It has recently been brought to my attention that Ricky Smith has an ongoing residency in New York at a bar. Having arrived from out of town earlier this week I was resolved to not miss his performance. First things first, good luck finding any information online about where and when he performs. Myriad google searches for basic terms like "Ricky Smith + New York" failed to yield any practical information. Finally, after deep diving into Mr. Smith's Instagram account, I was able to discover that the gig is on Tuesdays at a bar called As Is. I tried calling to confirm Ricky's presence, but the bar doesn't attend it's own telephone (I tried calling many times). So having made the trek out to Hell's Kitchen on a freezing cold Tuesday night, I arrive only to learn that Ricky is away on vacation this week.

I guess my 2 questions are:

1. Why is one of our generations finest card mechanics obscuring his residency in such secrecy? The whole thing is shrouded in so much digital silence one might think that between the bar and Ricky there is only lukewarm support for building a successful following.

2. To anybody who was lucky enough to have the stars align and catch an actual performance, can you share anything about the material he performed, or the responses he garnered?

Despite being a superb mechanic, maybe he believes he needs development as a performer, and he's quietly working on that?

I suppose, but for my money it still doesn't add up. What kind of a bar would give someone a residency and then not promote it? Regardless of Ricky's interest in promoting his gig, the actual establishment would seem to have an interest in letting people know when they can catch a performance. And I can't see how that would negatively affect Ricky's quiet development.

I suppose it's possible that he wants to work for laymen snd not alert magicians to his residency so that they don't watch him then discuss his material on an internet forum.

If you're interested in seeing Ricky Smith, he will be hanging out with us May 6 at Café Rustico, 25 West 35th Street, from noon to 5 p.m. In addition to schmoozing and amazing people, Ricky will be selling his magic products in an event presented in collaboration with Herb's Magic, which will offer a full mobile magic shop. Café Rustico is the site of the regular Saturday afternoon magicians hang out in New York. For more information: http://www.herbsmagic.com/magic-in-new-y......-rustico