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corindaman wrote:Should be an interesting time around the World Magic shop stand this year!

They seem to have something "ground breaking" each year, what is it this year? haven't seen any hype of anything myself

Lawrence wrote:

corindaman wrote:Should be an interesting time around the World Magic shop stand this year!

They seem to have something "ground breaking" each year, what is it this year? haven't seen any hype of anything myself

Im assuming it's the bionik knife bend this year. Though I must say, it *is* very clever...

Waldorf hotel anyone?

Assuming we've all recovered and can remember what the heck we were doing, are there any thoughts about the highs and lows, the good and the bad?

I have to admit that when I saw the Friday show billed as Magic of the Orient with all performers from South Korea I immediately assumed it would be one long, drawn out card flourish, fan, drop on the floor session but although there were plenty of manipulation effects, the whole show was super duper! So good that one act was asked to perform again on the Saturday night Show and received a very well deserved standing ovation from the audience. I still don’t like card manipulation stuff but I’d happily pay to see those magicians over and over again.

Saturday show was somewhat shadowed by the Friday show but was still well worth while seeing. Jason Latimer did his cups and balls with glass cups which was fascinating to watch, especially as there were those large TV screens which showed the close-up stuff extremely well. Not sure why there was a repeat of the same routine as he did only the week before on The Magicians – with George Samson - but it went over well enough.

The Sunday Show ran over time, mainly due to the award giving and Ken Dodd’s ‘few words’ and the way Russ Stevens proposed to his lady from on stage drew several emotional gasps from the ladies in the audience – best of luck Russ, send us some wedding cake please!

The Dealer Hall seemed to be a little less frantic than usual, I heard estimates of attendance and sales down by 15-20% from one stand but that was during Saturday so the Sunday mad last minute rush may have bucked things up.

I only managed a few of the lectures due to the inevitable clash with other things but those I did see were excellent, the Wayne Dobson and Friends tribute session was very well done, As expected there were some jokes and digs at certain other magicians who have been in the news recently and it seemed as though everyone there shared Wayne’s opinion of them. So did many of the dealers I spoke to. Nuff Sed.

Blackpool usually has a few problems with cameras or the sound system, this year was far better although it did seem as though the camera operators were either elsewhere or unaware that they were needed on a couple of occasions.

The main down point for me was the after Show Gala Party on Sunday night. At one time this was an optional extra with tickets at a tenner each which included Hot Pot and an Apple Pie desert. Recently this was changed, the total price was increased by a tenner and the Gala Party was included for everyone – but no food, that had to be bought separately. This year was the same but, again, over half the seats and tables had signs on saying they were reserved for the BMC people and guests so we plebs had to go and sit at the back. Most times the cabarets have been good but not this time. For some reason the compere had to sing along to some backing tracks and then do his introductions, the first act was a manipulation act with cards and balls and most of the audience at the far end were taking no notice at all. When the second act came on, a one man band believe it or not, I decided this was in no way a Gala Party and scuppered off to the Ruskin. The other 2 acts may have been marvellous for all I know but by then I’d lost interest. Sorry BMC, you seriously need to look into this aspect and beef it up to the standard of all the other events of the Convention.

One other surprise for me was the Beat The Wand Competition. To be honest, I’ve seen the shows in previous years and they’ve always seemed to be a bit too loud, crude and rude for my taste but they’re certainly popular. This year, however, the acts were all very good indeed, Magic Sam’s links and intros were excellent and I thoroughly enjoyed it all. Perhaps this should be swapped with the Gala Party mentioned above – the standard was far higher.

And before anyone asks - yes I’ve already put it my booking form for next year!

I didn't get to Blackpool this year which caused pangs of regret over last weekend. So thanks for the review Mandrake, I was hoping there woukd be one.

My only question is were there any really noteworthy new effects, books or DVD on sale, the dealer hall is what I missed most (plus I would have liked to see the Andy Nyman lecture). My wallet however breathed a deep sigh of relief not to be hauled in and out of my pocket all weekend.

I spent more in Greggs on sarnies than I did on magic so I wasn't really tempted by much on offer, perhaps no more than £50 on magic over the whole event. Various Dealers are already referring to certain of their effects being the hit of the convention but nothing really stood out as a 'must have' as far as I was concerned.

