1. Danny Cole
Magic Castle magician of the year
Quick change, and cd manipulation. Started slowly with some odd pauses, but got better as it went along.
Stu: 7 Geoff: 7 Matt: 6 Max: 7 Gordie: 7
2. Charlie Frye & Co.
The awesomeness
Amazing as always, he makes the impossible look easy. He must practice 24 hours a day.
Stu: 10 Geoff: 10 Matt: 9 Max: 9 Gordie: 9
3. Dirk Losander
Uplifting magic
Dancing cane, bubbles, floating table.
Stu: 6 Geoff: 7 Matt: 6 Max: 5 Gordie: 8
4. Andost
Championship winner
Quite a nice act with manipulation, very nice use of lights and well synchronised to music.
Stu: 7 Geoff: 6 Matt: 5 Max: 4 Gordie: 7
5. Chris Hart
Simply a stage hand
An act of two halves, one good, one not so. It started with a ribbon routine and some card manips. The torn and restored music sheet set to music was great. The second half was a zombie routine using a hand, went on a little long for me.
Stu: 6 Geoff: 6 Matt: 5 Max: 5 Gordie: 6
6. The Evasons
Mentalists & Magic
Impressive but far too long. Old fashioned mind reading act.
Stu: 5 Geoff: 5 Matt: 4 Max: 7 Gordie: 8
7. Richard Forget
Canadian magician of the year
Nice act featuring manipulation with drum sticks and more, finally producing a drum kit and a lady.
Stu: 6 Geoff: 7 Matt: 8 Max: 8 Gordie: 7
8. Jason Latimer
As seen on TV
First he performed his superb cups and balls routine.
Jason then performed the water act as featured on the BBCs The Magicians, he also got George Samson to help out again.
Stu: 7 Geoff: 7 Matt: 7 Max: 10 Gordie: 8
An additional act for the evening was yesterday's star Kim Tae Won, I'm now not sure why I only gave him a 9 yesterday, or was it the extra 24 hours practice added an extra point :) 10/10 tonight. This gent will tour the world with this act, superb.
Compare was Jimmy Tamley a good good and funny vent. Although they do seem to be the same gags as last year.
Saturday 18 February 2012
Jason Latimer Lecture
Jason is one of my favourite magicians magician! I remember one of the first things I saw on YouTube when I decided magic was my future it was Jason's award winning FISM acts... And wow I knew what the best now was and like all magicians we should all try to perform at our best stuff in a new and innovative way!
Jason started his lecture by showing a video of an illusion he created for Buick an illusion where 12 smoke machines. The video showed all the steps he used in the planning process to make the car appear!
Next up was another video, this time of Jason and George Sampson on The Magicians. Jason made 5 volunteers, sat them down on a moving truck and managed to teleport them to the moving truck 10 meters in front!
Jason then took numerous questions from the audience!
Overall a good lecture, it's good to have lectures that about planning magic and ideas rather than just full of tricks! However a couple of tricks would have gone down well!
Rating: 8/10
- Matt
Jason started his lecture by showing a video of an illusion he created for Buick an illusion where 12 smoke machines. The video showed all the steps he used in the planning process to make the car appear!
Next up was another video, this time of Jason and George Sampson on The Magicians. Jason made 5 volunteers, sat them down on a moving truck and managed to teleport them to the moving truck 10 meters in front!
Jason then took numerous questions from the audience!
Overall a good lecture, it's good to have lectures that about planning magic and ideas rather than just full of tricks! However a couple of tricks would have gone down well!
Rating: 8/10
- Matt
International Close Up Session 2 & The Wayne Dobson & Friends Show
International Close Up Session 2 - Reported by Geoff
The show was compared by Steve Evans in a proper manner giving all the performers star treatment introductions and not trying to steal the show for himself and not trying to steal the show for himself.
Chad long was first up a personal favourite of ours, smart tricks, great patter and one liners, he used coins, chewing gum, a great gag with a bag of junk, 4 ace sequences absolutely brilliant start to the show.
Andy Nyman: Clever presentations of his signature effects, lots of assistants participating in his act, good stuff.
Ponta the smith: All done in silence to music, he started with novel coin in glass routine, 4 ace effect followed by matrix, ring on a string was his next offering, and more coin effects, coins across, etc.
Ian Barradell: Of Tenyo fame, a 3 card effect to begin with, in penetration mode, ring on a rope, card locations, very dramatic and entertaining, first class diary trick, and card to wallet with a novel storyline. This guy is going places.
Unfortunately David Roth did not appear, surprise surprise Greg Wilson, stepped off the plane and was with us within an hour and a half. He opened with fancy stuff with cards, great card locations, typically Greg, quick sure fire mysterious, fork and spoon game, Greg plays with audience and the kicker is a production of a knife. He finished his act with the Rubiks cube, really effective trick, brilliant! At the end of the routine he presented the cube as a gift to one of his helpers!
