358: Mat Franco - Magic Reinvented Nightly

Winner of Season 9 of "America's Got Talent [sic]" (AGT). Mat Franco has a successful show on the Las Vegas Strip for the past year and a half in the newly remodeled Linq Casino and Hotel, which was the former Imperial Palace. His show is unlike any other on the Strip and pulls from many of the popular tricks he performed on AGT. The name of his show "Magic Reinvented Nightly" is the perfect title because, without giving away any surprises, every show is different but...oh, darn it, I really can't say any more. But I do recommend the show. It is done with pure skill and personality. The focus is not on the props, dancers or music but focused on the performer himself. And he is riding high on the success of his TV appearances. I know that his show will have "legs" and should remain popular for many years to come.

Time stamps for this podcast:

00:04:50 - Mat Franco talks a lot about his experience on America's Got Talent [sic] television show. He obviously had a completely different experience than all the other magicians who preceded him. We also chat about his new show at the Linq Hotel and Casino (which is owned by Caesar's). He also tells about his years performing on the college circuit, his early inspirations, trick selection, timing, nervousness, developing his character, bad decisions along the way, creating his vision of the show, and more.

01:12:46 - Product review of "Matrix Pad Reloaded" by Richard Griffin. Effect: a Post-It notepad is shown. Four spots are drawn in each corner of the pad with a Sharpie. One by one with a rub of the finger, the spots visibly assemble to one corner. The top sheet can be peeled off and given to a spectator. Highly recommended.

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357: Timo Marc - An Unexpected Visitor

Timo Marc is an award winning magician from a small town near Stuttgart, Germany. He happened to be in Las Vegas overlapping my visit there. We tried all week to get together and due to conflicting schedules and his short bout with the flu, we nearly missed each other. But on the last night of my stay, we met up at the Orleans hotel and recorded this delightful chat.

Timo is a winner of the Monte Carlo Grand Prix plus recipient of the Siegfried and Roy "SARMOTI" Award, too. He travels the world with his "shadow act" but often stays in Germany where he is a frequent performer in a the local city theatre.

In this podcast, Timo Marc talks about the German equivalent of "America's Got Talent [sic]" TV show and why it isn't good for professional nor amateur in Germany. He also talks about developing his stage act, performing in FISM contests, working in Macau with Franz Harary, meeting his "heroes" like Rudy Coby, and his long-standing friendship with Christian and Katalina Painter.

349: Nathan Burton - The Other "Burton" in Town

With Lance Burton closing the doors on his show at the Monte Carlo Casino in 2010 , that left Nathan Burton as the only person on "The Strip" with the same last name (though no relation). Nathan Burton has been headlining on "The Las Vegas Strip" since 2006 and continues today in his theater in the Miracle Mile Shops (the old "Steve Wyrick Theater") attached to Planet Hollywood. A fast action illusion show, his performance is perfect for families who visit Las Vegas but still has plenty of glitz and showgirls for adults.

Featuring all the elements of a big stage magic show, combined with the Vegas production show feel, Nathan Burton: Comedy Magic is one of the biggest magic shows on the Strip. This magic show is perfect for all ages and features some of the most outrageous illusions you will ever see.

In this podcast, Nathan talks about developing his show, performing in Las Vegas and television and on the road, plus how he deals with pre-show jitters. This abbreviated chat was cut a little short due to it being Valentine's Day and his date with his wife, so he had to cut our early.

00:04:15 - Nathan talks about working in Las Vegas

00:20:26 - Eric Citron from The Great American Magic Company talks about new products just released including "Mr. Golden Balls", "Bang On 2.0", and "Insta-Change".

00:25:31 - Nathan returns to talk about magic conventions, his early act, trick selection, creativity and handling "Jitters" before the show.

00: 42:02 - Product Review - "Decisions" by Alakazam U.K. and Mozique - high recommendation

00:45:23 - Product Review - "Sherlock'oin" by Thomas Riboulet and Anthony Stan - high recommendation

00:51:43 - Product Review - "Silk to Chocolate" by Sean Yang - recommended

00:54:20 - Product Review - "Opus" by Nefisch - recommended