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The day was always going to be interesting for so
many reasons. The main ones being that this year we
had not just moved to a much more prestigious (not
to mention expensive) venue, but we had invested in
perhaps the biggest name to ever appear at one of
our Conventions. That was of course Juliana Chen.
Many had their doubts about the new venue and I admit on the day there were a few issues that will need to be resolved if we do go back there. It was a new venue for us, and a new type of event for the Corn Exchange so this year was always going to be a bit of a learning curve, but judging by the amazing amount of feedback I have had this year (thank you everyone reading this that took the time to do that), I think it was overall, a success. One of the main issues that need to be resolved is the lack of seating and tables that were available in the cafe bar area. For a convention, the recreation room is paramount to a successful day. It's always going to be a long day where delegates spend most of the time on their feet. So somewhere to sit, have a cup of coffee (or indeed something stronger) and have a quick look at your latest purchase is needed. Not to mention somewhere for the delegate "sessions" to take place. |
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Magic Dave (Allen) | |
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Last year we didn't have a children's lecture and
that was something commented on, which of course the
committee noted. Our feelings were that if we were
going to have a Children's entertainer to lecture it
should be one of the best in the country, and I
think no one could argue that Dave Allen is one of
the best. He was winner of the Children's
Entertainer of the Year award in 2004 and is one of
the busiest magicians on the circuit.
All genres of magicians were present for this lecture, many of which wouldn't dream of doing kids magic, and yet everyone I spoke to said how entertaining and informative it was. Dave started out by doing his act, which consisted of three phases. His vent trick with a parrot, his clown based "in-flight" illusion, and finally his remote drawing board. As a dedicated magic audience we all of course acted as the kids. (It has to be said, some with more passion than others). At first I thought he was just going to perform his kids show, but when he did start talking about what he did and why he did it, it became apparent that seeing what he did in the real world was very important to what he had to say about it. I am not a kids entertainer myself, but I did thoroughly enjoy the lecture. I thought he had some great ideas and had thought very hard about giving reasons to everything he did. Two examples of this was using the appearing cane as a magic assistant picking stick (something I believe many present will now adopt into their own acts) and of course his unique and very magical clown presentation for the Nick Einhorn "In-Flight" illusion. Dave spoke of how he initially dismissed this illusion as it didn't get the reactions he wanted, but I think everyone present will agree how wonderfully magical he ended up making it. All in all in this was a great start to the day. |
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Juliana Chen and treasurer Alan Edwards... | |
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This was to be the star lecture and as such was
always going to be one of the day's highlights. It
didn't get off to a great start though, as the radio
mike that should have been ready wasn't available,
and it took 20 minutes for one to be fetched.
This did give me time to look around and see how full the room was, which gave me a confidece that it was going to be an excellent day. |
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The lecture started with a short (perhaps longer than some anticipated) video clip of Juliana Chen winning FISM back in 1997. In fact we also saw the second and third places being awarded too, which was interesting if only because Roy Davenport was in third place and he had the most amazing set of Sideburns you had ever seen. I think he must have inherited them from one of the 19th century Spirit Cabinet Davenports! It was clear how much the award meant to Juliana as in the video clip she was in tears. Watching her sitting there on stage, I could see how affected she still was by the event. |
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The lecture proper began with her talking about her history. My initial reaction was that some may get bored or restless at this apparent lack of magic, but I became so engrossed with her tale that I hung on every word. It was actually a fascinating story that she told and I wouldn't have minded at all if the whole lecture was just her talking about her past. It really brought to light how she got to where she is today and why she is (arguably) the best manipulator of cards in the world. She talked of how she spends every minute of her spare time practicing, which I know is true. Todd Landman picked her and Peter up at the airport and Todd tells me that for the whole journey back he could hear the swish, swoosh, and thud of cards being produced, fanned and flung. |
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There is a documentary being made of Juliana's life
at the moment, which meant she was being followed
around by a camera crew all day. Having met her now
and having heard a very brief insight to her
childhood years I think this will be a fascinating
program and I will make sure to watch it when it
comes out.
The final part of the lecture was her demonstrating some of her manipulation skills, plus showing various other aspects of her preparation such as the waxing of the cards. I don't think there was anyone present who wasn't a little awestruck at her demonstrations and was now eagerly waiting to see her perform in the Evening show. As if this wasn't enough. Juliana, being Juliana offered an impromptu workshop in the bar area after her rehearsal. She was there for the best part of an hour where she went through in minute detail with anyone who asked any and all aspects of what she did. It was particularly nice to see many of the Junior delegates there. This workshop was purely down to Juliana wanting to help and I know for many on the day, this was the highlight of the entire convention. In short Juliana is a lovely person. Anyone who spent time with her on Sunday knows that. She is also at the very top of what she does and is there for a reason. Pure and utter dedication. |
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Juliana mischiviously playing let's throw cards at the photographer... |
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Chris Power is one of those names you either know or
don't know. In the right circles he is a very big
name. Hopefully after his lecture and close-up
performance everyone who attended the convention
will agree he is an amazing magician.
