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AdamChance Special user 656 Posts |
Trip report from first wedding gig:
So two friends asked me to do magic at their wedding reception. They're not close friends, so I wouldn't have been invited had I not been a magician. I didn't charge them any money, but I got to eat and drink for free. I arrived right on time, and there were lots of people who were just arriving at the same time as me. I dropped my bag off downstairs and I was ready to start strolling. The bride said to just chill and have a beer and wait a bit before I start doing magic for people... I guess because people were still meeting and getting settled in. Some of my other friends were there so I had a couple beers with them. After maybe 45 minutes, I started to do some tricks for my friends and some of other people we were talking to. Then I started walking around to the other groups of people and doing tricks for them. But it wasn't long after that when the speeches started... and then after that, the DJ started playing the music pretty loudly and people started dancing. So then I just did tricks sporadically throughout the night from there on in. I was a little bit nervous because I actually haven't been practicing my magic much lately (been busy with work)... but I'm still pretty comfortable with my tricks. When I was on the bus heading over there, I realized that I forgot to pack my mini-chop cup which was really annoying. It's probably my favourite trick to perform and it would have been perfect for this venue because they had little bar height tables all around. But I still managed to show quite a few people some good magic. Everyone seemed to really enjoy it. The family of the groom really loved it. At one point I probably had a group of 10 or 12 people around me watching. And they told the bride and groom how much they enjoyed the magician... so I actually got a lot of credit for doing magic, even though I feel as if I didn't even really get to show my stuff to everyone. But because the people I did perform for loved it so much and were loud and visible, it probably made it seem like worked the whole room. Ultimately, the bride and groom were happy with my performances, so it's all good I guess. My main trick was probably the ambitious card routine (with some card to mouth and card to pocket mixed in). My plan was to give the bride and groom the deck after with everyone's signed cards, but I ended up doing a mercury card fold 2/3rds of the time for a mystery box ending... so I didn't really have a full deck to give them. I sort of improvised my ACR a lot of the time and I didn't stick to my normal routine. I would just throw in a card to mouth or card to pocket whenever I felt like it. I know enough ACR phases that I can sort of improvise. So that worked out well. Invisible deck went over really well as it always does. Industrial revelation was a hit. And bending signed quarters with my QB2 killed as always. I ended up doing turbo stick a lot actually. I did flash by chad long a couple times, but I found turbo stick to be more of a worker. I hadn't ever really performed turbostick for people before, but it went over well and it was a worker. Stand up monte is normally one of my go-to tricks... but I only did it a few times. Not sure why, but I wasn't really feeling my stand up monte routine that night. I think it still went over well when I performed it... but something was a little off about it. I think I might need to work on my presentation a little more on that one (even though I've been doing that trick for years). CHM went over surprisingly well. I vanished a silk with a TT a few times and that went over well. I did the little hand as a lead in to my coin bend... and it's a great little gag trick. I had a number of tricks on me that I didn't perform at all and they just ended up taking up pocket space. So next time, I would probably lighten my load a little bit and try and do more with less. I didn't perform envylope, but I probably should have. I realized by the end of the night that I had all the time in the world to do deck switches and I could pretty much get away with anything in that environment... but I didn't really take advantage of that enough. Normally when I show people tricks, they're pretty focused on what I'm showing them... but in a wedding environment, there are so many distractions that it's really easy to get away with things. My classic force isn't great, but I feel like I could have hit it almost every time with these people if I was going for that. I had a few bigger tricks in my backpack, but I never ended up needing anything extra. Though it didn't hurt to bring extra tricks I suppose. So overall I thought it went pretty well. I never really messed up or got caught doing anything... so that was good. People assumed I was a hired professional and were surprised when I said that I went to high school with the bride and that I only do this as a hobby. I've never been a huge fan of sponge balls, but they probably would have been great in this environment. I might learn a turobostick + sponge ball combo at some point. I'm still mad at myself for forgetting my chop cup. If I had my chop cup, I probably would have opened with that with every group where there was a table. Oh, I also brought my d-lites which were fun to just goof around with. I'm happy with how the night went, but I'll probably do even better the next time... I imagine that it would probably take me 20+ gigs to reach a higher level and be a better working magician and be more comfortable with what I'm performing. Sometimes I would forget which pocket I put my sharpie in and with all the crap in my pockets, it sometimes took me a second to find. Anyways... feels good to get somewhat of a real gig under my belt. My fiancee's cousin is getting married in June and I'll be doing magic there too... so hopefully that will be even better. But I feel like it went pretty well for a first gig. |
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JayF Regular user 160 Posts |
My brain isn't working -- CHM???
