"Don't even get me started on the dealers room. I'll just be nice and say that I've never come back from a convention with so much money. No one else I know bought much either!"

Perhaps a wake up call?????

You know its funny. One thing I learned a long time ago, you have to play to the crowd. Acceptability varies from country to coutry, but something almost universal is never try to offend even one person.

And we had a great time there by the way, I love that convention, we also did very well in the dealer room. The snow did not seem to hold any one back, and we got rid of a thief from last year, so all good things come to pass. I'll tell you this, conventions are far more than criticizing a few problems, downsides etc. The organizers and attendees are wonderful, we go to have fun and we do. If you want to have a bad time, and sit and judge the world, and look for the negatives, you will. We choose to meet new people, learn new things in the lobby, bar, dealer room, and enjoy ourselves. If you go with that attitude, not only to a convention, but in life, you will be a much happier person, and you might actually find the real value of attending.

Everything sounds so negative. Were there any decent acts in the stage shows or in the competitions? At conventions, I usually enjoy watching the competition acts the most. Was there anything worth seeing?

I saw some guy who did a rose act, I thought was beautiful and well thought out.

There were many great acts, the few seem to focus on what they didn't like and slip in what they did like. Dana Daniels was great, Eric Jones was, Geoff Williams, Arthur Trace, Terry Ward all were very well recieved. I cannot comment on much of the rest I did not see them, we are always stuck in the dealer room. Although that doesn't seem to deter some posting here that were not even at the convention. There were some new and good things there as well. I know half of what I had no one had seen, in fact we sold out of 4 things the first day, many more day 2 and 3. And although I was not lecturing, sold 50 lecture DVD notes packages from the 2009 and 2010 lecture series. I guess many people disagreed that there was nothing new. Mark Mason had quite a few new things, Eric Jones debuted his new DVD series, and had quite a crowd and was very well recieved. I saw a good crowd by Geoff, and Seo, and Jamie Schoolcraft as well. So I repectufully disagree with a lot of what I have read here from the few. You get what you give. And by the way, two wallet guys side by side could be a problem, it was a pleasure being next to Tony Miller and his fun partner in life. We had a blast. Like I said, we had a great time. Life is what you make it. So is a convention.

Lion....LOL you crack me up because that rose act was yours. I liked your rose act and can see you have a great act in the making. I look forward to watching your act grow over the years.

Ron.....Congrats on 2nd place. I thought your Fea act was very cool. Loved the theme and props. Plus, I really enjoy watching "real world" working acts. Andrew Martin placed 3rd with his crazy funny magicain act. You just have to see it to understand!

I agree that I love watching most contests as much as watching the paid performers.
The senior stage contest was very strong with 15 acts from comedy, doves, roses, costume changes, fleas, to rubik's cubes. Actually I think all 15 acts in the contest would of been MUCH better than Mike O'Dowd who was TERRIBLE on the headliner show. If you missed the contest then you missed some really cool and funny talent at Magi-fest.

THANK YOU!!!!
I really appreicate all the nice comments and the 1st place Gold Medal for my Rubik's Cube Manipulation act. One of the red coats told me that they thought I was the only person to win the 1st Place Gold Medal twice (2004 and 2010).

Keep the Magic Going!

Joseph Young

Joseph

Wish I saw your act, heard very good things. Andy is always hysterical.

Believe me .. I'm not a negative person and I enjoyed the whole Magi-Fest experience.

With that said .. there was one act in particular on the Friday night show that was not up to par. I suspect he may have had a drink or two before taking the stage. This is NOT acceptable and does not pass as entertainment. His act was unrehearsed, sloppy and unprofessional. He brought the whole show down ... even with some top notch acts on the bill.

My expectations have always been high for this wonderful convention. Was this a matter of saving some money for next years event? There is no excuse for this kind of act on the "Big Show." Believe me .. everyone in the audience that evening, felt the same.

Steve

Steve

You know as well as I not every act on a bill is a top world class act. At one time this act you speak of wasn't that bad. But agreed, it's time to hang it up, and no performer should go on stage drunk. They have very good programs for that, and maybe its time. I honestly don't think the organizers planned this, or would have even thought it would be the case at all. To suggest they did it on purpose is quite unfair. Budgets are always a concern, and you try to do the best without breaking the bank. I was on a National Convention Committee for 18 years. But people change, and things happen, some things just cannot be predicted. It is a shame when one really bad act affects the perception of the entire show. There were some really great acts in this show. Hey I learn as much from horrible magic as I do great magic. If you think back 10-12 years there was that one illusionist who did a basic teach in on how everything worked at the Veterans. His assistants were clueless and high fiving each other, but we had a great time laughing. No one anticipated that as well. They work hard and give up a lot of their time to do it year after year for very little credit. It happens, on we go, and by the way, it was good seeing you. Always