His lecture was a nice mix and covered many aspects of performing close-up magic. It also included his now legendary coin through silks routine which in my opinion even out shines Michael Ammar's. All the moves are so slow and innocent you never see anything but pure Magic. I have had a lot of feedback now from some of the Close-Up magicians at the convention so I know that Chris's lecture was for many who attended the highlight of the whole day. |
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As with the last few years we once again had four
magicians performing in the close up magic session:
Matthew J. Dowden (Party Animal), David Forrest,
Chris Power and Ipswich's own Michael J. Fitch
(winner of the 2007 Ipswich Magical Society close-up
competition – "The Magini Shield"). Quite possibly
the strongest close-up line up we have ever put out.
I did miss parts of the session due to having to speak to various members of the local press who chose that time to turn up and report on the day. Of what I saw none of the guys let us down, and they all performed wonderfully in their own uniquely individual ways. Michael J. Fitch was as manic and bubbly as always. As he is a local lad, he is the one I have seen perform most and still, I never tire of watching him. |
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Michael J. Fitch with that classic of magic, "hand in bear trap, card in mouth routine". |
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Matthew J. Dowden had some lovely moves and
appeared to turn into Billy Bob Hicksville
complete with buck teeth and hat. I first met
Matthew at Blackpool this year and his close-up
never ceases to wow me.
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Matthew J. Dowden. Note where all the eyes are looking, and note where his left hand is. Perfect misdirection in action. |
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| David Forrest is really starting to make a name for himself and it is easy to see why. Dave filled in at very short notice when one of our booked performers had to drop out. As with Matthew Dowden, Dave Forrest has several DVD's out at the moment that are definitely worth looking out for. | |
David Forrest, Scottish Close Up Sensation. |
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| The last performer I saw was Chris Power, and boy oh boy am I glad we booked him. I doubt there are any performers as laid back as Chris who performed in a slow casual manner that befitted his build. His coin through silks routine is one of the most beautiful and magical pieces of close-up I have ever seen, and frankly worth the price of admission. | |
Chris Power with a perfect Vernonm Spread. 7 Close together, 3 spread out a bit... |
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The dealer hall at this year's convention was one of
the best one (if not the best) that has ever
appeared at Ipswich. Although we lost a few from
previous years we more than made up for it with some
great new names. We had most of the old regulars
there, Alakazam, Barrie's Magic, Card Collection,
Zane, World Magic Shop and Camtryx, but this year we
also had Magic Books by Post, The Magicians Cave,
Big Blind Media and Burning Hand Magic. I think you
will agree quite an impressive selection.
I was particularly pleased to see Magic Books By Post there. With more time I would have spent a small fortune. As it was I did become a member of their Book Club – which gives me a life long 10% discount. As always, all the dealers were very friendly and willing to stop and chat. My hope is of course that they will all be there again next year. |
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The Dealer Hall |
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Every year I review the convention. Every year I say
it was the best ever Gala show we have ever had.
Bearing in mind that last year Paul Daniels
attended, I would like to say that this year's Gala
show was the best one we have ever had.
I have already mentioned several times the amount of feedback I have had for the day and that it was so much more than usual. Well the same goes for the evening show. The wonderful thing was that all the performers have all been named as a favourite act of the night so I really don't think any of the acts we booked let us down. They were all very strong. The compere this year was Peter Holloway. Peter is a popular member of the Ipswich Magical Society and although hadn't compered anything this size before did an admirable job of holding it all together. Unless you have compeered a show I don't think you could realise how difficult it is. His job was made that much more difficult due to the fact that there were no front tabs, which meant all set changes happened in full view of everyone whilst he was doing his in between pieces. |
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Magic Dave was a favourite of most of the kids I
spoke to. His routine was pretty much what the day
goers had already seen albeit the cow was used
instead of the parrot, but what a difference that
made.
"Udders Dave. Udders!" The fact that all the magicians there knew what was coming next didn't make what he did any less enjoyable. Perhaps if Dave had chosen to do this act on Britain's Got Talent he would have got to the final. He was a real scream and was an act they were still talking about in the interval. What a great way to start. |
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Magic Dave (Allen) |
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Oliver Tabor has one of the most original and
innovative dove acts I have seen. I say it was a
dove act but it was far more than that as the whole
routine was themed around that of a musician who was
wrongly billed as a magician.
The act was full of magic and wonderment, where everything that happened was scripted to perfection. Even the single card productions were notes that played every time they were produced. The Violin was dismantled bit by bit – every piece being utilised in some form for magic until it was shrunk, and transformed into a dove. A few days after the show I received a very nice letter from Oliver telling me of an Ipswich Magical Society Convention he went to many years ago, where there were lectures by Pat Page and David Jones. He says the main reason he went to that lecture was to see Philippe (Phillip Hitchcock) in the Gala show who performed a dove act. Oliver tells me that he really looked up to Philippe and thought it very prestigious for him to be performing on stage with Pat Page and David Jones. He said who would think years later he would be at one of our conventions performing a dove act alongside the likes of Juliana Chen and Graham P. Jolley. So it made me wonder how many went this year that may be stars of a future convention. |
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Oliver Tabor |
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Christopher Cox, or "The Incredible Crisco" as he is
better known, is one of the funniest magicians on
the circuit and has been for many years. Naturally
of course that is just my opinion, but after Sunday
night I would like to think there is at least 500
other people that think so too.
