The Adequate Blog

(First off - yes there was a partial post up here earlier today. Seem I ran afoul of the “Post Date your Blog Entries and they Go Out Automatically” thing. Wups. There’ll be a full post on that later.)

From one of my other pages , this question:

I like that you really know what these books are about and can give a personal recommendation. What are some of your favorite tricks?

Every magician has “pet tricks” - effects and routines that they love, even if they don’t perform them. I have… a few of ‘em myself…

• Whit Haydn’s “Mongolian Pop Knot” - This is a staple of my show, and has been for, wow, about five years now… “Pop” Haydn created a slick bit of entertainment here. I’d like to think I’ve made some small, subtle changes to make the routine more than a carbon copy of Ol’ “Pop” here because, let’s face it, Tobias isn’t as slick as Professor Haydn by any stretch of the imagination. And yes, “Pop” Haydn is one of my heroes.
• Harry Anderson’s Marked Cards - This is a marketed trick now, but the first time I saw him do it was waaaay back in the 80’s… and he only used four cards. A Five, an Ace, a King and an Eight. And when he displayed the markings on the back… F - A - K - E … that’s what convinced me this was brilliant. By the way, if anyone *has* footage of Harry doing this bit, I’d love to see it again. It’s much slicker, in my mind, than the marketed trick.
• The Cups and Balls - This is, quite literally, the “oldest trick in the book” - what was once a way to separate the gullible from their cash has become a staple in “the biz”, and for my money, Gazzo still does one of the best Cups and Balls routines out there - not just for the technical “chops” he displays, but for the way he manages the crowd, and how the act builds and builds until… well… the melon. You’ll see.
  To be fair, though, Penn & Teller’s Cups and Balls (”The bit that got us kicked out of the Magic Castle”) is also pretty darn brilliant… but that leads me to
• Penn & Teller’s “Principles of Magic” routine . - From a purely theatrical perspective, and from a purely “messing with people’s head” perspective, this is my favoritest bit of all. And the reason for that favortesting (not even a word but I’ll use it!) is this: Once Teller does the “routine”, and Penn “explains” the routine, and Teller “does” the routine again… the audience can appreciate it. Not because of the secrets involved, but because of how it’s done… and how it’s presented… Magicians squawk about “exposure” a lot, but “exposure” shouldn’t ruin the enjoyment of good magic. And this bit… this bit is my proof.

What about you folks? Got something you dig the most that I didn’t mention? Tell me about it - and keep asking questions. I’ll keep answering them!