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Is it just me or does anyone else find Mr Brook incredibly dull and boring. I've just spent the last half hour trailing through his videos on his site and to be honest I was lost for words.

He gets rave reviews on here, and alchemical seems to be on every ones wish list, but to be honest after watching his you tube exploits I dont think I'll bother.

I think Mr Browning may not be of the same opinion, but I dont think Mr Brooks for me.

No, I have found Paul to be a gentleman, and the time I saw him perform live, I thought he was very good (and one effect was almost a miracle). I just wish I'd had more time to speak to him.

well...fair enough..there's no rules that you have to like some is there..

IAIN wrote:well...fair enough..there's no rules that you have to like some is there..

And that's the truth. For me, it's Bill Malone - in fact, I could post almost word for word the original post, only enter Malone's name.

Conversely, I've watched a couple of Mr. Brook's vids and find them enjoyable. He just seems a pleasant chap, to me.

Mike.

he's a great bloke - and a good mate...but i dont quite understand the point in this thread other than..."i don't care for him..."

fair enough! some of us will agree, some of us wont...others will be non-commital...and some will try and ride his coat-tails I'm sure...

i thoroughly enjoyed being part of one of his effects at tabula mentis...its wierd looking at an audience and seeing david berglas and marc paul looking your way...

you may recieve queen of clubs wrath for dissing the malone mr. jay...

she loves the big fella...

whats strange for me is, i dont especially care for jay sankey, but i have a good 8 or 9 of his dvds, i enjoy some of his ideas alot, just find him a bit....well...overly wacky for wackiness' sake...and hearing "let's try something..." at the end of each effect is frustrating...

boris pocus is still a fantastic value dvd for mental magic and mentalism...

storm01 wrote:Is it just me or does anyone else find Mr Brook incredibly dull and boring. I've just spent the last half hour trailing through his videos on his site and to be honest I was lost for words.

He gets rave reviews on here, and alchemical seems to be on every ones wish list, but to be honest after watching his you tube exploits I dont think I'll bother.

I think Mr Browning may not be of the same opinion, but I dont think Mr Brooks for me.

The question is are you interested in seeing Mentalism or Magic?

The U.S. version of PHENOMENON is a perfect example -- an Illusionist won the pseudo-competition because he has pizazz, sex appeal and flash... he could fill a stage... something most Mentalist run away from.

Mentalism is, by its nature, an intimate encounter with the surreal. Though it is an amusement it was never really intended for the grand stage or theater. I'll not go into the historical reasons as to how this happened but the real "home" of mentalism is with small groups and fairly casual settings such as a home or the parlor/ball room of a grand mansion... NOT Madison Square Gardens or Radio City Music Hall.

Now, if you want mystery and intrigue Paul delivers it in spades. His book ALCHEMICAL TOOLS also challenges the "Magician" within us all, to let go and stop trying to do so much. When you do effect after effect it looks like a bleeding magic show, not an encounter with things surreal. The magician's mind does not understand this fact nor accept it in that they want flash and masturbative freedom to do as much of whatever they want to do as possible... which is actually a very amateurish mode of thought in that the real pros are rather methodic as to what goes in and comes out of their show packages. It's only the wannabes that get all moist when it comes to showing off all they can.

Paul is still a diamond in the rough, he'll tell you that. He has the concepts and a sound philosophy from which to build, one heralded by some of the biggest names in the industry in fact. But he is still learning to round out what he does and how to "deliver" it. He's obviously doing something right in that he's working at a significant pace as a performer and slowly stepping out of his actual vocation as a counselor.

Every performer has their own style and that style will appeal to certain types of groups and niche-markets. Since I've gone into Mentalism full time I've moved away from theater and club dates and taken to work mainly the home and Bed & Breakfast markets the most with some charity work that's more of a night-club styled act. This is my niche and it works well for me, especially given the wheelchair issue which just don't translate well in the minds of most commercial talent buyers.

The point is, what Paul does is working for him and his patrons. You don't have to work in that mode but I've found that the quickest way to know success is to mimic those that are successful in the areas I want to be successful in. If that still don't seem to fit, then I need to move on to other pastures.

Michael Jay wrote:

IAIN wrote:well...fair enough..there's no rules that you have to like some is there..

And that's the truth. For me, it's Bill Malone - in fact, I could post almost word for word the original post, only enter Malone's name.

Don't let queenie here you say that!

I'm inclined to agree. I was thinking of writing a review of Alchemical Tools to post on here, as I didn't entirely agree with the one I read.

Its an open and honest forum so speak your mind my friend.

Those vids are actually not the best way to see Paul in performance, they're a bit dated now and his current routines are top class!

Alchemical Tools certainly isn't for everyone so needs to be a carefully considered purchase.

I was 95% there but after watching his vids decided against it.

Firstly I am a good friend of Pauls, so please accept the slight bias!

You must realise that Paul is first and foremost a professional psychotherapist. He really does use hypnosis and NLP on a daily basis. The older material was heavily influenced by these techniques and therefore the use of hypnotic language was prevalent. This can appear almost monotonal.

I have worked with Paul and have seen the energy and charisma of his work. Dont make too many judgements based only on some video clips!

BUT... you are entitled to your own views. I know Paul will be quite thrilled that your negative feelings have awarded him with plenty of publicity!

Somehow I feel his wily influential ways are at work on us all!!

James Brown

I find him to be very intelligent and although I havent met him yet ( every intention of linking up for a drink or six in Brum ) I can imagine he brings a lot of charsima to his performance..

I have 3 of his manuscripts and its strong stuff.

I.D wrote:I havent met him yet ( every intention of linking up for a drink or six in Brum ) I can imagine he brings a lot of charsima to his performance

Confession time: I met Paul for drinks (non-alcoholic of course!) a month or two back and, never mind the charisma, for close on three hours he was performing magic, mentalism, and leaving me gobsmacked time and time again. He was extremely generous is sharing many of his secrets and methods, and everything he used was carried in a small pack about the size of a hard back book. Packs small plays huuuuge!

His appearance and presentation style is now streets away from those vids so get ready for Paul's new projects and routines in due course.....

he's got some new stuff coming out soonish too...he rang me earlier this week...sounds very good indeed as usual...swine...