736: Magifest 2023 - Day Three Report

Saturday 28th January 2023

10:00am - 5.30pm

Dealers Open

10:30am - 11:30am

Mark James Lecture

You’ve been amazed by his show; now is your chance to learn his magic. This lecture will focus on professional, doable magic. With a focus on non-card tricks, this is a can’t-miss lecture. 1:30pm - 3pm

Paul Gertner Show and Lecture

This was our most anticipated event at the last Magifest…but needed to be postponed due to Covid. We’re pleased that Paul has consented to return this year to deliver what will surely be an unforgettable presentation. A multiple-winner on Penn & Teller’s Fool Us, a FISM winner, and one of the industry’s leading professionals, Paul will present a show for us and then lecture on some of his best material. 3:30pm - 4:30pm

David Gerard Marketing Lecture

Here David will share hard-earned, seldom-shared insider information on a topic he has dedicated his life to: marketing and branding. Having played an integral role in several Silicon Valley startups (as well as a lengthy tenure at Google), by day David Gerard helps companies put their message across. By night David entertains top brass at these companies, and he will share his marketing and branding insights with us in this rare, candid lecture on an area of performing most of us overlook. 5:30pm - 6:30pm

Shoot Ogawa Lecture

On the heels of his first-place FISM win, Shoot Ogawa will share the magic that has taken around the world and made him a household name in magic. This lecture will feature new, non-card material, as well as a few “Ogawa” classics. 8:30pm - 10:00pm

Gala Show

Hosted by Lucy Darling
Mortenn Christiansen
Erik Tait
Ruben Vilagrand
Shoot Ogawa
Paul Gertner
JunWoo Park 10:30pm - 11.30pm

Bar Magic with Mark Calabrese

Time stamps for this episode:

00:00:18 - Charles Greene III talks about his restaurant and trade chow career plus Charlie Randall helps us recap some of the shows from Day Two

00:12:47 - Matthew Neely talks a bit about what impressed him the most at this convention

00:18:13 - Joe Cole from Omaha, Nebraska, stopped to show us a photo of one of his winning trophies

00:21:40 - Jep Hostetler, Past President of the I.B.M. was also the chairman of the Magifest before it was turned over to Josh and Andi

00:26:12 - One of th highlights of the Mgifest, Mortenn Christiansen, FISM Winner this past year talks about his experience and his journey to Quebec.

00:35:00 - Cosmo Solano, from Colorado Springs, Colorado, has his own magic theater and talks about his show

00:44:56 - Erik Tait, host of the Penguin Podcast, talks about his FISM experience, this Magifest and what’s new and hot at Penguin right now.

00:54:28 - Cody Clark works with the Society of Young Magicians for the S.A.M. and he talks about the Magifest and how much they have been doing for the youth at this convention.

01:01:23 - Don Burcell with Don’s Magic Books talks about how the sales went this year in the dealer’s area

01:05:29 - Charles Greene III and Scott recap the evening;s show plus the overall convention

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350: Hammer Time with Mike Hammer

For the past five years, Mike Hammer has been packing them in while headlining in his own theater in the Four Queens Casino and Hotel on Fremont Street, downtown Las Vegas. Mike has his own style, and it works for him. He is the "Don Rickles" of magic with a rather abrasive approach where he actually insults his audience...and they love him! The night I visited his show, the room was packed and afterwards I overheard some saying this was a repeat visit to enjoy his show. Two people had paid for return visits to watch his show over 30 times!

Some of you might remember seeing Mike on "Penn and Teller Fool Us" with his outrageously memorable performance using a blow up doll. If not, then you can view the video here on this blog.

In this podcast, we cover a lot of territory from how he developed his act, working in Las Vegas, routining, trick selection, getting out of bad situations when things go wrong, and keeping his performances fresh. This was a fun and funny podcast that includes a lot of sound advice with some great behind-the-scenes stories.

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300: Day Two - 2016 I.B.M. Convention

Today began the first day of the the "Triple Treat" so named because each day the registrants are broken into three groups (by color) and attend an hour and a half of performances and lectures by three different magicians, one in each of three rooms each day: Richard Turner, Paul Vigil, and Brian Gillis. After the General Board Meeting, the second day of stage contests were held (which yielded a few finalists for Monday night's show). The afternoon lecture by Michael Ammar was another outstanding (and packed) event. The evening's "Magic Foolers Show" left something to be desired in that there were audio and visual problems. Plus the show would have been better received in a smaller venue probably back at the hotel ballroom. The final night's activity was a discussion with Jeff McBride and Eugene Burger talking about the 25 years of the Mystery School.

Time stamps for this podcast:

00:00:13 - Dealer Chairman, Terry Richison, talks about some of the cool things in the dealers' room.

00:08:34 - Past International President, Jep Hostetler, talks about attending the Richard Turner experience as part of the "Triple Treat"

00:10:28 - Attendee Greg Lancaster gives us his take on the Paul Vigil performance/lecture in the "Triple Treat".

00:12:08 - Jeff McBride and Eugene Burger talk about the many years they have taught the youth as part of the I.B.M. youth group activities each year.

00:16:55 - Harriet Jacobson and Gay Blackstone chat about their specialized magic jewelry sold through BJW Magical Jewelers which is one of the many dealers in the dealers' room this year.

00:22:24 - Past President of the British Ring, Brian Miller, talks about the upcoming British Ring convention.

00:26:45 - S.A.M. National President, David Bowers, talks about his year as President of that organization and some stories from the road. He is later joined by The Linking Ring Editor, Sammy Patrick Smith, and together they talk about the two organizations' journals, The Linking Ring and M.U.M. and the possible future of the magazines, joint conventions, and organizations.

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