Mark James' MULTIPLE SELECTION from his DVD set "Supercharged Classics Vol. 2"

~ Magic Friday is written by Vancouver Magician Jamie D. Grant

What The Audience Sees:

”So me, Big Ted, and Angry Bob are all hanging out when Jamie comes in and asks us to all take a card. We’re all pretty excited because it’s not often we all get to pick one at the same time and we’re all feelin’ pretty good. I don’t know what else to say, really. Jamie had us put them back, the cards were lost in the deck and then, one by one, he brought down the Magic Craziness down so hard upon our heads that it gave me a Magic Headache! Dude, how does he do it? I mean, does he freeze time and go around the room giggling at how awesome his powers must be? Anyways, he found our cards in some fun ways and when Angry Bob’s was found under the bottle- Whoooooo weeeeeee! I thought he was going to crack it over Jamie’s head! Big Ted simply fell to the ground and busted out some crunches. Toooo fun!”

How It Went:

I know I only review one trick from a DVD or book so I need to come out and say this- Mark James is great. Is he revolutionary in coming up with new ideas and methods? Not that I saw (even though he might very well be) on this DVD. But would I hire him to work my party? Absolutely. He just has a personality that, in my opinion, makes watching this DVD, and his previous volume, a pleasure to watch. As a result, I picked his Multiple Selection to review, not because the trick is super crazy but because it’s a real world worker.

Which brings me to Friday, which went rather well. Multiple Selection is just that, the finding of different people’s cards and it played great as I am almost always performing to groups. I have actually been looking for a multiple card routine for a while so I should thank Mark for helping me find it so easily (the name). That said, the trick itself didn’t change anyone’s lives necessarily but it was a solid piece that enabled me to interact well with my Magic Friday crowd. On the DVD, I think Mark says he uses it as the middle trick in his set, and I agree that that’s an excellent spot. Which brings me to something else...

The super cool thing that Mark did with his DVD is that he shows you what an entire set looks like. You see him at the group and he shows you all his tricks in a row in front of a real audience. You get to see how he transitions from one trick to another, where his props go, and what he says in between the effects. That’s something I would totally love to see more of. Brilliant.

Best Lines:

”That wasn’t it- AHHHHHHHHHHHH”

-This person yelled so loudly, I’m surprised security didn’t come up, lol.


”Lollolololol..”

-That’s always the best reaction to me.


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.

“Yeah, I bet those cards aren’t even in the...WTF! ^^$&&&. Hey Grant, go ^#& yourself...”

-Ha ha, there’s a good card under glass bit, and I saved this for Angry Bob. I brought in a water bottle myself for this very reason. Bingo! 5/5.

My Rating:

I’m going to give the trick a 8/10 simply because the trick isn’t out of this worldy- but don’t let that fool you. It’s a solid worker and is the type of thing that will get used when you’re doing paid gigs. I’d also like to say again how much I enjoyed watching these DVDs. I sincerely hope that someone reads this and picks them up because I’m sure they’ll be as surprised as I was. And if you’re someone who’s looking to improve his Walk Around set, these discs will be solid gold.

The JDG Tip:

You might be tempted to vary the replacement procedures for each selection but let me discourage you from doing that. There’s something to be said about the uniformity of it all and I don’t think any spec had a clue as to where they were coming from.

Closing Thoughts:

Mark, if you ever get to Canada, let me know so I can throw a party- just so I can have you at it.

Have a great week, everyone!

Jamie D. Grant
www.whatizit.net
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