new additions to a gig

Had another very positive gig last night. It was a close up gig at a garden party and was quite different from other gigs. To begin with I had a different close up partner with me. Initially this was going to be a group outing of four magicians. My regular partner, a chap I've not gigged with before and Darren, who I have performed stage work with, both comedy and magic. Due to other commitments only Darren and I went to the gig. Before hand Darren had the idea of working through the "The Four Card Trick" together in tandem. He suggested this could be a good opener. I liked the idea of us introducing ourselves to the party en mass, and then splitting  up and managing different groups of people. This worked beautifully. I found people engaged with the close up magic much more readily. This idea wouldn't have been feasible in all the gigs I have done in the past, we were fortunate that everyone was assembled in one spot. However if circumstances allow I think this opener can add greatly to the magic.

On my first set I flubbed "Wee Wee Mentalist", and effect I had picked up instantly and had never failed. This was upsetting but I bounced back instantly. It just goes to show how important practise and rehearsals are. Rehearsals cover what you do if things  go wrong. I SHOULD have used the Invisible Deck to show how I'm a better mentalist than the stick man. 

I found myself falling back on  Wee Wee Mentalist and Ambitious Card an awful lot. I had to make a concerted effort to use Here then There, Do as I do, Serial Killer (which went down AMAZINGLY well I might add) Also did  Mind Reading and Invisible Deck. I was prepped for Cartomancy but there was too much noise and no available space to perform it. I also didn't have enough table space for Out Of This World.

At the  last gig I decided I needed more quick fancy effects that I could perform with a regular shuffled deck, such as Ambitious Card and Card in Hand. IN that case it was because I was dealing with people who were the worse for alcohol. This time I think I could have done with these effects due to noise and space considerations. There exists a DVD of such effects, however I shall consult my arcane Library First.

Despite all these things the gig went very well indeed. We had very positive feedback and left feeling rather jolly. I did not have my normal pre gig terror, I was worried this was over confidence however I think it's more confidence and experience. However I need to prep my props for the gig a few days in advance, not the day before as this time I had to spend the day before the gig and the morning of the gig day itself looking after my girlfriend.  But overall a fantastic night