I would assume that there has been plenty of “editing” and deletions on the Café. Kaufman, to his credit, is much slower with the delete key and he certainly has as high a percentage of maroons and ass holes as Brooks.

The business practices of Hank Lee’s Magic Factory have been sketchy for a number of years. Many years, in fact, before George F. Bush’s recession and the Internet decimated the local magic shops. Thread after thread has been deleted by the folks running the Café – supposedly for legal reasons. I wonder if there was money lost by people that might not have been if they had been warned. We’ll never know.

I have a credit voucher somewhere that I FINALLY received after failing to get “in stock” merchandise I ordered. Not an unusual story. I generally feel sorry when a small business closes, but not this time. I’m sure there are employees that are being unjustly punished, but also those that knew customers were being gored. To those with clean hands, I hope you recover quickly.

im21

 

 

PS Feel free to make your own conclave jokes. That fruit hangs a little low for i/m!

Filed Under: Magic Commentary Tagged With: 1 Comment
February 29, 2012

It was 50 years ago

big-50-logothis year that one of the most important things to happen to close-up magic occurred. Harry Lorayne published Close-Up Card Magic. This was closely followed by two small paperbacks Personal Secrets and My Favorite Card Tricks. I've always considered the threesome to be a single event.

Like many others I cut my teeth on this book. There are items in there that I continue to see performed with great regularity. Harry also brought a new informal style of writing to the forefront and his afterthoughts were I think, a stroke of genius. Just this week, I took the book out again and some of the thrill returned that I experienced many, many years ago. I suggest that anyone that has the book on their shelves do the same.

Those of us that admired Harry certainly regret to see what has happened to him over the past few years. He has become mean and just plain cruel to anyone that dares to question anything he has done. A lot of the douche bags on the Café want to excuse him and I would like to do the same, but this has been going on too long to blame it on age. The fact is, has never again achieved the level he first reached 50 years ago and his last overpriced book was an embarrassment.

He will always have Close-Up Card Magic as a monument to be enjoyed by future generations. Time will gradually heal the many wounds he has opened among his former admirers.

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December 21, 2011

Secret Agenda – A book you must have

As I have said before, we are very fortunate that our silly little hobby attracts many people with extraordinary intelligence and passion. Sure, we have more than our share of idiots (see Magic Café), but we are also blessed to have people like Jim Steinmeyer and Robert Giobbi among us.

Recently I have spent some time with Giobbi’s book called Daily Agenda. The name and the structure he has chosen is somewhat unfortunate and trivializes much of what he is doing, in my opinion. There was a blog earlier this year that was going to track his writings on a daily basis, but like many of us with good intentions it seemed to die on the vine.

If you haven’t seen this book, it has short articles for each day of the year. They run the gamut from jokes to very deep thoughts. He might spend three or four days on the ambitious card, the handling of a break, or simple reviews of obscure methods. I particularly have enjoyed his references to some of the favorites moves and tricks of Fred Kaps. It’s too bad that Kaps died at such an early age and so little of what he did was captured. His choice of material and methodology seems to have been impeccable.

Do yourself a favor and grab a copy of this book. You’ll thank me.

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April 1, 2011

As others see us

I’ve told this story before, but it bears repeating. 100 years ago, or so, I had the opportunity to visit the Magic Castle and watch Slydini perform. It was like seeing the Stars of Magic jump off of the page. He performed his coins through tables, his paper balls to box and coins across if I recall correctly. I was absolutely blown away.

 

I attended the performance with a college friend that had only recently taken up magic. As with many beginners, he hit it very hard and was thrilled to learn each new secret and was rapidly developing an adequate performing style. Not unexpectedly, he had never heard of Slydini. The next day we were discussing our time at the Magic Castle. I asked him what he thought of Slydini. After I described who he was, he immediately said "Oh, the guy that kept throwing things in his lap"? Please understand, he wasn't being mean or disrespectful. He just wasn't fooled at all. I was devastated. Someone had dumped on a magic hero.

Over the years, I've thought of that incident many times. What does our audience actually see? Certainly, Slydini's performance was a technical success, at least from a magician's standpoint. His Han Ping Chen was a thing of beauty. The moves to his lap were well covered with his famous brand of misdirection. Nonetheless, my friend wasn't fooled. He wasn't even entertained.

