Penguin Live, with Anthony Owen, is an excellent insight into one of the greatest minds in magic. The live also makes for a great accompaniment to Anthony's also excellent book, Secrets. Five stars ***** http://www.penguinmagic.com/p/10866

Was anxiously awaiting this one. Unfortunately, it was a big let down. The act was very short. 4 tricks. Under 15 min. Not a problem if the material was killer. Unfortunately, it was not. Lotto trick was the best. His original mechanical method. Good if you don’t want to give away the ticket. His card at any number was odd. Didn’t work in the live performance. He did it a different way in the explanation. Not sure why he didn’t do it that way in performance. Regardless, there are much better versions. The third routine was pretty much a throwaway. Basically a 1 in 5 prediction. Worked but seemed like it was thrown in just to fill time. Final routine was a magazine test. Better than the third routine but again, there are better and more entertaining versions.

Overall, very disappointing. With the amount of killer material at his disposal, not sure why he would have chosen these routines (other than the lotto)

Was very disappointing. I expected more from someone with his supposed reputation.

Audience sounded like they fell asleep. It really seemed like he just threw 4 routines together for this lecture. There really wasn’t a presentation/story to any of the routines.

He got the card with the number on the back completely wrong! Did anyone else spot that? The card was meant to be the 2 of hearts but he showed the 2 of diamonds. Do I win a prize?

Yeah. Odd. The audience was confused. If you watch the explanation, he does it a different way. When he deals to the number, the card is incorrect. He then goes through the deck to find the correct card and then later shows that it has the correct number on the back. Just a confusing version all around.

I think the old lecture format was much better at least you got value for money with the new format surely the price should be reduced.

I agree that individual lectures are too expensive given the new format but the subscription package is still great value for money.

Depends upon the ACT. I thought the Jon Armstrong ACT routine was excellent and it was over three hours long (similar in length to many of the old format). It had lots of discussion on why he made the decisions he did. Definitely recommended!

I haven't watched the Anthony Owen one yet, so I can't comment on that one.

It seems many on the Café equate long (3, 4+ hours) with value. I'd much rather see 75 or 90 minutes to "A Level" content, than hours of babble where you have to pluck out the gems.

I think it always hilarious to see how they try to find the balance of trying to give some decent content while not tipping their best personal material.

Also, it is interesting to see how many are so poor in the interview segment as compared to their performance materials.

Jan Forster really did set a standard for lectures. I would like to see Anthony do a sequel and really deliver the goods.

Best

Steve

I think with the news of the sad passing of Anthony, this thread should be removed or locked as a mark of respect.

Removed, no. Locked, absolutely.

Steve

Why? It's sad what happened. Just because someone dies that doesn't make it taboo to discuss their material. Deifying people is wrong. We're all human beings.

I’ve been listening to The Magician’s podcast, Anthony’s segment as well as Andy Nyman and Marc Paul who have mentioned him. How did he pass?