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warren Inner circle uk 4166 Posts |
Having had some time out from magic I performed my first official paid gig since my return on Saturday which was a wedding so obviously a good crowd.
Whilst there I used Omnideck as an additional kicker to one of my old card routines and Turbo stick, both of which are old effects but both new for me as they wasn't around when I was working before. Both as you can imagine got excellent reactions and are very easy to do. What have you recently discovered that has been around for a few years but is actually new to you ? |
RobertlewisIR Veteran user Colorado 367 Posts |
A wise man once said, if you want new magic, read old books. Personally, I've recently discovered the joy of coin boxes, which I'd foolishly avoided for years.
~Bob
---------- Last night, I dreamed I ate the world's largest marshmallow. When I woke up, the pillow was gone. |
warren Inner circle uk 4166 Posts |
Quote:
On Jul 23, 2017, RobertlewisIR wrote: That's a good point as another saying is " if you want to hide a secret put it in a book " |
mrsmiles Elite user 443 Posts |
Hi Warren,
There is a lot of good stuff that has come and gone below the radar (because of the volume of more and more new stuff)... here's a few suggestions that you might take a look at... > 'Wow' by Masuda > Paperclipped by Sankey (this was probably going round when you were doing gigs as its about 20 years old but had to add it just in case you never got round to performing it) > Paddles: I note you've discovered 'Turbo Stick' (great choice btw); another nice paddle effect (esp for kids) is a nice one I've got (not sure if still for sale) which has a pic of a brightly painted parrot in a cage that escapes from it. > Yet another paddle (for all ages, it's not a kid-orientated paddle) is 'The Amazing Jumping Arrow' > Craig Petty's 'Chop' is a nice chop cup routine with a different type of cup and gimmick than the usual > Another Petty item, very much modelled on Sankey's Holy Moly (which I'm sure you came across in the past) is Key Master. There's a couple of interesting extra things you can do with this compared to Holy Moly > Coins: i) Bag for Life is nice (this would have come out during your absence I'm pretty sure) ii) A couple or really old coin tricks/gaffes that I've rediscovered & liked very much (so I bring them up for you) are 'Lethal Tender' & 'Coin Unique' > Cards/Packet tricks i) I liked 'Fractal' very much by John Bannon & Liam Montier (a dvd with several effect on it) - really visual & eye-popping stuff ii) I like 'Nothing but the Truth' by Cameron Francis (there's 2 authorised versions, the cards supplied via Colombini Magic are not as attractive as the ones via Francis/BBM, but they are both on Bicycle stock) Hope the above give you a lot of useful suggestions....
mrsmiles
(UK) |
peppermeat2000 Elite user 428 Posts |
Invisible Deck, Sponge Bals, Mini Linking Rings.
Like many strollers I carry a briefcase that's loaded for bear. However, when it comes right down to brass tacks, the above three get the most mileage. Money Paddle and a Flaming Wallet routine see the light of day quite often as well... |
warren Inner circle uk 4166 Posts |
Mrsmiles great minds must think alike thanks for your input, The Amazing Jumping Arrow was my go to paddle trick of choice until I lost it hence me moving on to Turbo Stick however there is a happy ending to the story as I was able to get a 2nd Amazing Jumping Arrow haha
I have recently purchased Bag For Life but have yet to find a routine I'm happy with, I could do the jumbo coin finish which I think is probably the most commercial finish but being from the UK my coin is a £2 coin and £2 jumbo coins are quite expensive especially as most of my other coins are Half dollars. I also purchased Keymaster however I actually prefer the Gatemaster routine as that allows an instant reset, it would have been better if the keys had been made a little smaller and made in a silver colour rather than brass in my opinion I was considering getting Nothing But The Truth as the lie detector theme is a popular theme with spectators although I do have one that I use already that allows me to leave the spectator with a business card. peppermeat2000 thanks for your input also.....where would we magicians be without our faithful sponge balls I take them with me to every gig. I do like the money paddles but I seem to be collecting a lot of paddle effects just lately in fact I even came up with my own routine a week ago using just an ordinary disposable lighter haha |
mrsmiles Elite user 443 Posts |
Hi Warren,
Thanks for your comment on my post. I lose things all the time (like you did with jumping arrow)... I've lost about 6 wiregrams for example. As for 'bag for life', I take your point. I think you're right that in many ways it cries out for a knock out kicker finish (such as your jumbo £2 suggestion). However, I don't play it like this as I rarely have the time or the inclination to go further with a coin routine, so I just do a short and simple Bag for Life... I'd rather get on with another effect in my set than continue with more coin work. (And I don't want to buy a jumbo £2 either!). So, as you can tell, I tend to do the Bag for Life trick 'as is' with nothing added to it but with slight tweaks as follows: Firstly & most significantly, I sometimes let the spectator hold the bag with the £2 and the penny in it(!) Sounds risky I know but I've always got away with it & I don't leave the coins in their line of vision for long at all before my hand comes over prior to doing the move. Don't always do it this way, just sometimes. Maybe some time soon I'll get busted but hasn't happened yet. Secondly though admittedly shown on the dvd I have the bag tilted downwards so that when the £2 comes out, the 1p rolls downwards. This adds beautifully to the illusion as I'm sure you'll agree. I only point this out because I was surprised to come across another magician recently who does the routine but without the tilt. As stated I now just end the whole bag for life trick - just with mild gag added instead of an extra kicker...I pop my business card into the bag (which is suggested on the dvd as you know) I simply add a quick gag which is to say "....and that bit of shameless advertising has only cost me 1p!". This 'ending' suits me well as I'm a rather comedic performer & I use it instead of another coin phase. Not so strong 'magically' granted than a jumbo coin finale, but I just make sure I rapidly move on to a very strong & much longer routine next to add