The Endless Chain

On Tuesday night, I gave an impromptu performance at The Newest Trick In The Book, put on by the Toronto Magic Company and hosted by the charming Jonah Babins. I had just come from another event and had been asked to step in for another performer who couldn’t make it. You can see photos from the event from David Fulde here).

Toronto’s magic video elf Chris Mayhew shared the video of that performance:

The Endless Chain is an old crooked gambling game. As Whit Hayden and Chef Anton described in their monograph on the subject, the most difficult thing to do while presenting the Chain is to convince people that it’s actually possible to win.

Normally it’s presented as a piece of close-up magic (and you can imagine it would be much clearer if you could be sitting around watching the chain from above). But from the composition of the rest of the show, which was heavy on card magic, I opted to switch to this, literally on the walk up as I was being introduced. But it felt true to the rules of the Newest Trick as it’s something I’ve never performed in that setting before.

Photos from Magic & Martini in Toronto

Last night we had another sold out Magic & Martini at the gorgeous SpiritHouse in downtown Toronto. We have a limited performance schedule coming up in August as I will be travelling, but we are back in full swing in September. Readers can use the code secrets for a discount on tickets when purchasing online. We will also be back in Hillsburgh and Oakville in October.

Here are some photos from the show courtesy of Tyler Sol Williams. 

Photos from Magic & Martini Featuring The Evasons

Last night's sold out Magic & Martini was an unbelievable treat for me. One of the most rewarding things in this industry is collaborating with other performers. For two and a half years, I had that chance every week when I was hosting Magic Tonight. But there was one act that was never able to perform on the show.

The Evasons, while originally Canadian, perform now almost exclusively in the US. And since Magic Tonight wrapped, Magic & Martini has been a solo endeavour. But the opportunity presented itself and I couldn't resist, so last night's show featured a brief interlude from the world's foremost mentalist duo. (Which was a total surprise to most of the ticket buyers since we only decided to do this on Wednesday!)

Jeff & Tessa Evason

They are unquestionably the top in their field, if not in the world then at least in the English-speaking world.) There's something that happens when your name becomes synonymous with what you do. The way you reach for a Kleenex and you don't "search" for things on the internet, you Google them. Among magic-folk, what was — once up on a time — "Second Sight" is now just known as "The thing the Evasons do."

Thank you to everyone who attended the show. Here are a few photos from the night from Tyler Sol Williams. 

We have some dates with space still in August. Readers can use the code olive for a discount on the price of tickets when booking online. 

How not to lose $100

A short excerpt from Magic & Martini at SpiritHouse in Downtown Toronto. This is a piece of magic I created based on a trick of Tommy Wonder's several years ago. I first began performing it in 2012 as part of my show, Lies, Damn Lies & Magic Tricks. 

It appeals to me because of how direct it is. A lot of magic is based on distraction and surprise where the climax comes out of left field, but here I get to say what will happen and it happens. 

The trick is called "Elizabeth V" for reasons which would take a while to explain. 

Magic & Martini continues with through the summer with selected dates in Toronto. Readers can use the code olive for a discount on the price of tickets when purchasing online. (We will be back in Oakville and Hillsburgh in the fall.)

Tommy Wonder

One of my early inspirations in magic was a dutch performer named Tommy Wonder (ne Jacobus Bemelman). I devoured all of the Tommy Wonder material which was available. (Which at that time in the history of the internet, making far too many purchases on eBay.)

One of the things that made him such a memorable performer was that more than doing magic, he was someone that magic happened to. (And ending prepositions with sentences is a situation up with which we must not put.) He took after another dutch forerunner, Fred Kaps in that respect. It has been over ten years since he passed away I reached a point where I thought I had seen all that there was.

Yesterday, the YouTube algorithm (probably prompted by my review of Jamy Ian Swiss' article about him) turned this up for me and I remembered what I found so inspiring years ago. So enjoy a rather grainy television performance from the late, great Tommy Wonder:

Photos from Magic & Martini in Toronto #pride Edition

Last night, we had another Sold Out Magic & Martini at SpiritHouse in downtown Toronto. Thank you to everyone who attended. It was a special night for the show because it is Pride Week/end in Toronto.

On stage I walk a fairly narrow tightrope. I've always tried to make being gay something which defines how I behave in a show. I like that it's under the surface; something that people who are paying attention can discover on their own. The great Chicago close-up magician Eugene Burger said that good magic has extra details hidden inside of it, just for those people who are willing to pay attention. Or, as he put it, "If they don't pay attention, they don't deserve to know."  

In an earlier version of my show Lies, Damn Lies & Magic Tricks, which I did at a number of theatres and festivals in 2012, there was a lovely moment, about half way through the show which was very appropriate, and very cleverly constructed public coming out moment. I was quite pleased with it and felt very proud of it. Now I tend to delight privately that people can't tell unless they're willing to pay attention. There's a more mystical magical quality to it which I appreciate more.

In any event, here are a few photos from last night's show, by Tyler Sol Williams. We are on hiatus in Oakville and Hillsburgh for the summer, but do have a few Toronto dates scheduled with tickets available. My readers should use the code pride for a discount on tickets when reserving online.