talkmagic.co.uk

I'm going to this bar soo nwith some friends, has anyone been before?

if so what do you think to the place?

There are a few previous threads on this, see http://www.talkmagic.co.uk/ftopic20307.php for one of them !

Thanks!

Illusions is a good place - the decor is primarily magic posters, old and new, there's also a zig-zag illusion off to one side, and a piano on a raised dias.

The close up bar is perpendicular to the main bar, and has it's own tiny "stage" area, which can be roped off.

The close-up bar also doubles as a rudimentary magic shop, mainly for cheap packet tricks or packs of cards. Having a magic shop that opens until 2am is a luxury

The bar itself is not really my thing - it's a noisy, popular music and student focused cocktail place. It's very popular up in Clifton by the uni though.

They do serve cocktails in "Magic Wands" and "Crystal Balls" though, which is quite fun and not as naff as it might sound.

There's a lot of live music, and open mic nights. Mark (the owner) is a lovely chap, and there is open mic magic on wednesday nights.

The standard of the close up is pretty phenomenal, as you might expect since they perform all evening every evening. There's a pool of around half a dozen magicians with their own styles, who also act as bar staff in between the performances.

The magic tends to be fast, and colourful, as befitting a noisy, crowded venue. There isn't really a lot of room for anything except that style of close-up magic, but what is there is very good.

Thanks for the review Dom!

I went a long on Saturday and had a great time, I've already recommended it to some friends!

To expand on the great descriptions other people have left, there is a small section where a magician performs with 5 stools along a table, there is also a bit of room behind the stools for a few more on-lookers. Each magican performs for about 25 minutes then there is a break of a few minutes before a new magician comes along and the next 5 or so people sit down. You may worry about waiting a long time to see some magic but we didn't have to wait long at all and it was quite busy (you may want to get some people waiting in the queue and some people getting a round at the bar (it can take a while to get your drink if the bar staff are making a lot of drinks in magic wands)

The magic we saw was varied and fun, demonstrating excellent technique with varied apparatus while involving everyone in tricks and frequently giving out souviners (signed cards etc etc).

A note to existing/wannabe bar entrepreneurs - there should be a lot more of these in the UK!