light and shade contrast to my somewhat 'quickie' approach to Bag for Life. Yes re Gatemaster. And I must confess I don't do Gate or Key anymore - simply because I have too many fiddly things (& bulky things) dangling around in my pockets. But I do happen to think both Gate&Key master are actually stronger than holy moly which back in the day when I performed it I did it with coins, not washers. Although it's odd to have coins with holes in them, I felt 'odder' holding and using washers. Just me I guess. (I'll probably be reincarnated as a plumber just to teach me a lesson). I'm really keen on Nothing but the Truth at the moment. Again, because I'm comedic this really goes with my grain and I get a lot out of it, but it's certainly strong magic in its own right. I think you're definitely right that spectators like the lie detector plot - its fun and interactive and above all (certainly from my point of view and performing preferences) you can be really playful with it. Re using a business card: If you'd like to use one without your lie detector trick here's something else you could try: I sometimes use the out to lunch principle with a small print run of blank backed business cards. The tricks I do with this are as follows. A'signed' drawing of a playing card (on the O-T-L business card) which I initially place face down on the palm of their hand 'changes' into the correct playing card. Alternatively I sometimes do a spoon bend on the business card (OTL), based on a Jay Sankey idea. I've lately (or belatedly I should say) come across the free will principle (with 3 objects/items) and if electing to do this routine I just write my predictions on the back of the business card (or sometimes use a clever idea from one of the Automata dvd's and send the predictions on a text to the spectator instead - gives you someone's details to add to your marketing list afterwards). If you don't have them, I can really strongly recommend the Automata 1 & 2 dvds (don't have no.2 yet). If you throw in a bit of sleight of hand, you can of course make the tricks even better, but many are just near-perfect already without the need for any. A great set if they've passed you by. Talking of being comedic... I used to do Danny Archer's 'Eye Exam' packet trick to every group at every table at every gig. It's intrinsically funny but very strong magic as well. I invariably did the 'whole deck' kicker ending using the full pack and the chosen card revelation. I've only stopped using to give something else some space in my set... currently it's (as stated) Nothing but the Truth and also (not mentioned this one yet), 'Secret Soldier' by Wayne Fox. Good luck!
mrsmiles
(UK) |
mrsmiles Elite user 443 Posts |
Oops, typo alert... re 'Automata' dvds I meant to say I don't have Automata no.3 yet. I do have no's 1 & no.2!
mrsmiles
(UK) |
warren Inner circle uk 4166 Posts |
Thanks again for the input mrsmiles whilst I personally love coin work but the business idea might well be the way to go as I don't want to get a £2 jumbo for just one effect, its been a while now since I watched the dvd ie The Unknown by Mark Bendall I'll have to get it back out as it had some good stuff on it
I have another go to business card effect which is very commercial based on the spectators winning a drink that I came up with so I'm not limited to just that version of the lie detector plot talking of which I have used a few over the years including my own version that uses two spectators choosing a card with a very nice kicker finish. The out to lunch one you mentioned sounds like Lee Smith's or similar to one that he released on his Stepped system dvds. I was a massive fan of holy moly back in the day, personally I used the washers and it always played very strong in the settings that I performed it in however I would love to be able to do the routine with Chinese coins as it would look so much classier but I've yet to find a coin gaff maker who has said they could do it I'll have to check out the Automata dvd's as I did pick up weird wallet off Gary Jones at a lecture for his just chance routine so maybe worth a look. Thanks again for your input much appreciated. |
mrsmiles Elite user 443 Posts |
You're welcome Warren, been a pleasure reading your thoughts and to contribute to your thread.
I've not seen Lee Smiths dvd but obviously know of it not only because it caused quite a storm when it came out in terms of positive feedback but also because he lectured at our club shortly after the dvd came out! No demo of an OTL trick at the lecture but he demo'd the transposition effect in the spectators hand which I recall he said at the time was on this dvd. I'd like to see his presentation of the OTL trick. My inspiration to do this effect originally came from a Jay Sankey effect called (i think) 'Picture This'. His version involved 2 selections probably using two spectators and I did it his way for a while but for some years now I have streamlined it to one selection from one spectator. It's not always in my set, just now and again. It's nice in my view having an effect that you come back to now and again whenever you feel like it because you enjoy it, you know is received well, & you can concentrate a 100% on presentation because there's no knuckle busting sleights that you have to re-rehearse if a routine has gone rusty on you due to a lack of airplay. Do get those dvds - I can almost promise you that you'll jot down at least a couple from each of the dvds that you'll like to do. As stated I own 1 & 2. I've already added his card to matchbox (though added sleight of hand to its execution). This isn't even my favourite effect (though obviously it's close to being) - I'm saving those for the near future. There's a couple of really nice coin things on there - as you seem to like coins, they may tickle your fancy. Metal sheep I think was the stand out coin routine one but there's another that comes close. There's a cute OTL with a coin as well now I recall(!), but a couple of other items on the dvd knock all of these mentioned items out of the ball park, they are that good (in my humble opinion). Enjoy, if you get it, doubt you'd regret it!
mrsmiles
(UK) |
warren Inner circle uk 4166 Posts |
Thanks again for your input I'll definitely check the dvds out that you mentioned as you've given them such a positive review
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mrsmiles Elite user 443 Posts |
Quote:
On Aug 3, 2017, warren wrote: You're welcome Warren. When you get them, let me know what you think!
mrsmiles
(UK) |
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