What The Audience Sees:

”Well, it’s good to see Jamie back on track, man. He had a bad stretch there for a while but last week he took us to the bridge with that Coin and Chapstick magic, and this week, %#^#, this week he had us all havin’ the time of our lives with this card trick he pulled off. He took the two Kings out of the deck right, and he had me select a card. I put it back, but with a snap of his hands- BOOM, it was between the two Kings!

Then he took it to the next level! He gave the deck to Angry Bob and said that A.B was going to do the magic! He had Big Ted select a card and put it back, and then he gave the deck to A.B. The two Kings were put back in near the ends of the deck but after A.B. said his magic word of “Go ^#&& yourself,” the Kings got closer together! He did it again, and this time the Kings were side by side in the deck with only one card in between them- Big Ted’s!!! It was awesome! Angry Bob dropped the cards in astonished disgust and Big Ted started to rub his knees with his elbow! Me? I just freaked the %$^$ out!!!”

How It Went:

I’m starting over. I’m talking about my Card Magic here. I think I’m done with special decks, custom cards, etc. I just can’t deal with it all anymore. I keep losing track of what does what, lol! So I’m starting over. Every card trick I want to do now needs to be done with a regular deck that I can leave with the specs. That’s my plan. And I want to do strong magic. Really strong magic. Paul Vigil’s Diplopia is on my list definitely (look for that in the next couple of weeks) as is Kostya Kimlat’s Roadrunner Cull. This week though? Aaron Fisher’s SEARCH and DESTROY (featuring the NOWHERE PASS). And it fit the bill to a “T”. A regular deck, with awesome sleight of hand, that can be done for the spectators and left with the spectators- both the memory and the deck itself- that’s what I’m talking about.

It was a great Friday. SEARCH and DESTROY is simply a great routine (not a card trick, but a routine). If you perform professionally, you’ll know what I mean here when I say that finding a solid four minutes is a hard thing to do. But this effect held it! It’s entertaining and held the attention all day. What was funny was that people were pretty amazed at the first phase, where their card is found between the Kings, alone. When I told them that they were going to do it, they were simply rapt. When the cards keep moving closer together, people really couldn’t believe it and by the time we hit the last reveal, they were on the edge of their toes (I always perform standing).

People truly love card magic. I firmly believe that. It just needs to be engaging. I think that the attention span of the audience nowadays is fairly short unless you can convince them, right off the bat, that you’re worth their time. And the way SEARCH and DESTROY is laid out, you’re able to do that. Sheer awesomenss.

Best Lines:

”Lol, Don’t give those cards to me Magic Man, I can’t do %$$… … I DID IT! I DID IT!”
~Sometimes a happy spectator makes a brilliant magician. Not the other way around.

”OOH OOH OOH ooh ya ya ya!”
~I don’t know what joyous song this person started singing, but it was catchy. Ooh ooh ooh…

Angry Bob Rating:

For those of you reading this article for the first time, Angry Bob is a co-worker who has an understanding of some magic because his uncle was a magician. Angry Bob knows that TT’s exist, for example, but he has no desire to become a magician himself. He also has an anger management problem that can be experienced first hand if he can’t figure out how a trick is done. A high rating means he has no idea.

5/5. He dropped the cards, lol. It was so funny. Well, he more like threw them, lol. Either way, he was ^^#^&&#. And fooled.

My Rating:

Magic Friday Approved!

You know, I knew Aaron Fisher by name but hadn’t seen any of his work. I had heard of his book “The Paper Engine” but for whatever reason, I thought he was a knucklebusting, card ninja, serious kind of guy. I was wrong! He came across as a funny, cool, super fantastic performer. An awesome surprise. Needless to say, I’ll be picking up whatever he’s offering next. I think that’s important- find a performer you like, and support them. After all, he’s already helped me (without knowing it probably) all day Friday, lol. You know a nice thing someone said to me on Friday? “Jamie, thank you for that.” That says it all. So Aaron, thanks for this.

The JDG Tip:

Read it here!

The iTricks Idea:

Read it here!

Closing Thoughts:

Things are going really well these days! Keep an eye out here in the next while because I’ve got some great stuff coming up- I can’t wait!

Have a Great Week Everyone!

Jamie D. Grant
http://www.whatizit.net/MagicFridayStudio