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Posted May 8, 2008
Just watched the third night of "Magicians Week" on Letterman, this one was Dirk Arthur. He actually came across semi-alright, but certainly didn't score the home runs that the two previous magicians had done before him.
Letterman has a sort of love-hate relationship w3ith magicians, and he is so very unpredictable, one never knows if he will be accommodating and kind or less than cordial or even mean spirited.
He sometimes shows his disdain for the phony magic characters and their obvious props, and other times he will appear genuinely entertained by a simple trick.
SO, his introduction of Magicians Week is a bit sarcastic, although he likes magic and enjoys a good performance, he also enjoys poking fun at them.
The week kicked off with Lance Burton, who looked terrific, if somewhat tentative at first. He performed his version of the "backstage" illusion, and did a fine job of pulling it off.
Next up was Mac King, who did his signature gold fish from the mouth trick. The audience loved it and so did Dave. He ended with his vanishing head in the paper bag bit, and it's so easy to see why he continues to draw crowds to his afternoon shows, he is a master of audience management and comedy.
Dirk Arthur started with a shaky bit where he rolls up a plastic sheet into a tube. Took him 3 attempts to finally get it right, and then when he reached inside of it, had obvious trouble unlocking the chamber where the birds were hidden. Anyone who saw his act knows what I am talking about, so don't jump up and down and say that I am revealing a magic secret. Dirk revealed it on National TV, his face clearly contorted into an unmistakable "oh crap" expression. He fidgeted and pulled, then finally the birds were free.
He did a sloppy steal of the final load, then pulled the duck out from the now much-larger tube.
Then it was into the "Where Do the Ducks Go" routine, with the familiar bucket (I could easily see the mirror inside, and from the looks on some of the audience members, I wasn't the only one.
I have seen this routine many times, by many great magicians. I even used to do it until I go sick of the duck biting me. I must say, Dirk's execution is not very good, he telegraphs the hiding place of the duck, and if you don't believe me, watch the replay and you will hear only polite applause, and most of that is for the audience member.
Then it's was on to the tiger appearance, at the far back of the very dark stage, how many are really fooled by this? Then it was the tip over trunk, and the vanish of the tiger, again in nearly total darkness, it was obvious the tiger didn't go anywhere.
Open the tip over trunk, and pull the tiger out of the box. The tiger climbed out and it was clear he was spooked, and he decided he wasn't sticking around, so he headed to the wings, dragging Dirk along, who had that pained fake smile that was supposed to hide the fear he was feeling.
He quickly ran back out and smiled uneasily as he wondered if the tiger was chomping on someone offstage.
It was all pretty amusing.
Tonight it's the legend in his own mind Steve Wyrick. Can't wait to see this one.
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Posted May 5, 2008
In the magic on TV department: It's "MAGIC WEEK" on the David Letterman show, with a different magician booked on each day of the week. Starting with Lance Burton, then Mac King, both of whom should score really well and represent Vegas magic proudly....the show goes downhill from there, with Dirk Arthur and Steve Wyrick scheduled at the end of the week. That should pretty much kill off any chances of other magicians on the late night show for years.
Not really magic, but went to see Bill Medley, the surviving Righteous Brother, and through a magic illusion, he actually sang with his late partner at one point, and did a duet with his own daughter, McKenna Medley, who was nowhere to be seen, aside from on this giant screen that seemed to float over Bill's head. I checked, she was in Branson, not hiding somewhere backstage.
Happy to report Bill still has that unbelievable voice, sang all his hits and then some, and told many wonderful stories and jokes, joined onstage by his son, Darrin, who just happens to be the lead singer of Paul Revere & the Raiders, which sort of explains the nature of this otherwise unusual pairing of 2 diverse acts.
Works out perfectly. First, the true madman of rock, Paul Revere himself, blasts through the hits with the Raiders, 3 of whom have been with him almost since the very beginning. Their show is full of wild moments, huge laughs, lots of great familiar music and just a lot of really great rock and roll.
Then, after a brief changeover, a giant screen appears above the stage and the Righteous Brothers career and highlights beam overhead, culminating with the big man himself, Bill Medley onstage, singing one of his hits. As the lights gradually go up, you see that the Raiders, now dressed in less flashy all-black, are the backup band for Bill.
A magical night, and not a card trick in sight.
My Merlin Award
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Posted March 31, 2008
THE MERLIN AWARDS
I was recently honored by the International Magicians Society, which we all know, is the world's largest magic organization.
The founder and president, Tony Hassini (pictured below in my office) made the surprise visit to my home to break the news to me. I was given a Merlin, the magic world's Oscar, for 2008 Close-up Magician of the Year.
 The thing weighs over 50 pounds, looks like real gold although I know its not, but a shining, Oscar looking metal thing that will be going into the trophy case (shoe box) in my office.
I'm told it will be officially be presented to me at some event in the future, so I will save my acceptance speech for that. I do want to thank Mr. Hassini and the board of governors of the IMS for this very much appreciated award, It is given out by my peers, making it extra special to me. Previous Merlin awards include Criss Angel, David Copperfield and Siegfried & Roy.
Surely this must mean that I will now start to be offered the really good jobs, both here in in other cities. Already, I have since been offered a very lucrative contract for appearances in Cleveland that we are now considering, so I know things are definitely heading to new heights. I'll keep you informed.
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 THE
AMAZING BALLANTINE SOUVENIR DVD
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