Pictures – Page 35 – MagicShow.Tips

New Sound System

Earlier this month my decade old Sennheiser wireless mics died and I needed to replace them. I ordered the Sennheiser AVX system, but sent that back as it didn’t work for what I needed. The AVX has an auto gain level, which tries to keep your sound level. While in theory this is a good idea, it ends up ducking and messing with my voice too much to where I keep cutting out. I sent the AVX back for a refund.

I ended up ordering the Sennheiser G4, which is the current version of the Sennheiser G3’s that I had previously had.

This bonus is this set came with the “brick” which can be plugged into a handheld mic to turn it into a wireless handheld mic. I guess if I really wanted to buy another receiver, I could run my music through the brick.

There’s a reason why the Sennheiser G3/G4 are the standard for variety acts. They’re reliable, they’re easy to use and they’re durable!

-Louie

Vintage Magic Trick: The Shaggy Dog Tale

Here’s a vintage magic trick from the early 1980’s by Emerson and West. It’s Larry West’s The Shaggy Dog Tale.

Like all the Emerson and West packet tricks, there’s a story line for the trick and the art reflects that. Here’s what the routine looks like:

@louiefoxx Vintage Magic Trick! Emerson and West's The Shaggy Dog #magictrick #cardtrick #vintage #1980s #magic #shaggydog #emersonandwest #louiefoxx #packettrick ♬ original sound Louie Foxx

Here are the changes I would make to the trick:

Honestly, it’s a trick that’s theming didn’t age well and the trick isn’t that good of a trick without the punchline at the end…which isn’t a great punchline by today’s standards.

-Louie

Mainstream Article on Suspension of Disbelief

About 6 months ago I was approached by Sorbet Magazine to write a little essay about the suspension of disbelief and how it applies to magicians. The article was based on a blog post that I had made here a long time ago that one of the editors had found. I rewrote and expanded it to fit what they wanted and it just got published in their magazine!

To be 100% honest, when I was contacted by the magazine, it felt like a scam…who would pay me to write a mainstream magazine article?! I did it anyway as if it was a scam, at least I would have practiced writing for someone else and hitting a word count with a non-magician target audience.

When I was finishing up the article, I was sharing an AirBnB with Dennis Forel and he helped me tweak my 5th grade, public school writing style into something a bit more grown up.

Here’s the original 3 paragraph blog post that the article was built on:
https://www.magicshow.tips/magic-show-tips/suspension-of-disbelief/

This is a fun thing to have out there in the world!

Now onto the next thing…

-Louie

The Mobius Rising Card – Review

Last October I started working on a rising card routine for stage and it’s coming along. The routine is that two cards are selected, returned to the pack and the deck is put into a glass. The spectator holds the glass and the first card appears on the top of the deck in the glass, then the second card rises out of the deck.

One of the challenges is that when I’m out performing at fairs the traditional rising card weight method gimmicks doesn’t last long. I think the heat and dust are what make them less reliable after about a week. In my search for a better way to do it as I like the trick, I came across The Mobius Rising Card.

This is essentially the same as the weight gimmick, with a few improvements…but I think that’s what has fixed the gimmick for how I work it. First the weight is heavier, which will help the cards to keep rising after there’s a bit of gunk in it. Then the “string” which pulls the card has been replaced by something else, and I think this is a BIG improvement as it distributes the weight better and allows the gimmick to be thinner. They are selling the trick on the gimmick being only six cards thick, and for my routine that’s not something I need. I’m not complaining that the gimmick is thin, but since this isn’t a close up routine I’m working on, it’s not something that’s a huge factor for me.

I’ve only used The Mobius Rising Card for a handful of gigs so far and I really like it over the classic construction of the weight version of the rising cards. It’s actually an improvement, and not just another way to make the weight work.

If you do the rising cards, and are looking for a more reliable version of the weight, I like this one!

-Louie

Another Visit to the Magic Garage!

When I’m in the bay area, or near it I always try to visit the Magic Garage! It’s always the great to visit and chat with Will Chandler and he also makes an amazing Old Fashioned!

What’s fun about the Magic Garage is that it’s got magicians who hang out there who do all sorts of magic. From close up to parlor to illusions and magicians of every skill level!

I love hanging out here and chatting magic! It’s one of my favorite spots that I pop into!

-Louie

Wireless Mic Dropping Out…

Last week at the fair my good wireless mic system stopped working and I was using my back up wireless mic system. When I used it the first day it was intermittently cutting out, so I switched to the sound company’s wireless handheld and that was doing the same thing. That told me it wasn’t a hardware issue and I finished the day using their wired handheld mic.

Overnight the sound tech did some research and learned that vertical metal poles (especially aluminum poles) can affect how wireless mics work. At the stage the wireless receivers were on the other side of a stage wall that was made up of vertical poles!

We moved my wireless receiver to the stage side of the poles and everything worked perfectly! I’m glad that he did some extra research to figure out why it was doing that and now we both know how to solve the problem in the future!

-Louie

New Wireless Mic System

Well, after spending some time researching and asking around about different wireless systems, I settled on the Sennheiser AVX system.

Unfortunately Amazon couldn’t deliver to an Amazon Locker, so I’ll have to have it sent hope and it will be there when I get home in a few days.

Hopefully this system will work out for me!
-Louie

Wireless Mics

Well, after about a decade my Sennheiser EW 100 G3 mic packs stopped working properly. Over the last 10 years I have sent them back to Sennheiser to be repaired and repaired them once myself.

With the help of Mark (the sound tech at my stage this week) I managed to diagnose the problem, it’s my 1/8 audio input that needs to be replaced. If I send it to Sennheiser to be repaired, it’ll cost about $250 or more. I’m thinking that money would be better put into a new wireless system, than into a 10 year old system.

While at the event I luckily had a back up wireless set with me!

These aren’t as nice as the Sennheiser ones, but they are helping me get through the gig. I don’t normally carry a back up wireless set, but for some reason I threw them in with my gear for this gig. I can use a handheld to do my show in an emergency, but prefer not to.

-Louie

New Reels For My Collection!

One of the things in magic that I collect are reels. Specifically locking reels, not so much plain reels like the Paul Diamond Reel or a P&L Fingertip Reel. I have those, but don’t actively hunt them down.

Recently Mike Caveney sent out an email and one of the things he was selling were some reels. It was a set to two reels, and I jumped on it!

I’m more interested in the locking reel on the left than the reel on the right. These reels were used more to reposition the cage after the vanish that for the actual vanish of a birdcage. I hope it looks a cool in person as it does in the pic!

-Louie

Frisco Fred

Yesterday I made it to Pier 39 in San Francisco and caught the tail end of Fred Anderson’s show.

He ended with card to mouth and what really stood out to me was how slowly he worked. It made me remember that I really need to slow down when I’m performing street style shows.

There’s always a ton you can learn by watching other performers, and I’m glad I got to see a little bit of Fred’s show (and hang out for a bit after).

-Louie