Last month I was out in Wisconsin performing at the comedy club in Appleton. It was a fun gig, and on my way back to the airport in Milwaukee I stopped by Big Guy’s Magic.
I’ve heard a lot about this magic show, so I was excited to stop by. However the guy working (who wasn’t “Big Guy”) was really disappointing. He kept telling me how nothing new was in magic (which I totally disagree with) and how live shows don’t hold audience’s attention and that no magicians tour anymore because no one wants to see a magic show. He never asked why I was in town… I was a magician ON TOUR and had about 150 people at my show at the comedy club the night before. Of all the places where someone should be enthusiastic about magic should be the person working at a magic shop.
When I travel I try to support magic shops by spending money at them. Normally I try to make a meaningful purchase, not just a deck of cards, but a book or some antique prop if they have one. I really didn’t want to spend any money here based on how the guy was bad mouthing magic, but I did make a small purchase.
I do understand that sometimes a “warm body” is needed to run the magic shop when the owner can’t be there. I hope that was the situation, and I’ll probably give the magic shop another chance next time I’m in Milwaukee.
Now for what’s good about the magic shop, it was really well stocked!
They had a ton of current magic as well as vintage magic! They also had some of the world’s largest mouth coil!
It’s always good to see an older style magic show that has a lot of stuff in stock!
-Louie