I know what you're thinking. The answer is yes...sometimes.
The tenth annual MINDvention in Las Vegas is underway. Co-sponsored by Danny Archer and Robert Allen, this event is always intimate (around 100 attendees) and always chock full of information shared among the top mindreaders in the world. This year was no exception with attendees from a dozen countries with the largest out-of-the-U.S. contingency from Israel with about a dozen people.
The opening event was the Attendee Show that kind of turned into a dealer show, but there were some nice effects in there. The afternoon lecture by Thomas Heine & Rainer Mees (from Germany) had a few technical problems but it didn't prohibit them from giving some great advice on some solid routines. They came back later in the evening for a lecture on Theory and Presentation, both very important in mentalism.
Paul Draper hosted a panel discussion on "Magic in Mentallism" with Joe Atmore and Paul Vigil. It was a lively discussion with some interesting, if not somewhat heated exchanges, during the Q&A portion with the audience. Apparently not everyone agrees with everything and/or everyone's opinion. Michael Weber packed the house including some local magicians who came to learn some incredible and creative presentations.
The time stamps for this podcast are as follows:
00:00:00 - Excitement builds as I depart Houston for Las Vegas.
00:01:55 - I ran into Bob Cassidy (Guest of Honor at this year's MINDvention) at the airport so we chatted about a lot of stuff. Bob went off into many nooks and crannies on mentalism including his new book which is being premiered today. I'm glad I had my recorder on to catch all of this one.
00:17:23 - Danny Archer and Robert Allen talk about some of the people who are attending this year's convention and some of the surprises in store for this year.
00:24:15 - Bill Gladwell is headlining his own show called "Headcase" at the Iris Theater in Gatlinburg, Tennessee and bringing in big crowds. TripAdvisor.com lists his show as tops in the area. Be sure to see his show if your travel plans include Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg. More information at: http://www.iristheater.com/bill-gladwell.html
00:29:24 - Banachek talks about shooting their last episode of this season's Criss Angel's TV show on Spike TV. He also talks about Criss's upcoming surgery and those who will be filling in for him for a few weeks. He also talks about some of the upcoming traveling shows he is involved with in addition to a possible second season for Criss on Spike TV. We talked about his passionate dislike for "magicians" who are exposing magic. We chatted about Banachek's Magicians' Pledge which is posted below. Many clubs should post this on their websites and require all members swear to uphold the pledge.
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