The Magic Thread

[Philo_Vance]

Righto, as promised in the comments thread, starting this so those of us that have an interest in magic have a place to share bits and bobs. I've been getting properly into card magic again recently, but we'll keep the thread open to any kid of magic, be it close up, stage illusions, sideshow stuff or what have you.

 

Learnt

recently, really like it, and the final reveal seems to genuinely surprise people. Lovely stuff.

 

Also, a quick link to an interview with Jerry Sadowitz, courtesy of Mr Houchen.

 

Finally, something more stagey- I think this routine is

 

Oh, final thought, I'm happy for people to speculate on how stuff's done in this thread, but please no links to shitty 'revealed' videos on youtube. They're invariably wrong, and shit. Also please no links to illegal copies of magic books/dvds etc- magicians like Liam Montier in the first clip make very little money putting out some amazing books and dvds of their tricks for others to learn from and stealing them is shit.

[Allstar69]

One of the guys on my hockey team is a magician and some of the stuff he does is mental he wants to be like Dynamo doing street magic. Some of the card tricks he can do I just cant figure out as i know its all slight of hand, but it always seems even with no prep time he can do tricks unless he comes to hockey with all his tricks set up just incase some one ask him to do a trick.

 

Edit I should elaborate he doesnt just do one trick does like a mini set which is why i dont get how he does them

[Philo_Vance]

Sounds like he's doing a good job! To be honest, as much as I love the 'oh shit' moment at the end of a trick when people are surprised, I get far more pleasure when they're still thinking about it or asking me about it hours or days later. My dad's the best for it, I can pretty much fuck up his day if I show him a trick because he'll think of literally nothing else for ages afterwards.

[Allstar69]

The first time he done it was a shock as the whole team thought he was taking the piss now we just want to be entertained lol. He never does the same trick twice either which is mind blowing to me

[Egg Shen]

ahh nice idea for a thread, ive never attempted a magic trick in my life but its something that has always fascinated me. I'll keep an eye on this.

[Surf Digby]

Because it's been relegated to the "so basic it's not worth doing" pile for so long, I'm constantly surrounded by young folk that have never seen a French pass, and it just blows their minds.

[SteelEdge]

Can't do any tricks myself but always been fascinated with magic. Went to see Penn And Teller a couple of years ago in London, they were interviewed by Stephen Fry (Yes, Teller did talk. At great length. Very interesting man) and performed a few of their tricks, just fantastic stuff. Looking forward to seeing what comes up in this thread.

[Philo_Vance]

Because it's been relegated to the "so basic it's not worth doing" pile for so long, I'm constantly surrounded by young folk that have never seen a French pass, and it just blows their minds.

 

Rather than 'so basic it's not worth doing', I think it's more that there's usually an easier way of achieving the same result with a less obvious move. I do think more people should learn it though- none of the flashy card courses like Ellusionist give it any time at all.

[MungoChutney]

10 years ago I was seriously considering doing kids parties etc but it tailed off with work commitments and then my son was born and I didn't do a single thing for a year. Last year some of the older kids at work asked me about tricks I used to do years ago that staff had told them about. That turned into me doing a trick of the week for a few weeks for them and then I took 2 of them and taught them a few basic routines which we turned into a show for the parents. It really awakend my enjoymen tof it and we're plannign another show this year and I've found actually writing routines for kids to perform is even more rewarding tahn doing the routine myself. My delivery is great for stage magic but I struggle with close up slight of hand.

 

It's nothing spectacular of course but the kids who I've used have been really good and the combination mostly stage magic mixed with a bit of mentalism was a real hit with the people who came to see it.

[Surf Digby]

Because it's been relegated to the "so basic it's not worth doing" pile for so long, I'm constantly surrounded by young folk that have never seen a French pass, and it just blows their minds.

 

Rather than 'so basic it's not worth doing', I think it's more that there's usually an easier way of achieving the same result with a less obvious move. I do think more people should learn it though- none of the flashy card courses like Ellusionist give it any time at all.

When I was a kid it was in every Ladybird bumper book of magic tricks, or explained on the back of cereal boxes. Everyone knew how it wsa done, and plenty could do a reasonable version of it themselves.

 

About 5 years ago, I was piddling about with a 2p coin whilst on hold, and made it "vanish". One of the girls watching me was dumbfounded by it, and I ended up having to repeat it several times for the rest of the office.

Since then I've done it several times to the under 25s and they've never seen it, don't know how it's done, and without the cynicism that TV gives a magic trick, are amazed/confused by it.

[Philo_Vance]

I think part of the reason people don't learn the basics is stuff like Dynamo. Not to take anything away from him, but all of the stuff that airs on mainstream telly is gimmicky (in both senses) and very much based around the performance and personality rather than the trick. Which is well and good as it results in the sort of TV show that will do well- if he was doing card tricks and nowt else it wouldn't have been comissioned.

 

The problem is then, that having seen this, most kids won't want to sit down and work their way through Royal Road to Card Magic or that kind of manual and learn things in a disciplined fashion. That's my main issue with a lot of the DVDs like the Ellusionist stuff, they teach you to run before you can walk without a good grounding in the absolute basics. Whereas in a real life setting, the simplest things can be the best- like you mentioned with the coin vanish. I've found that the Ambitious Card, despite being 70 or 80 years old and the first routine most people will learn, still blows people away when it's done well.

 

Having said all this, I'm a sucker for card magic, and I'd rather watch a great card magician than a stage illusion or Dynamo walking on water, so I'm biased.

 

That said, here's a link to my favourite magic show of all time, directed by David Mamet, no less.

 

Edit: another Ricky Jay vid, a documentary this time featuring Mamet and Steve Martin, among others. The short routine starting at 2 mins in is absolutely astonishing.

[Thunderplex]

Love magic. Was glued to the telly in the old Paul Daniels days, and loved it ever since.

 

Fat sausage fingers prevented me from learning anything convincing though

 

Got stuck at a really shite wedding a few years ago. The day was saved by the table magician. Stared at his hands without blinking, and I still missed what he did with the cards. He was at our table for ages, as most of the other oiks were just concentrating on getting pissed on free wine, and he appreciated how much I was enjoying watching him.

[Micken]

Toured with Knight Magic all over the world, was fantastic and are great people. Hoping to meet up with them in Vegas over the summer.

I can be spotted in this promo video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-6nkTZneYo

 

I love big stage illusion shows. Not really clued up on the UK scene, seen a few close up shows in pubs and restaurants. Is anyone aware of any big stage shows in the UK happening this year?

[SpursRiot2012]

I just picked up Royal Road to Card Magic and will be working my way through that.

 

I also just want to say I picked up some really nice Black Tiger Bicycle cards that I think look fucking stunning. I think that, once you have the tricks down, that could really add a lot to an act.

[Philo_Vance]

You won't regret buying Royal Road, it's the absolute basis of everything else you'll ever need to learn. It's wonderful! As for the cards, I really love picking up different decks, to the extent that collecting cards has become a hobby in its own right for me. I picked up a set of THESE the other day, and I'm absolutely in love with them. Going to buy the wooden boxed set of four decks when I have a bit more dough.