Video review of Wayne Dobson & Friends:
The show was compared by Steve Evans in a proper manner giving all the performers star treatment introductions and not trying to steal the show for himself and not trying to steal the show for himself.
Chad long was first up a personal favourite of ours, smart tricks, great patter and one liners, he used coins, chewing gum, a great gag with a bag of junk, 4 ace sequences absolutely brilliant start to the show.
Andy Nyman: Clever presentations of his signature effects, lots of assistants participating in his act, good stuff.
Ponta the smith: All done in silence to music, he started with novel coin in glass routine, 4 ace effect followed by matrix, ring on a string was his next offering, and more coin effects, coins across, etc.
Ian Barradell: Of Tenyo fame, a 3 card effect to begin with, in penetration mode, ring on a rope, card locations, very dramatic and entertaining, first class diary trick, and card to wallet with a novel storyline. This guy is going places.
Unfortunately David Roth did not appear, surprise surprise Greg Wilson, stepped off the plane and was with us within an hour and a half. He opened with fancy stuff with cards, great card locations, typically Greg, quick sure fire mysterious, fork and spoon game, Greg plays with audience and the kicker is a production of a knife. He finished his act with the Rubiks cube, really effective trick, brilliant! At the end of the routine he presented the cube as a gift to one of his helpers!
Video review of Wayne Dobson & Friends:
Andy Nyman Lecture
The Hidden:
Can you cut to 12 cards Andy Nyman can, (apparently).
Andy borrowed 3 items from spectators a coin, watch and wallet.
He asked for the spectators to cut 12 cards from the top of the deck.
Each of the spectators cut to the card saying coin, watch and wallet, the rest of the cards were blank! A simple but effective and strong trick!
Andy then got 9 spectators on stage (one of which had a birthday today) and gave each of them an envelope with a number in. These related to 9 gift bags with prizes! Surprise surprise Jerome the birthday boy got the main teddy bear prize!
A pile of cards, with words on was then brought to the table! 2 spectators pick a card from the pile. Andy then on a pad writes down what he think the first card is, boom he is correct, brings out a dictionary and claims to know what page number the selected word is on. For the second selected card Andy writes down what he thinks the word is... But then when he turns the pad over it reveals a number, this number then actually relates to the dictionary when the select card/word warlock is.
Andy asks quick fire questions to a spectator... Like the what you put in a toaster... Toast questions. He then asks a spectator to quickly point to one and it is the only red card in the deck. Rough and smooth!
Boo or Go Crazy:
A lady is asked to think of a number from a card in a deck. To point to someone else, have a colour selected, to point to someone else, have suite selected. In this case the 10 of diamonds. The only one to have Go Crazy on the back, the rest have Boo! And boo would of known it! The 10 of diamonds was the "only" card with Go Crazy on the back.
An interesting lecture to watch, however I thought all of the effects were a bit basic I would have liked something a bit more advanced.
7/10 - Matt
Can you cut to 12 cards Andy Nyman can, (apparently).
Andy borrowed 3 items from spectators a coin, watch and wallet.
He asked for the spectators to cut 12 cards from the top of the deck.
Each of the spectators cut to the card saying coin, watch and wallet, the rest of the cards were blank! A simple but effective and strong trick!
Andy then got 9 spectators on stage (one of which had a birthday today) and gave each of them an envelope with a number in. These related to 9 gift bags with prizes! Surprise surprise Jerome the birthday boy got the main teddy bear prize!
A pile of cards, with words on was then brought to the table! 2 spectators pick a card from the pile. Andy then on a pad writes down what he think the first card is, boom he is correct, brings out a dictionary and claims to know what page number the selected word is on. For the second selected card Andy writes down what he thinks the word is... But then when he turns the pad over it reveals a number, this number then actually relates to the dictionary when the select card/word warlock is.
Andy asks quick fire questions to a spectator... Like the what you put in a toaster... Toast questions. He then asks a spectator to quickly point to one and it is the only red card in the deck. Rough and smooth!
Boo or Go Crazy:
A lady is asked to think of a number from a card in a deck. To point to someone else, have a colour selected, to point to someone else, have suite selected. In this case the 10 of diamonds. The only one to have Go Crazy on the back, the rest have Boo! And boo would of known it! The 10 of diamonds was the "only" card with Go Crazy on the back.
An interesting lecture to watch, however I thought all of the effects were a bit basic I would have liked something a bit more advanced.
7/10 - Matt
Michael Weber Lecture
The lecture started of with a really clean vanishing rubber band that appeared on a spectators seat. He just rubbed the band and it was gone. Visual!
