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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235: FISM Italy - Day Four

It may have been a little overcast outside, but the weather and the magic was perfect in the convention center. After viewing the stage competition from 8:30 to 12:30, I got to walk around the dealers a bit more, chat with friends, and attend a couple lectures. And of course, it was Thursday which meant magic and Martinis in the evening with friends at the bar.

After watching Luke Jermay's one man show, was the evening gala featuring: Cyril Takayama and Eun Gyeol Lee as co-MC's with Mike Chao, Topas, David Kaplan, Tony Frebourg, Alberto Giorgi, Rob Zabrecky, Sos & Victoria and Samuel.

Time stamps for this podcast:

00:01:10 - Reuben Moreland

00:06:39 - Michael Perovich

00:11:23 - Rainer Pfeiffer and Martin Eisele

00:18:18 - David Kaplan

00:34:34 - Will Houstoun

00:42:43 - Bill Herz

00:57:14 - Phil Cass and Philippa

Download this podcast in an MP3 file by Clicking Here and then right click to save the file. You can also subscribe to the RSS feed by Clicking Here. You can download or listen to the podcast through Stitcher by Clicking Here or through FeedPress by Clicking Here or through Tunein.com by Clicking Here. Remember, you can download it through the iTunes store, too. See the preview page by Clicking Here.

148: Day 2 - East Coast Mind Jam 2014

The second day of the East Coast Mind Jam had the "Mind-Jammers" gathered to see and hear a lot of amazing stuff. The lectures were longer than most time allotted at other conventions. And with the lower number of attendees (about 75 people), everyone had quality time with all the performers and lecturers.

Patrick Redford (George Tait) was up first in the morning following breakfast. Next was Devin Knight, then Jim Sisti (on marketing). Richard Osterlind held court for nearly two hours with an SRO audience. That only left an hour with Ted Karmilovich to give some really wonderful ideas in his lecture.

Scott Wells hosted the evening show with a lot of original introductions that will only be seen once. The bill included Devin Knight, Ted Karmilovich, Joe Atmore (who recreated The Amazing Dunninger's old time radio show) and closing the first half with Patrick Redford (George Tait). The second half was a real treat with Richard Osterlind presenting his one man, hour long corporate show to the audience that included many from the public who came in for the evening show.

The hotel had a private party in the bar, so the festivities closed rather early tonight even though there was a cash bar outside the dealers room until the "late" hour of 11:30.

Time stamps for this podcast:

00:00:00 - Ben Salinas is a card and coin guy with 46 DVDs to his credit. But he is going the way of mentalists and adding more mind reading into his routines. Find out why.

00:09:14 - Joey the See "Mentalist to the Mob" (Joseph Curcillo) talks about how magic and mentalism leak into the courtroom as an attorney.

00:20:30 - Docc Hilford can finally take a breather to relax and chat for a brief moment. He talks about how much he has enjoyed this convention and what makes this one so different from others.

00:25:44 - Ed Russe and Eric Dittelman talk with Joe Atmore about his portrayal of The Amazing Dunninger and the history of this radio great.

Download this podcast in an MP3 file by Clicking Here and then right click to save the file. You can also subscribe to the RSS feed by Clicking Here. (please note: this RSS Feed subscription system may not work with Android systems). Remember, you can download it through iTunes. See the preview page by Clicking Here.

358: Mat Franco - Magic Reinvented Nightly

235: FISM Italy - Day Four

148: Day 2 - East Coast Mind Jam 2014

The Magic Word