talkmagic.co.uk

I disagree about his supposed lack of personality - he's quiet, reserved and polite for sure but that's not a lack of personality, that's just being civil. It's easy to mistake volume and arrogance for personality; I think he has buckets of personality without being loud and annoying. I like that he doesn't jabber on, just gets straight to the magic and lets it speak for itself. I'm not a massive fan or anything but I think he's an interesting performer and I hope he's a huge success.

On topic, I thought the polo bit was well done and an excellent choice - Beverley Knight's reaction was great. Likewise the finger. Tricky to find material for that situation, I imagine. Maybe that's why there aren't many magicians on panel shows.

magicrob wrote:

Lenoir wrote:which is easy to say and you type away on a forum after only ever performing once for a few drunk friends.

....Or regular gigs for over several hundred at a time, across more than a decade; whichever the case may be, of course....

Irrespective, we're all entitled not only to an opinion, but also to voice that opinion (that's what Fora are for, surely?)

I'm sure young Mr. Frayne is a top bloke, but I find his performances as Dynamo lacklustre and - in many cases - boring and irritating, to say the least; my opinion only, and others' mileage may vary

To my shame I have never seen his performances. I keep rebuking myself though because I should.

I applaud you for having regular gigs that pay good money however if anything that just reinforces the point that you are at least slightly bitter at the success achieved by someone you consider an inferior performer.

I think it is important to note that the only people I have ever heard say anything negative about Dynamo are members of the magic community. In point of fact, probably the most frequently heard phrase I get from laypeople at present in regards to magic is "Oh I don't normally like magic but have you seen that Dynamo guy? He's incredible!".

Love him or hate him, he is doing something right but the main thing everyone should really appreciate from his performances is that ordinary folk (that would be our potential customers, clients and audience members) love him.

The reason I rebuke myself for not having watched his performances is because I know I should watch them to work out why the mass public love it so much. Dynamo is the X Factor Winner of magic. He may be crucified by his peers but it will not stop him from making his fortune in the interim and although many of us may have much longer careers so far as magical prestigiousness go, he will probably earn several times what his critics do over their performance lifetime with a 1000 times the recognition.

DaveM wrote:

Ste Porterfield wrote:Again, having never seen him, is he not a bit like Blaine insofar as he is quiet, mysterious, suspicious in his performance?

And looks like a hungover weasel.

You know he suffers from Chrones Disease

magicrob wrote:

Lenoir wrote:which is easy to say and you type away on a forum after only ever performing once for a few drunk friends.

....Or regular gigs for over several hundred at a time, across more than a decade; whichever the case may be, of course....

Irrespective, we're all entitled not only to an opinion, but also to voice that opinion (that's what Fora are for, surely?)

I'm sure young Mr. Frayne is a top bloke, but I find his performances as Dynamo lacklustre and - in many cases - boring and irritating, to say the least; my opinion only, and others' mileage may vary

Oh right you must be really good then...

...I've never heard of you

I think that's a good point. To the people saying he's not a good performer, why aren't they in the position he's in? People like Dynamo, Blaine and Derren Brown, like them or not, have made magic cool, and that's why they're a success. Many amateur magicians/local professionals don't seem to have that quality, and instead just seem to conform to the stereotypical cheesy kids' performer. As Derren Brown said, magicians are always faced with the innate peurility of their craft. It's performers like Brown, Blaine and Dynamo that distance themselves from this aspect effectively.

JammyT wrote:

magicrob wrote:

Lenoir wrote:which is easy to say and you type away on a forum after only ever performing once for a few drunk friends.

....Or regular gigs for over several hundred at a time, across more than a decade; whichever the case may be, of course....

Irrespective, we're all entitled not only to an opinion, but also to voice that opinion (that's what Fora are for, surely?)

I'm sure young Mr. Frayne is a top bloke, but I find his performances as Dynamo lacklustre and - in many cases - boring and irritating, to say the least; my opinion only, and others' mileage may vary

Oh right you must be really good then...

...I've never heard of you

The point I was making is that I - and many of us on this forum - am not 'somebody who only ever does magic to their drunken mates'; perhaps you missed he inference.

Oh - and no need to be rude

cc100 wrote:To the people saying he's not a good performer, why aren't they in the position he's in?

