talkmagic.co.uk

Klose-Up and Unpublished by Kenton Knepper

Price £19.99/$27.97

Available from Merchant of Magic/Magic Pro Shop

Difficulty 2 - 3
(1=easy to do, 2=No sleights, but not so easy, 3=Some sleights used,
4=Advanced sleights used, 5=Suitable for experienced magicians only)

The Description
"You may be amazed at how astonishingly easy most of this material is to do. When Kenton revealed his secret in his lectures, magicians nearly fell to the floor. They couldn't imagine what they had seen was so simple.

This is the very same special material the Kenton has used to make a living doing close-up. This DVD comes with five routines that vary from coin tricks, mentalism, sponges, and cards. Kenton will show you how to preform these tricks like he does...

A MARKED & BORROWED COIN

A SIGNED & BORROWED BILL

TORN & RESTORED CARDS

SPONGE BALLS LIKE NEVER BEFORE

ONE INCREDIBLE CARD TRICK

Running Time Approximately 175min"

The Review

A Marked & Borrowed Quarter
"A marked and borrowed quarter ends up inside a clear pencil balloon. The balloon is blown up and the quarter is seen to be definitely inside. The balloon obviously has to be ripped open for the spectator to even get his coin back. Oh, yeah, and the balloon restores itself too..."

ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT! sums up this piece nicely - it floored me the first few times I saw it and the method is devilish to say the least. What I love about this effect, in an age where penetration effects abound, is the highly visible nature of it - the penetration isn't visible, it more sort of just happens - but you can actually see the coin rattling around inside the balloon! There are no real angle issues to speak of, no reset issues and no difficult sleights. Some work will be needed to get the handling down smooth, but really this is a very easy piece to learn, and all you need to carry is the balloon.

Definitely one that'll be going into my repertoire.

10/10

A Signed & Borrowed Bill
"A signed and borrowed bill ends rubber-banded INSIDE an aspirin tin, which is also banded with two rubber bands on the OUTSIDE. NO palming, NO switches, NO dupes, NO "slides" or other gimmicks! The box is in full view the entire time. NO "set-up time" either. Just pick up the normal aspirin box and you're instantly ready to do it again!"

Okay, this one got me as well. This is ridiculously easy to perform and again the method is diabolical in its (relative) simplicity. As the ad says there is a one-time set-up and something of a reset, but that happens very quickly. Knepper says that he wanted a practical version of the nesting boxes for walkaround and IMO he has come up with a very good alternative. It all happens very quickly - the note just disappears - and reappears genuinely locked inside the aspirin tin. Again, very easy to do, just some work needed to get the handling right. No real angle issues either.

The one downside is finding the tin - I've spent hours scouring shops all over the place and haven't found one. I thought I had it with a mint tin, but apparently not. If anyone knows of a good place for the right tins please drop me a PM!

When I get it working properly, this will be another keeper.

10/10

Torn & Restored Cards
"Kenton gives you two of the most diabolical and easy torn and restored cards you may ever witness. In one version, the signed card is seen to be torn into quarters, restored piece-by-piece and then handed to the spectator! Another version puts the pieces of card into the spectator's hand WHERE THEY RESTORE! YES, the cards are actually torn. There are NO switches, NO duplicates, and NO extra pieces. FULL details of both effects are presented here."

Two pretty good versions here. I have to say my favourite of the two is the first one - where the card restores in their hands. It's a little bit gutsy, but it works very well and plays very well too. I love the patter that goes along with it as well, nicely 'motivates' a few things. Another easy one.

8.5/10

The second version, I believe, is where the controversy has been (Knepper and Ben Harris both independently came up with the same effect and handling) and it's pretty good, not the best but still pretty good. There is some set-up required and you'll have to carry an extra thing with you if you want to give the card away at the end, but it's a nice (if not totally new) handling which impressed me quite a bit.

7/10

Sponge Balls Like Never Before
"A sponge ball vanishes from the SPECTATOR'S HAND! Seconds later, the ball conspicuously REAPPEARS out of the spectator's hand. Your hands are continually shown to be empty, yet more and more balls keep appearing! Kenton's work on this has long kept the wise guessing...We can't tell you the number of pros that went crazy over this simple routine. After a lecture at Denny and Lee's magic shop, Denny remarked to Kenton, "I haven't sold this many sponge balls in my entire LIFE"! Find out what all the fuss is about, and the bold and beautiful wok that makes this routine entirely miraculous!"

Kenton's handling is immaculate. He sure is very skilled with these things and even though I was aware of some of the kinda moves that were going on I was still very impressed. Kenton breaks down the moves he uses so that you can combine them into your own routine.

A fair few of the moves here, as far as I'm aware, are original to Kenton. Some of them are bold, but the effects they produce are very nice indeed. No sponge ball routine I've seen before has ever made me want to really learn one with the exception of this. I'll work on it for my own amusement, but it doesn't really fit in with my performing character and style. Suffice to say, if you want to learn a proper sponge ball routine (as opposed to a quickfire bit) I recommend you check this one out.

9/10

One Incredible Card Trick
A multi-phase card routine packed full of colour changes of every kind including the deck vanishing from the performer's hands at the end!

This one won't get past anyone with a moderate amount of experience working with cards - but Kenton does have a few nice variations on classic moves and while at first it may appear to be a little bit too busy, once Kenton explains and you understand the real principles and motives at work behind it, it all becomes clear. I don't want to say too much here except trust Kenton, try it out a few times - it really does go down well!

Nothing too new here but invest some time working with it and coming up with a good presentation and you'll have something which hits hard on your hands.

7/10

Production Quality
A few words on this, which I hope won't put anyone off - a little bit of context is important here: this was filmed in Knepper's house (he was - and often is - on something of a tight schedule, hence the set-up) with magician Peter Cassford as participant. It was originally released as a VHS and has recently been copied onto DVD, so the quality aesthetically speaking isn't of the same quality that we're all used to nowadays - but really it is very much a non-issue, the quality will not detract from the learning process at all.

The menu is pretty good - however it would have been nice to have the option to watch either just the performance or just the method of each effect; as it is it's just a matter of skipping ahead a chapter. Not a big problem, and really my only gripe when it comes to this DVD.

Closing Comments
Knepper's teaching is very good - I certainly wasn't left wanting when it came to the methods and performances. He also - as you may well expect - goes into some detail about the psychology behind the material and the words and phrases he uses and the effect they achieve.

The material isn't difficult to learn and for the most is outstanding. There's a nice variation of both effects and materials used so there's bound to be something for everyone here. It's priced spot on and I am sure you will have a few killer pieces to add to your repertoire.

Highly recommended!

9/10

Excellent review! Interesting to read.
But now I have to buy it.

I agree .... top review and it sounds great and is as good as in my basket!

Excellent review, makes me want it even more now!
I have like all of the Kenton stuff I have read, his approach to magic and ways of thinking are unique.

Cheers all As I say, if anyone comes across a suitable tin for A Signed and Borrowed Bill, please let me know!

I got this at Boston (Hank Lee's) and I have to say I'm very happy with it. The effect with the balloon is brilliant and the dollar bill one is an effect I'll probably use for years to come. I found that a small mint tin works well even if it doesn't shut completely. If you need help with the tins, PM me.

To anyone looking for the tins, Kenton Knepper is selling a couple other routines along with a box to use on his web site (the instructions are autographed). I found a source for the exact same tins he sent out.

http://www.clayalley.com/tins.htm

Thanks for the review!

.:Ham:.