I'm sure my friend wasn't the only one in the audience less than impressed with Slydini's performance. It was a polite and appreciative audience and he got the response that a legend of his stature deserved.

I guess that is one reason why I wince so strongly at statements like "it just blows right past the layman". No it doesn't! Your audience may not call you on it or embarrass you while you are performing, but so many times I'm fully convinced that few people are actually fooled and the magician is merely tolerated.

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March 24, 2011

Missed Target

I’ve spent a good bit of time over the last couple of days watching John Bannon’s latest DVD effort, Bullet Party. It’s not bad, just uninspired. It reminds me so much of the later efforts of Ammar, Malone and Osterlind. They just seem tired and the best material was already used.  All of the excitement and energy shown in the earlier DVDs just wasn’t there. I feel the same way about Bullet Party. This DVD set consists of two DVDs and  two sets of cards for the headlining packet tricks. It’s a good value. There’s actually enough material for two DVDs, which is not always the case recently. Bannon has certainly improved his on camera persona. His introductions to each trick are very well done. I guess standing in the woods introducing card tricks is now the thing to do since the Paul Harris boxed set. I don’t understand that, nor do I understand performing the tricks while sitting on a weight bench in a workout room. Maybe somebody can explain it to me. It’s not that the tricks are bad, it’s just that I’ve come to expect so much more from him. I’m glad I got it and certainly don’t feel screwed, but I’m certainly not excited. OH!! One other thing. They traded Sammie Pennington for David Solomon. I don’t care which side of the tracks you play on, that’s not a good deal!

 

i/m

 

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Another i/m tip: Carry a small mirror with you when you perform. Before going “on stage” look at yourself in the mirror. If you are wearing a dunce cap, fez or other humorous item on your head. TAKE IT OFF! It’s not funny and you look ridiculous.

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March 8, 2011

To light or not to light

imageAfter all of these years in magic I bought my first Tenyo magic trick, Scotty York’s Lamp Trick or, as Tenyo calls it, Ghost Lamp.

I had the version originally put out by Ken Brooke many years ago and also the "improved" version marketed by Paul Stone. Both of these were breakable and rather fragile, but the trick was worth the necessary care.

The current Tenyo version is, of course, plastic, but it looks much more substantial and is realistic enough to use, I believe. I just keep wondering whether it screams "electronics" to a modern audience. Those that are familiar with the trick realize that it has nothing to do with electronics, but it would be a convenient explanation used to dismiss the trick. I have scrupulously avoided things like magic apps, which have no mystery at all and are only useful as curiosities.

Another concern is whether any trick using an incandescent type of bulb is not dated. I guess the only thing to do is just start working with it and see how a modern audience reacts. I think it’s a cool trick, but that means absolutely nothing to the audience. I’ll report back later.

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February 26, 2011

Damn! That dude is cool

I see that Big Blind Media is about to produce their second set of videos featuring John Bannon, Bullet Train. It is available now for pre-order according to an ad on

the Café. To their credit,I didn't see a promised delivery date.

The trailer on their site shows John performing an intriguing looking trick. There's a neat magicians throw off and the use of several different types of preprinted cards. I've never seen anything quite like it and it looks as if it would have some commercial usage.

I think Big Blind Media is taking the right approach here to combat piracy. The two disc set is priced at $40, rather than pricing it like it has the secret to immortality as so many seem to be doing now, and it comes with a dozen or so preprinted cards. I'm not so naïve as to believe that this will eliminate copying, but I certainly thinks it makes it less attractive.

The previously mentioned trailer shows John performing in a basement, I guess. It seems that using basements, caves, jail cells, etc. are very much in vogue. I'm not sure why.

A little bit of advice here Fellers. I consider John Bannon to be one of the great creators of magic in the past 20 years, but he will never be cool. I imagine John would be among the first to agree. Just let him present his magic in a straight forward fashion and do away with the attempts at artistic filming and editing. He's just not the right subject.

Having said that, I am anxious to see the DVDs. I always get something worthwhile out of every thing he publishes.

Until Cardzilla….

 

(I hope they're still using Sammie. What a nice diversion during the weaker efforts)

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