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billappleton Inner circle Los Gatos, California 1154 Posts |
I'm just back from International Magic Experience (IMX) 2012 Convention in Las Vegas and decided to write up my impressions of the show and report back on some of the hot new products and great things that I saw there.
First, IMX was very well organized. You could set up your schedule on-line and print out an itinerary. Upon arriving at the Orleans Hotel in Las Vegas, the conference was in the upstairs convention area, and you received a show bag that included everything you need including upfront tickets to the various stage shows and competitions over the next three days. Attendance was very good but never so heavy that you could not really interact with the great magicians that were there presenting lectures and conducting workshops. On the first day, we saw Lennart Green conduct has highly chaotic but then somehow miraculously brilliant card work. He explained a few of his routines and they were actually easy to do and had interesting mathematical foundations. We broke for lunch and ran into Jeff McBride at the restaurant and spent a few minutes talking with him. Turns out Jeff was there for the big stage show that afternoon. The show was MC'd by Brynolf & Ljung who performed some great magic between acts. Piff the Magic Dragon from England performed a very funny signed card to can of dog food, followed by mind reading feats from The Evasons, juggler Charles Peachock and the wonderful Bill Abbott. My favorite however was Jeff McBride, who did some insanely great card manipulations including scaling cards into the upper balcony and skipping them off the stage. Jeff did an interactive Miser's Dream routine with a young audience member that was very funny. The conference had a nice dealers expo, and we definitely spent some time there. Vendors included MagicSmith, Daytona Magic, Losander, Ellusionist, Auke van Dokkum, Genii Magazine, Cellini, Joe Mogar, Paper Crane, Magic Magazine, ProMystic, Paul Harris, Rings & Things, Subdivided Studios, Wizards Inn, and Wack-O-Magic. I enjoyed getting to meet Donnie Buckley in person, Rings & Things had a beautiful array of products including their new gold plated cups. Michael Mosher and Walt Anthony were there with Wack-O-Magic introducing the Necromancer's Grymoire. I was not fully aware of what could be accomplished with the ProMystic products, they have some mind blowing capabilities. The next day of the conference, we saw Gregory Wilson in the morning. You are probably familiar with Exact Change, Pointless, and some of his other walk around miracles. He showed a new routine with a poker chip that magically ends up on the spectators shoulder, and a new effect with a borrowed ring called Bandwidth that is a real visual stunner, definitely watch out for that one. After lunch we spent and hour and a half with the incredible Eric Jones who conducted a very interactive presentation on an un-gimmicked three fly coin routine found on his Mirage Et Trois DVD. He demonstrated a sequence where a coin visually vanishes from the fingertips of one hand and appears at the elbow, only to vanish from the fingertips again and appear at the other elbow. Seeing Eric do this in person looked like real magic! That evening Jeff McBride spent an hour and a half on the small stage and demonstrated many great effects including his card handling style, Butterfly Blizzard, Kundalini Rising, and some very funny gags with a mouth squeaker. But my favorite part was his handling of the Benson Bowl routine which included a period mask and squeaker. I picked up a half dozen valuable tips during his performance and afterwards as he explained his handling of this classic. On the final day of the show we spent an hour or two with Pete Biro who is a frequent Café poster, so it was great to meet Pete in person. His lecture included many valuable enhancements to classic tricks along with funny gags and great stories. But what caught my attention was his latest handling for Nutty Surprise where three walnuts travel to a glass. This routine has been polished to the point of perfection, if you haven't seen this go find out what I am talking about. We ran into the Magic Café's own Steve Brooks back in the dealer’s room. We both live in the Bay Area and used to program Video Games back in the good old days, so we had plenty to talk about. After lunch we attended a lecture by Dani DaOrtiz. I had heard lots of buzz about this internationally famous card magician from Spain, but nothing had prepared me for the breathtaking demonstration of psychological insight and technique that followed. Surrounded by magicians, he presented one room crushing miracle after another, explaining roughly half of the effects later on in his lecture. His final trick Triple Intuition had three spectators choose three cards, lose them in their own deck, and then find the cards themselves by intuition. Seeing this live from Dani felt like being hit by a bus. I didn't get to see all of the closing show because we had a plane to catch, but there was time to assist Eric Jones on stage while he performed some coin miracles and his excellent new card transposition Twizted. All in all I can give IMX a great recommendation. I had a fun time, met some wonderful magicians, and learned enough new material to keep me busy for the rest of the summer! |
NYCJoePitt Special user 558 Posts |
What a great review! This was my second IMX and I was also pleased overall. Highlights for me where Dani Daortiz, Raymond Crowe, and Gregory Wilson. I was a bit disappointed in the dealer's room with no real book or DVD rep there, you just had to make do. it also seemed that the dealers who were there only brought the very newest items to sell as opposed to a cross section of the most popular items. I had planned to pick up several items that were just not available.
I enjoyed the young magicians stage and close-up competition and got an opportunity to see some wonderfully creative minds at work. However there were times when the music was painfully loud in the main auditorium. I complained to the ushers, but they were clueless. I ended up leaving one of the shows early because it was too painful to sit through. Whatever, I'll be back for 2013. It's a great conference. |
Pete Biro 1933 - 2018 18558 Posts |
I just got home and am still unpacking. I had a great time and now to sort out the thousand or so photos I shot. I had a great time doing my lecture and sold almost all of my stuff... THANKS TO ALL... First buyer of my Nutty Surprise was DOC EASON. I can't wait to see how he does it. Running out of my supply of The Real Secrets of the Chinese Linking Rings.
STAY TOONED... @ www.pete-biro.com
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rockwall Special user 762 Posts |
I also had a great time. For me, this was my first IMX and I also had attended my first Magic LIVE last summer. My impression was that IMX was kind of a mini-Magic LIVE. A much smaller dealer room and much smaller crowds but fabulous shows and I felt the lectures were every bit as good as at Magic LIVE. The highlight for me was Dani's lecture which got a standing ovation. Actually, both his close up show AND his lecture got standing ovations. Dani is a god!
The opening day show and the closing evening show were both fantastic and I left feeling as though I had been privileged to see some of the best magic available in the world today. Although the dealers room was small, I still managed to spend a good amount of money on some great stuff that I'm looking forward to playing with. Shoot Ogawa had his own booth and was extremely pleasant to speak with and so gracious and willing to demonstrate anything you wanted to see. He performed his coin matrix, reverse matrix and then a one handed matrix to finish it off that all looked like real magic. I was disappointed to miss a few lectures I would have really liked to see but that's the nature of the beast. Because of the good selection of lectures, you just can't fit them all in. |
Pete Biro 1933 - 2018 18558 Posts |
I had never seen that many performers from so many different countries. It was truly an International Magic Xperience.
STAY TOONED... @ www.pete-biro.com
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rockwall Special user 762 Posts |
It's true, there were performers from a very large number of countries, which was great. But ... I must say, Sweden seemed to be particularly well represented by professional, (and wonderful) performers. It seems that Sweden may be experiencing a bit of a renaissance in magic!
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billappleton Inner circle Los Gatos, California 1154 Posts |
Hi Pete, let us know where the picture are, if they become available. I especially want one of yours truly assisting Eric Jones from the last day close up show...
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Pete Biro 1933 - 2018 18558 Posts |
Photos are posted on the IMX Facebook page.
STAY TOONED... @ www.pete-biro.com
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