What The Audience Sees:
"AIIIIEEEIIIEII! OMG! Listen to me for a second! Please! I've got to tell somebody! I mean, no one will believe me but I SAW IT man! I saw it with my own eyes, I swear! Jamie came into our office and said that he was practicing for Magic Friday and that he had burned himself. Well, that sucks for him, but we're all excited because we might get to see fire, right? Then he showed us his fingers, which had these two blisters on them, man, that was gross, but whatever, bust out the fire! So he has us pick a card and then takes out his lighter- sweet! But then they guy burns himself again! ^%#%! We wanted to see something alight, you know what I mean? But listen! He shows us his previous blisters and they turned into the card we were thinking of!!! Suzie fainted for $#!!$&& sake! and I actually had a @%&@^@ heart attack! That's why I'm telling you this from this %@$%^@ hospital bed! It was the most amazing thing I've ever seen!!!
How It Went:
Aside from being a totally awesome day with amazing reactions, Friday also solved a very long search for me. There are some tricks that I only perform for women. My sponge ball routine, although absolutely killer (if I may say so, lol), is a great example. I just wouldn't do it for a group of guys. Maybe some trick involving a flower might be another example. So I've been looking, for years, for a trick that I could perform for a bunch of guys. Something that would kill and shock and that they know was only for them. Well, here it is. Branded is absolutely perfect. That's not to say that you couldn't perform it for women, which you obviously can, but I liked the idea of, "Hey guys, I can't really show the ladies this because it might be a bit gross, but here, take a look at this..." It just set the perfect mood and feeling. That's just something about a personal search of my own, however. For the rest of you, this is the perfect effect to astound everyone you meet.
And it destroyed all day Friday. Group after group was absolutely floored and, if you've ever performed any type of blister effect before, you know how it plays. I'm not sure I can explain why, but it really hits people hard. There's a mixture of "Am I really seeing this?" with "How is this possible?" that strikes people down. It's strong magic, great theatre, and is worth every penny and second.
Angry Bob Rating:
For those of you reading this article for the first time, Angry Bob is a co-worker who has an understanding of some magic because his uncle was a magician. Angry Bob knows that TT’s exist, for example, but he has no desire to become a magician himself. He also has an anger management problem that can be experienced first hand if he can’t figure out how a trick is done. A high rating means he has no idea.
Lol, 5/5! He had no idea! "HA! You burned yourself? Serves you right, ##%*&@! Yeah, give me a @^%@ card, @^%$@%&@!... ... ... WHA?! ... ..." -silence.
My Rating:
Well, I absolutely love this effect and love that I can carry it with me anywhere! It also is a great excuse for carrying a lighter and enables me to perform stunning magic at a moments notice. Imagine going over to a party and there's a pack of cards there? This won't be your typical card trick, I can assure you. A perfect effect. 11/10.
The JDG Tip:
I think the morphing idea that is explained on the DVD is brilliant, as I always thought the immediate appearance of a blister was a bit of a stretch with other blister effects (that's just me, by the way.) So the morph presentation is the one I'll be using. So, on that note, I show people the blisters before I even start the effect. "I was practicing my magic the other day, and take a look at what happened!" The thought that the blisters are a day or two old really helps sell it, I think. And the lighter hasn't even been brought into play yet.
Closing Thoughts:
I used to walk out the door with enough magic in my pockets to perform for a week in an expensive Vegas production, lol, while never performing the same trick twice. Now, I can perform without carrying hardly anything at all- a true sign of learning and experience, I'm proud to say. Branded, however, will be coming with me wherever I go. Brilliant! Thanks Tim!
HAVE GREAT WEEK!
Jamie D. Grant
Vancouver Magician
www.jamiedgrant.com
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1 comment:
Jamie,
First of all, thanks very much for Magic Friday. I just found out about this via your recent interview on Magic Newswire.
I have had Branded for awhile but had never tried it out. Well, based on your recommendation, I threw it into my case for a strolling gig for a corporate holiday party in Austin, TX last night. It got great reactions, way out of proportion to the effort required. One sophisticated young female geologist at this party was polite but analytical about the other effects I was doing. When I performed Branded, she loved it and was emphatic that I include this effect for whatever other people I performed for at the party.
Thanks from Austin, TX!!!
Oh, and guess what. I did buy one of the Riser Micro Chop Cups with the Loomis routine when it first came out. I have performed this in the past but wasn't sharp enough on it for last night. I will be re-including it though.
-Keith
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