Category: Video

Another Back Flip!

Recently I had a kid ask me to do a back flip during the show. This is a trend and I finally had someone ask me to do it. After it happened I came up with this trick:

@louiefoxx Do a Back Flip! #doabackflip #backflipchallenge #backflip #louiefoxx #magic #magictrick, #surpriseending #old #magician #cardtrick ♬ original sound – Louie Foxx

I think I came up with a better idea than that. Here’s me showing the idea to the sound guy on my stage before a show:

This idea gets the laugh, shows that I’ve been asked this before, so their request isn’t original and then closes the conversation with the NO.

Now that I have a plan, I’m betting I don’t get asked to do a backflip ever again.

-Louie

Do a Back Flip

My friends that do roving acts like stilt walkers or unicycle have mentioned to me that kids the last year or so ask them to “do a back flip“. I think this is a Tik Tok thing, but I’m not positive. They’ve tried to come up with something witty to say, but really there’s no where to go with that and it’s something completely unrelated to what they do.

It’s never happened to me…until last week. I wanted to come up with something to do, so here’s what I came up with:

@louiefoxx Do a Back Flip! #doabackflip #backflipchallenge #backflip #louiefoxx #magic #magictrick, #surpriseending #old #magician #cardtrick ♬ original sound – Louie Foxx

Here’s the problem, by rewarding them saying that, it could simple open the door to them yelling more in the show. Also, I should be clear that I don’t consider a kid asking me to do a back flip a heckle. It’s really not malicious, they’re having fun…but it’s still an interruption in the show and I don’t want to encourage that.

Since I made that card, I haven’t had someone ask me to do a back flip, so I don’t know how it plays, or if it encourages interruptions. The nice thing is that it doesn’t take up any space, so it’s not a big deal to have with me during the show.

If I ever get to use it, I’ll report back on what happens…

-Louie

Al Koran’s 5 Star Miracle Prediction

I’ve been working on a routine that I call “choices”, this is essentially a card prediction. This has had many different versions and methods, with the first version simply using an invisible deck for the reveal. It’s had many different reveals from the selected card in a wallet, to it being the only red backed card in a blue backed, blank faced deck.

The trick was just OK, the final reveal was lacking something…or had too much. Then a while ago Nick Lewin put out the 6 Star Miracle Prediction, which is his version of Al Koran’s 5 Star Miracle Prediction. I’m a HUGE Nick Lewin fan, and get everything he puts out. I honestly didn’t think I’d use the trick, however it ended up being the solution for the Choices routine.

The ending where I’m just holding two cards gives a great picture and ends with me in an applause position. The nice thing is the whole thing fits inside a jumbo card case, so it packs relatively small. This trick is intended for stage shows, so I have no desire to use a regular pack…however it could be downsized to that size and play well on a stage.

I’m not sure if this is the final version of this trick, but it feel pretty close!

-Louie

The Show Must Go On…

A couple of weeks ago when performing at a fair in Montana we had a storm blow through. There were 50 mph winds and the fair made the decision to close the stages. My buddy Jerimiah Johnston was onstage and didn’t see the text as he was performing, so I walked out to tell him and this is what I saw:

@louiefoxx Juggler Balances a Table in 50mph Winds! #juggler #balance #juggling #wind #severeweather #louiefoxx #jeremiahjohnston #fairlife #performing #theshowmustgoon #army ♬ original sound – Louie Foxx

The guy is a trooper!

I personally would have called the show, but he kept plugging away!

-Louie

Make it Memorable!

When I do TV spots, I try do more than just a magic trick, I try to make it a moment that’s memorable. Sure you can do sponge balls and it’s fine, however I try to do things that are fun.

Here’s an example from a media spot a few weeks ago:

@louiefoxx News Reporter Hustled with Classic Con Game! #reporter #game #gambling #congame #cantwin #pushups #shellgame #hustle #newsreporter #louiefoxx #sleightofhand #payyourdebts #magic ♬ original sound – Louie Foxx

It’s not always possible to do more memorable or fun spots due to time, or other circumstances. However, when I get a chance to do a little bit of planning, I try to do something fun!

-Louie

News Highlight Reel!

Last week I was performing at Montana Fair in Billings, MT. One day the news was there taking video for their fair highlights. This is always tricky for me as if I don’t talk to them, they will always use a super wide shot that’s out of context and makes no sense. In a highlight reel, stuff doesn’t need a lot of context if the content is chosen correctly.

What I do is try to talk to them or whoever the media coordinator is and do staged video where I act like I’m performing for a crowd and we put the camera onstage to get video that’s better framed and I use tricks that you don’t need much context to understand what’s happening.

Here’s the video from last week:

Whenever possible I try to show or tell them what I’m going to do so that they know what to expect and can put their camera in a good spot. I will also tell them the bad spots to record from if there are any.

-Louie

Dealing With Interruptions

Last weekend I had to deal with a crazy interruption during my show. It’s something I’ve never really had to deal with during a show. Independent of the fair that I was performing at was an airshow….and my show was the same time as the Blue Angels!

There’s really not much that I can do, the planes are loud and let’s face it, way more exciting than my show. I made a few jokes about, and stopped the show while they were performing, that’s really all that I could do.

“That’s the most expensive opening act I’ve ever had!“

It was only two days of an eight day gig, so there were plenty more shows to do without conflicting with the air show!

-Louie

Vanishing Bird Cage on the News

Here’s one of the short media spots that I recently did. For the short spot, I decided to do the vanishing bird cage.

@louiefoxx Parakeet Trick on the News! #birdtricks #parakeet #birdcage #magictrick #kgw8 #magician #washingtoncountyfair #bigfairfun #louiefoxx #disappear #drewcarney ♬ original sound – Louie Foxx

The nice thing about this trick is that it’s really visual, and doesn’t require really any explanation. For something like a pick a card type trick, there’s a lot of explanation and process that needs to happen before the magic. With these news spots, they say you have a minute or whatever, but in reality you may have a lot less!

-Louie

Shot Glass Production

Over the years I’ve always like the idea of the shot glass production. In the past I’ve produced a full shot glass from an egg bag, shoe, and just my pocket. Producing a full shot glass has an nice “wow” factor and is a nice ending when you toast your audience.

About a month ago I had an idea for a shot glass production. I finally was able to figure out how to make the gimmick. Here’s a very rough version of it:

This is nowhere near the final routine, it’s a proof of concept to make sure the gimmick works. However I do like the flipping of the handkerchief during the lime production, I think it adds to the shot glass production.

Now I need to go out and do it hundreds of times to figure out all of the ways it can go wrong!

-Louie

Nothing is Ever Finished!

One thing is that my show and everything in it are always a work in progress. While I do have A material, I still am looking for ways to improve them.

The other day I was thinking about my Straight Suit routine which is a comedy escape. You can watch it below:

I had an idea to simplify the wiring which would eliminate about 4 feet of cords inside of the suit! While this isn’t a huge thing, it definitely is an small improvement. Usually the simpler solution the better!

I just made a new straight suit with the new wiring and am going to take it out on the road to see if it works!

-Louie