Jay |
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AdamChance Special user 656 Posts |
Quote:
On May 10, 2015, JayF wrote: Sorry typo. Meant to say CMH (Crazy Man's Handcuffs). |
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JayF Regular user 160 Posts |
Of course! I should have figured it out.
Jay |
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Montana76 Inner circle I hope I one day reach 1177 Posts |
Crazy Hands Mancuffs.
(Sorry, I just had to!) |
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themagicguy Loyal user Australia 280 Posts |
Quote:
On May 10, 2015, AdamChance wrote: Great idea! |
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AdamChance Special user 656 Posts |
Quote:
On May 12, 2015, themagicguy wrote: I heard that idea from Jamie Grant... either in one of his magic friday episodes or his book. |
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JayF Regular user 160 Posts |
Quote:
On May 11, 2015, Montana76 wrote: No need to apologize -- that was funny!!! Comedy gold, me thinks!!!!!! Jay |
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Jamie D. Grant V.I.P. as seen in Ripley's Believe It or Not! Twice! 2413 Posts |
Weddings are the greatest! It's such a day of joy and celebration and people are thrilled to have entertainment there! There's nothing better than looking over at the bride and groom and seeing them seeing their guests having such a great time.
TRICK OF THE YEAR: Industrial Revelation, BOOK OF THE YEAR: The Approach, The AIP Bottle, and my new book Scenic 52, can all be found over here: SendWonder.com
Kindness takes practice. My TEDx talk |
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mrsmiles Elite user 442 Posts |
Moreover performing the anniversary waltz (or any of its variants) is always a great thrill and pleasure to share with the couple because it hits hard on an entertainment and emotional level.
For what it's worth if anyone wants to check it out, I personally I still prefer the Doc Eason version taught on his bar series so if you're looking to research this, that's the one I'd look to learn from. There's lots of other great stuff on the volumes as well (I think its on vol 3 from memory), so you get lots of 'bang for your buck'.
mrsmiles
(UK) |
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Ken Abbott New user 100 Posts |
So here is my question. It seems like having a magician at the reception to perform magic while everyone waits for the wedding party to get thru with photos and arrive at the reception can be very helpful. He can diminish the boredom during this period, and help strangers get to know others at their tables. But, is it wise to have a magician perform after the stars of the show arrive and while they cut the cake, do the bride/groom dances, throw the garter and bouquet, make the toasts,and begin the band/dancing. It is difficult to perform during all of these interruptions. Don't the bride and groom want to be the center of attention and not have a magician distract their guests from watching them. Also, performing magic during loud music can be very challenging.
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mixman Loyal user Northern Colorado 294 Posts |
Since I do both magic and DJ services, I perform at a lot of weddings. One or two a week during the busy season. I have learned over the years that strolling magic works great during cocktail hour and some table hopping during dinner is fine as well. but once you get to the toasts, then the spotlight needs to be on the Bride and Groom.
I still MC and make announcements, but I seldom perform any magic after the toasts. The entertainment switches from magic to music. |
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BeachCat New user Vegas Baby! 54 Posts |
Mr Smiles mentioned Doc's version of the Anniversary Waltz. I can't seem to locate his version, can anyone help?
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Kabbalah Inner circle 1621 Posts |
Quote:
On Jul 20, 2015, BeachBum wrote: Doc Eason's Anniversary Waltz
"Long may magicians fascinate and continue to be fascinated by the mystery potential in a pack of cards."
~Cliff Green "The greatest tricks ever performed are not done at all. The audience simply think they see them." ~ John Northern Hilliard |
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mixman Loyal user Northern Colorado 294 Posts |
I sue Doc Eason's version as well. Very simple and effective.
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