I have to say I enjoy Magifest very much. Its a place to get away and have fun with friends. With that said, this magifest wasn't the best, but it wasn't bad. From the start it seemed like the attendance was down. Maybe it just seemed that way, but I remember a few years ago when the lobby was full at 5 in the morning, this year 5 of us made it through. I competed and that all competitors were really good. There were so many themed acts I couldn't believe it. In close up I was impressed with the gentleman who perform with the wrenches and sockets. Very creative. But........ I wasn't aware that you could compete in the same category with more than one act. Seems like you should only be able to enter one time. But that's not the case. I have four other routines that I think will fare well, I will enter all four in the stage act next year. Nothing like quadrupling your odds right?
- As for the dealers room... Was it that bad? I went in and found exactly what I was looking for. You had such a large selection from coins cards to any book you could ever imagine. I think that the gentleman selling books in the corner is by far worth the registration of the convention.
- The language used in the shows.. Yeah it wasn't the right place to use that language. I myself wasn't offended, but I felt awkward having a 6 year old girl in front of me with her Father. I do not think the F bomb should have been dropped, but the definition of blue comedy at Magifest is funny in it's own right. Years ago I was docked points on my competition for using blue comedy. I used the old rope gag of two gentelman jerking on both ends of the rope. saying " now we have a jerk on each end of the rope". Nothing compared to what was dropped this year but still considered Blue in Magi's eyes.
-The Friday night show? HAHAHAHA WOW. Peta would have had a heyday watching the closer of the first half toss a rabbit around by it's neck. Could you imagine hiring someone like that to perform a private gig for you? Showing up drunk, almost impaling his assistant with pointing flower darts and being so red faced that you could smell the alcohol in the ZZ row of the theater. I am sure he is a wonderful individual but wow. I have never been in a theater with complete silence. I was surprised by the attendance due to the weather. Not near what they usually have, but close.
- Overall I was satisfied with the convention and will be coming back. The quality of performers and material impressed me. Everyone was extremely friendly and willing to share and talk.

PS the Hypnosis show was amazing. I have been studying Hypnosis for 3 years now and bought Bills DVD's last year. I was questioning adding this to my show but I am convinced now. A kid behind me decided to try it in the audience. Bill told him to continuously rub his ear until he was told to stop. 20 minutes later Bill was still lecturing and kind of forgot about the kid. His ear was bright red. We got his attention and they pulled him up on stage. Hilarious. I am considering contacting Bill and paying for private lessons.

Personally, I love MagiFest. There are always a few disappointments at conventions, including this one, but it never stops me from returning. There are always plenty of positives that I take away; whether it be lectures or meeting new poeple in the lobby while sessioning, etc. MagiFest gets a permanent block on my calendar every winter, regardless of who is booked or not booked. I eagerly anticipate next year already.

Hi Magicjy:

Thank you for the kind words. I always liked the flea circus idea but wanted a "stage" version. What you saw was a 2 year collaboration of an idea that started with just one of the items I used in that routine and grew from there.

Ron

On a side note. I did check with the Magi-fest to see if there were any rules on entering twice for the same competition. They said "No". I totally realized that the candle routine I was performing would not be a winner because it was only 2 minutes long and would be heavily penalized. It was such a beautiful effect I had to perform it. I was also told today by Paul Gross that those candles will no longer be made. They will be very rare collectibles.

Hey guys...I just woke up from not sleeping for more than a total of 7 hours over the course of three days at Magi-Fest. I just wanted to say thank you to everyone for making me feel at home at Columbus. It's always good to be surrounded by good friends. A special thanks to Jep, Ron and "The Red Coats" for being such a joy to with with and work for. MagiFest is quickly becoming a favorite of mine.

Hope to see you all next year!!!!!!

O for sure I wasn't knocking you about two competition acts. I'm just saying I never thought you were allowed. I have no problem with it, I may consider entering a few of my acts next year. Why not???

Enjoyed both your act and lecture Eric. Thanks for coming.

Eric,

It was great to see another magician from VIRGINIA at Magi-fest. Nice finally watching you work and show your smooth skills. Hope to hang with you again in the future my magic friend.

Joseph Young

Of course I'm not suggesting the producers of the show did this on purpose but, he was also on the Saturday night "All Stars" show. He should have been dropped .. although, many were waiting in anticipation to see what would happen next.

I too am a connoisseur of "bad magic" and yes, we can learn from these bad examples. The performer in question brings it to a new low .. I'll call it "sad magic."

As far as being under the influence, many performance contracts strictly state that no alcohol or drugs will be allowed backstage and the performer shall not be under the influence of any substance. This is standard these day .. and it's a sad situation. I on the other hand don't drink, don't smoke and stay clear of any drugs. I want to be aware of all my senses .. especially on stage.

Steve

Missed seeing you there, Bob! I had a blast but it would have been even more fun if you and your lovely wife could've attended.

Hope to see you again sometime.

OK, I want to respond to a few replies that I have received since making my post…

One. I agree with everything Chezaday is saying. He is right on the money. There should be a zero tolerance for being unprepared or drunk on stage. This is not the first time I have witnessed this at a magic convention…and it always seems everyone wants to make excuses for the performer. This is why magic has a bad name.

And…as Chezaday stated…he should have been pulled from the Saturday night show…there is simply no excuse. So, what I and everybody there learned is that…hey, fail to perform, come drunk, unprepared…no bother..you can still be rewarded…if you know the right people and you’re in the “in” crowd.

Second…

I have been told that, I just don’t get Daniel Garcia. WHAT!!!
Maybe…I just don’t get why dropping F bombs and cussing in front of children is cool…This was a family audience. He can’t see that..or maybe..As it has been suggested that we just don’t get how cool he is. His attitude in the lobby after this disgusting and insulting performance was no better. I know of at least one convention organizer who immediately scratched him off his list of possible attendees.

More surprising to me is how many people rush to make excuses for him. If a performer cannot understand when language needs to be roped in and when it is not appropriate to use explicative’s, then he should not be hired in any venue.

MagicJG, I was surprised by your comments it sounds to me like, well it didn’t offend me and since the convention was unclear what blue material is… I guess Daniel gets a bye. In the real world…if you were to use that language in front of a family audience you would never be hired back and in some instances would not even be paid. I just don’t understand why magicians seem to condone this kind of abuse to an audience…!!!!

Help me understand.