2015 in Duct Tape

In 2012, the director of my one-person show, Lies, Damn Lies & Magic Tricks, James Biss,  had me over at his house for a party and was "encouraging" me to perform for the group. I asked if I could borrow some duct tape and he came back with, of all things, blue duct tape. I knew about grey and about black, but blue was news to me. I used that for my shows in 2012 & 2013 for the blindfold trick. In 2014, one of the bartenders at The Cage (which contains The Crimson Lounge) found a roll of Rainbow Duct shortly before World Pride in Toronto. So now whenever possible, I try to choose the duct tape I use to match the situation I'm in. I think this year I went a little bit overboard.

We used the rainbow roll all through the month of June to celebrate Pride. And for the Andy Kim Christmas Special, we found sparkling silver duct tape.

In case you're curious what all that duct tape is for, here is the trick on Rogers TV:

Magic Tonight continues in 2016. Readers of this blog can use the code reality for a discount on the price of tickets and dinner when purchasing online.

Magic Tonight 2015

As 2015 comes to a close, I flipped back through our photo gallery from Magic Tonight. This year we did 85 shows (at least that's the number we have photos from. We may have skipped a couple.) This would not have been possible without the venues who graciously hosted us - The Crimson Lounge, The Bear and The Franklin House! I also need to thank the performers who appeared for us, in alphabetical order:

Bill Abbott, The Irritatingly Photogenic Keith Brown, Ryan Brown, Michael Close, Joe Culpepper, Matt DiSero, Michael Feldman, Ron Guttman, Ken Margoe, Chris Mayhew, David Merry, Zach Mirza, Bobby Motta, Mysterion, Glenn Ottaway, Paul Pacific, Jason Palter, Jenny Parsons, David Peck, Phil Pivnick, Steve Reynolds, Brian Roberts, Lukas Stark, Rob Testa, Ben Train, Jason Verners, Nicolas Wallace, Chris Westfall, Wes Zaharuk

But most importantly, our thanks to our audiences; the (literally) thousands of people who came out to see us perform. This would not have been possible without your interest and support.

So enjoy a little look back at 2015:

(or watch the slide show on YouTube)

Magic Tonight continues in 2016. Readers of this blog can use the code reality for a discount on the price of tickets and dinner when purchasing online.

Last time on Magic Tonight

Our last show of the year for Magic Tonight was a delightfully fun sold out success. Most of the fun was provided by my guests. The ever charming Ben Train decked in Christmas sweater (odd because he's Jewish... oh well) and the ever hysterical Glenn Ottaway (always willing to teach the young people in the audience some new words.)

Magic Tonight continues in 2016. Readers of this blog can use the code reality for a discount on the price of tickets and dinner when purchasing online.

Last time on Magic Tonight

The penultimate Magic Tonight of 2015 featured Toronto's Best Magician [1], Phil Pivnick. While Phil performs primarily for youngsters [2] but he shared some of his more grownup material with our sold-out audience. Take a look at some of the fun we had:

Our last show for the year (December 27) is already sold out. So we want to thank everyone who's been to see us for their continued support. It's been  wonderful year. Readers of this blog can use the code reality for a discount on the price of tickets and dinner for our 2016 dates when purchasing online.

[1] An award presented in Markham because magicians are weird.

[2] I'm allergic to children so if you ask me about performing at an event for kids, I'll likely just be handing you Phil's phone number.

Stephen Fry the Magician

Sat down to watch the Christmas special of the M series of QI with a wonderful surprise at the end involving Stephen Fry and the president of the Magic Circle, Scott Penrose.You'll need to watch until the end, and knowing QI, you'll probably learn an interesting thing or two along the way! 

It's no secret that Stephen Fry has an interest in magic. In fact, QI has magic tricks sprinkled throughout the episodes. He also wrote about his experiences with the seminal text Expert Card Technique by Frederick Braue and Jean Hugard in his memoir, Moab Is My Washpot.

CFI Canada Winter Solstice Celebration

Last night at a special bonus instalment of Magic Tonight, we were joined by a group from the Centre for Inquiry Canada celebrating the winter solstice and raising money for the centre. The holiday season can be difficult for skeptics, freethinkers and atheists, particularly those spending time with religious family members. It can create a feeling of being left out and so it's a pleasure and an honour to be able to provide a place for like minded people to celebrate and have a good time. On top of the magic, we celebrated The Flying Spaghetti Monster and all present were touched by his great noodly appendage!

This year secular organizations like CFI have been busy this year fighting for freedom of expression and freedom from religion around the world. In particular, CFI Canada has helped bring a number of free though refugees and their families to escape religious persecution around the world and make their way to Canada. The best way to support them in their work is to join CFI Canada.

For those who were interested in attending but weren't able to make it because of other holiday commitments, take a look at some of the fun we got up to. There may also be some video coming later in the week.

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Magic Tonight runs weekly at the Crimson Lounge in downtown Toronto, every Sunday night. Readers of this blog can use the discount code cficanada for a discount on the price of tickets and dinner when purchasing online.  A portion of every ticket sold will also go to support the centre and its work.