Crisco's deadpan, almost slapstick magic is like a cross between Victor Borge and Tommy Cooper (without anything going wrong). His jokes and magic are so fast that you are still laughing or being wowed at something that happened seconds ago and at times it's difficult to keep up. Having only seen Crisco on the TV before, it was great to see that in real life he is actually better than I expected. There have been numerous letters and phone calls after the convention from people ringing in his praises. |
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The Incredible Crisco (Setting Up) |
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The Incredible Crisco |
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OH MY GOODNESS. As you can imagine I have been very privileged to have seen many magic acts over the years. Some Great, some good, and even some not so good. At the moment I have to say that Juliana Chen is the most spectacular live act that I have ever seen. Please don't take that lightly. That is one heck of an accolade. I am not even a big fan of manipulation acts, but this one was a thing of real beauty. I did see Juliana perform at Blackpool earlier on in the year – and perhaps because I was seated at the back of what is a huge theatre I wasn't as impressed as I may have been, but at Ipswich, in the Corn Exchange it was like watching poetry in motion. |
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She started off with her beautiful mask changing act, which caused gasps from the audience, to be followed by the card manipulations that seemed like she was dancing in a spectacular rain of cards and then finished with the unexpected costume change that once more generated gasps from the crowd. Her performance was in my mind worthy of a standing ovation. I have to admit also it was a shame we didn't end the show with Juliana, as it was one of those acts that leave you on a real high. |
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Juliana Chen |
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Juliana Chen |
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Juliana Chen |
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Juliana Chen |
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The first act of the second half was Chav Magic, an
alter persona of Michael J. Fitch.
He started off seated in the audience which was a nice touch as he ran on stage in his Burberry cap and orange shell suit (cracking jokes about not being an Easy Jet engineer). This was a very unique act, although the character is one he plays on Channel 4's popular Freaky Magic that consisted of a variety of Chav themed magic, including a lost and found ring routine that was a laugh a minute. As part of the promotion to the Gala show a feature was run on BBC Radio Suffolk whereby a prediction was made the previous Tuesday and sealed in an envelope inside an envelope and kept by one of the BBC Suffolk Presenters. Chav called the presenter up on stage who confirmed that the envelope had been in his possession the whole time. The envelopes were opened on stage and the presenter read out what had been written several days before. The note read "I predict that unless England is awarded a crucial try they will lose the Rugby World Cup. The numbers 16 and 5 come to mind." Not bad at all for something written several days before the match took place. Chav then went on to put the presenters head in a guillotine, which had me hoping he hadn't seen the recent film "The Magicians" where it was shown that these things can go wrong. As Michael is a local performer and a fellow member of the Ipswich Magical Society I was particularly proud to see him on stage, and can quite honestly say it was a superb performance. |
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Michael J. Fitch |
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Michael J. Fitch |
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Graham is another favourite performer so it would
seem that there are indeed some advantages to
organising these events.
I have seen Graham perform several times now and he always seems as fresh and as funny as ever. It has to be said that he was unlucky to get a dyslexic to help with a book test and a deaf person to help with his snooker balls effect (that requires instruction whilst his back is turned), but Graham being Graham he managed to turn a negative into a huge positive. Graham's quick fire (and sometimes scathing) wit was relentless and had everyone in tears of laughter. Although he may appear to be rude at times no one on stage (or off) ever seems to be offended as they tend to be laughing as much as everyone else. This, in my mind, is the mark of a true professional and a comic genius. It will be no surprise to anyone that much of the emails and letters I received in the following week were telling me how much they enjoyed Grahams act. |
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Graham P. Jolley |
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Graham P. Jolley |
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Chris North's Rock Illusion show was the final act
of a long night of magic.
There has been some criticism that it all started out too dark, which to be fair wasn't helped by the limited lighting at the Corn Exchange. This is something that will be looked into next year. As Illusions acts goes I felt Chris North and Belinda were right up there with the best of them. They had a nice variety of Box Illusions and a few smaller effects that were needed to give the lovely assistant time for her costume changes. The accompanying lightshow was stunning and the music was loud and (for want of a better word) rocky. |
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Chris North and Belinda |
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There were a few criticisms of the day. Maybe the show
went on a little too long (maybe some people did
more than they were asked to do?), and maybe there
should have been more chairs and tables in the Gala
Show. However I felt that these were all minor
setbacks when you consider what was achieved during
the day and the evening show.
When you think that for £25 (the price of one cheap magic trick) you get three top lectures, Four of the very best close-up magicians, a room full of the best dealers in the country and an evening gala show that would have been equally at home at the London Palladium, then it makes you wonder why more magicians don't attend these events. As tired as I was when it was all over I was really proud of what the Ipswich Magical Society had achieved and I look forward to doing it all again next year. (My wife wishes to make it known that she doesn't) |
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Reviewed by Simon Shaw
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