While I respect what he can do, there are are people far better in a worse position. Performance quality does not dictate how you get your break in show business. It is a contributing factor but more than often then not, it is who you know more than what you know.

DaveM wrote:

cc100 wrote:To the people saying he's not a good performer, why aren't they in the position he's in?

While I respect what he can do, there are are people far better in a worse position. Performance quality does not dictate how you get your break in show business. It is a contributing factor but more than often then not, it is who you know more than what you know.

That's fair enough, I dare say there are other performers out there who are good but haven't got a break. But the point I was trying to make is that he's successful because he makes magic seem cool. I mean I'm not a massive fan myself, but I can appreciate him for that. Compare this to the guy on Penn and Teller dressed as a dragon. A very skilled performer, no doubt, but simply reinforcing many people's perception of magic as being childish and trivial. Even if it was entertaining. Hope that makes some sort of sense.

'lacklustre and - in many cases - boring and irritating, to say the least'

Funny, sounds like you were just bashing him, I guess there's plenty of people that disagree with you, what with him being all famous, successful, rich and having his own TV show etc...

cc100 wrote:Compare this to the guy on Penn and Teller dressed as a dragon. A very skilled performer, no doubt, but simply reinforcing many people's perception of magic as being childish and trivial.

If he is setting out to make magic cool, then good on him for trying to achieve his vision. However, I've been reading Absolute Magic by Derren Brown lately and he points out quite rightly that magic is what you make of it and it's not up to others to alter how you want to present it. If Piff wants to make his magic childish and trivial, then there is nothing wrong with that because that is his imagining of how he should present magic.

No way is right or wrong because it's nobodies decision to make.

JammyT wrote:'lacklustre and - in many cases - boring and irritating, to say the least'

Funny, sounds like you were just bashing him, I guess there's plenty of people that disagree with you, what with him being all famous, successful, rich and having his own TV show etc...

You have a point JammyT, but you can be a good magician without being massively famous.

Equally, you can be a famous Magician without necessarily being everybody's cup of tea

DaveM wrote:

cc100 wrote:Compare this to the guy on Penn and Teller dressed as a dragon. A very skilled performer, no doubt, but simply reinforcing many people's perception of magic as being childish and trivial.

If he is setting out to make magic cool, then good on him for trying to achieve his vision. However, I've been reading Absolute Magic by Derren Brown lately and he points out quite rightly that magic is what you make of it and it's not up to others to alter how you want to present it. If Piff wants to make his magic childish and trivial, then there is nothing wrong with that because that is his imagining of how he should present magic.

No way is right or wrong because it's nobodies decision to make.

But if magic is an art, then surely there must be innovation and development? Surely it is about escaping from trends and reacting against familiarity. For me, Piff's performances aren't really taking magic as an art. Just my opinion. I haven't read Absolute Magic so I can't comment on that. But you're right, good luck to him. He's a far better performer that I'll probably ever be, even if I don't like his performances.

Although Blaine bashing is now somewhat extinct, he received the same criticism/jealousy from magicians when he appeared on the scene with them all blubbing that they could do the same tricks better ("Why isn't it me?", etc).

Dynamo's style of performance (the 'chav' persona) is not to my personal taste, but he does what many magicians have forgotten how to do and that is to entertain and appeal to the public, not impress other magicians. He's not there to perform groundbreaking new effects that will have you all running to your nearest dealer asking for them. He's there to make an entertaining tv show for the general public.

Love him or loathe him, the public do like him and his recent show has made an impression on them and it's talked about a lot. My whole point regarding the attitude towards Dynamo (appears to use obvious stooges) and magician's darling/role model Derren Brown (appears to use third rate actors) is that Dynamo's material is something that is accessible from dealers and many on here already perform these effects (albeit to a much smaller audience, mum & dad, mates down the pub etc) and Brown doesn't sell everything he does on a DVD adding to the allure of his show and provoking intense discussion/speculation amongst magicians on forums, each trying to prove they know more than the other.

Dynamo is making magic popular with the public again and igniting an interest in the art form. Surely that's good for all of us?

cc100 wrote:

JammyT wrote:'lacklustre and - in many cases - boring and irritating, to say the least'

Funny, sounds like you were just bashing him, I guess there's plenty of people that disagree with you, what with him being all famous, successful, rich and having his own TV show etc...

You have a point JammyT, but you can be a good magician without being massively famous.

Really?

I didn't know that