The items on offer were very much the usual selection of just about everything, it looked as though there were more dealers on the upper balcony than in previous years, there were some new faces there and some old ones missing but overall perhaps more dealers than before. There were some queues and blockages with people crowding around tables for demos but I heard one dealer mention that a lot of customers were asking for a demo then saying they had a limited budget so would have to come back later if they had money left over. One customer asked a dealer if he’d be willing to negotiate on price if he bought several items. The dealer said he’d consider it but when the customer picked up 6 items totalling over £60 and offered £40 the deal fell through rather rapidly!

The lectures I saw were good and there were several effects explained which I rather like so will be making them up ready to have a go. Lecture notes were on sale as usual, mostly in PDF on a CD and I believe they sold well although I didn’t actually buy any this year.

Events in The Ruskin were well up to usual standard, professionals, amateurs and lovely lady assistants mixing and having great discussions. However as the rule there is that what happens in Blackpool stays in Blackpool, further details will not be forthcoming!

Beardy wrote:

Lawrence wrote:

corindaman wrote:Should be an interesting time around the World Magic shop stand this year!

They seem to have something "ground breaking" each year, what is it this year? haven't seen any hype of anything myself

Im assuming it's the bionik knife bend this year. Though I must say, it *is* very clever...

It's a lot of money to stab yourself in the c**k.

I assume bionik is what i think it is? Shame because i was interested in that.

He showed me & I wasn't impressed although I'm new to cutlery bending (infact Liquid Metal is still in the wrapper - bought at Blackpool) but Bionik seemed cumbersome & not worth the hassle. The extra 'bit' just seemed comical & un-needed. I've heard iLogo seemed to be the trick of the convention & it is very good (the girlfriend likes it so might try it out on others) I also bought Axel's Spoon Around which I think i'll be using loads at weddings or corporate dinners, easy, resets in seconds, not a card trick & takes up little pocket space. I also bought Michael Ammar's toppit dvds (succesfully haggled a black silk into the price), a couple of TTs, couple of Delites (succesfully haggled £2 off the price) & some new accessories bands/thread etc.

Lectures were great especially Chad Long, even falling over with cramp didn't phase him too much. The last half hour I caught of Charlie Frye was great too. He's very talented & had me laughing out loud.

I may get involved with a Talkmagic get together next time. I used to go with my ex but my new girlfriend doesn't really fancy 3 days of magic so might try the old socialising aspect of it next year.

Johnny Wizz wrote:I would have liked to see the Andy Nyman lecture

Sorry, forgot the answer this bit! Andy's lecture was good and he went into a lot of detail on three or four effects. They were good and well within the scope of most magi. He used one of those routines and the rather excellent Diceman in the close up sessions. Good to see that last one, he did the whole thing much quicker than I do it - perhaps it shows I just blather on too much! He was in The Ruskin afterwards, very chatty and socialble despite the crush, the heat and the noise!

My first trip to Blackpool, with my son Adam who turns 11 this week (and will be performing his routine next month ftopic42248.php").

We were only there on the Saturday, and were in on Michael Weber's, Andy Nyman's and then Latimer's lectures. And the Wayne Dobson & Friends show and the evening gala performance, the runaway highlight of which was the Korean Yu Ho Jin reprising his perfect card manipulations from the night before.

RSVP were raving about Bag for Life - claiming that was the hit of the convention. They were certainly showing it every time we passed, despite having sold out of the required hardware.

We came away with iCandy, two Roger Curzon DVDs (with an extra birthday present thrown in), a couple of decks, a pack of Cresey coils and COP from Paul Gordon. I think my wallet got off lightly

And of course the wee man wants to book for next year already.

-Ian

russpie wrote:I've heard iLogo seemed to be the trick of the convention

I heard a lot about iLogo, it looks absolutely amazing and visually effective. Although when we was being demo'd it, we were asked, "Do you have a black iPhone 4?". Instantly it limits the audience, and although the iPhone is popular in terms of selling numbers, people would usually have a Blackberry, iPhone 4S white version, iPhone 4 white version etc. It just seems that in a couple of years I probably would not be able to perform it.

Good effect, but limited in the long term in my opinion.

That's true, also, Apple are likely to 'reinvent' the design for the next model. I'll be using it as an 'impromptu' effect when I know someone has the right kind of phone, something you can normally see on tables at weddings/corporates etc.

Had to miss blackpool for the first time since i bought my first pack of bikes, most traumatic.
Looking at the schedule of events i think i can survive the loss, not a massive amount i cared about, in fact if someone could tell me about the Charlie frye lecture, either in detail, or just lie and tell me it was awful, i think i can move on

The guy is a genius & I'm gutted I only caught the last 30 minutes. Sorry but nothing good comes out of lying