He then did a super clean handling of acaan with a borrowed deck from the crowd. WOW
Michael then performed a great ring on stick, were a borrowed ring penetrated onto a metal stick multiple times. He also did a nice gag were he snapped the stone of the band and put it back on.
Next Michael taught us an ingenious deck stack system which was so quick to learn. Everyone learnt the stack in just a few mins.
Michael then shared a nice idea about making a deck look sealed, so you set up the deck previously and give the illusion of opening a new deck.
Onto the next trick which was called "Dealing with lifes little troubles", which was a concept about the little annoying things that happen in everyday life and how as magicians we have an advantage and using magic we can fix them.
Overall I thought the lecture was full of great information and inspiring tricks.
7/10
- Max Curd (Brighton Magician)
The UK Childrens Entertainers National Championships & Charlie Frye Lecture
Gordon reviews: The UK Childrens Entertainers National Championships.
Virrvarr: A silent act with a very slow start, the best part was when a spectator threw a ball back and threw it straight into the basket! Many silks and ended with umbrellas. 5/10.
Craig Petty: With 2 helpers. 3 stage illusions. 6/10.
David Ginn: A lot effects with silks and streamers, a notable one where he was miss calling the colours with 2 young helpers. 7/10.
Andy Clockwise: A very confident and polished performance. He performed 2 magic effects, and then some puppet work. 8/10.
Mr Wand: His puppet was Cheeko the Chicken, he needs his own material. 6/10.
Stu Di Doo: With a very funny routine with a monkey puppet called Cheeko. 7/10.
Compared superbly by Terry Herbert.
Charlie Frye
We've seen Charlie on a number of occasions! Go if you have never seen him!
Also if you catch him in the bar/Ruskin ask to see his any card at any number! It's excellent!
Matt
Stu's review...
Although I have seen Charlie's lecture a couple of times over the years it's still something of awe and wonder that can't be missed. The man is so talented it inspires me everything I see him perform. Here's a rough list of what he performed.
thumbtip card balance, billard balls, glue gag, daemon shrimp, nail file, coins, karate coin, idiot savant, coin to eye, coins across, vanishing coin, folding coin in thumbtip, vanishing finger, balloon gag, vanishing comb, missing (Alan Wong), linking bands, circle fan, air pass, 8 ball juggling and plate juggling.
Virrvarr: A silent act with a very slow start, the best part was when a spectator threw a ball back and threw it straight into the basket! Many silks and ended with umbrellas. 5/10.
Craig Petty: With 2 helpers. 3 stage illusions. 6/10.
David Ginn: A lot effects with silks and streamers, a notable one where he was miss calling the colours with 2 young helpers. 7/10.
Andy Clockwise: A very confident and polished performance. He performed 2 magic effects, and then some puppet work. 8/10.
Mr Wand: His puppet was Cheeko the Chicken, he needs his own material. 6/10.
Stu Di Doo: With a very funny routine with a monkey puppet called Cheeko. 7/10.
Compared superbly by Terry Herbert.
Charlie Frye
We've seen Charlie on a number of occasions! Go if you have never seen him!
Also if you catch him in the bar/Ruskin ask to see his any card at any number! It's excellent!
Matt
Stu's review...
Although I have seen Charlie's lecture a couple of times over the years it's still something of awe and wonder that can't be missed. The man is so talented it inspires me everything I see him perform. Here's a rough list of what he performed.
thumbtip card balance, billard balls, glue gag, daemon shrimp, nail file, coins, karate coin, idiot savant, coin to eye, coins across, vanishing coin, folding coin in thumbtip, vanishing finger, balloon gag, vanishing comb, missing (Alan Wong), linking bands, circle fan, air pass, 8 ball juggling and plate juggling.
Danny Cole Lecture
Geoff is currently getting the action from this one...
Review to follow!
Stage magician of the year twice at the magic castle.
Coat hanger illusion a la the linking rings.
Coin trick went wrong to start with no spare gimmicks.
Interesting card trick next up, card to pocket and a transposition. Clever explanation.
Original and magical was his theme throughout danny's lecture and very informative: a lot of time spent talking theory how to develop a trick.
Can you show me a trick?
Was his next trick. Which he demonstrated. He then showed us a miniature mirror for card location. His sales pitch came next, a very pleasant man with a lot of charisma and personality looking forward to his stage show.
Review to follow!
Stage magician of the year twice at the magic castle.
Coat hanger illusion a la the linking rings.
Coin trick went wrong to start with no spare gimmicks.
Interesting card trick next up, card to pocket and a transposition. Clever explanation.
Original and magical was his theme throughout danny's lecture and very informative: a lot of time spent talking theory how to develop a trick.
Can you show me a trick?
Was his next trick. Which he demonstrated. He then showed us a miniature mirror for card location. His sales pitch came next, a very pleasant man with a lot of charisma and personality looking forward to his stage show.
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