I agree about Dinky. That is the fourth time I have seen his act. You know that he has done that bit thousands of times, but every time I see him do it, he acts as if none of the funny bits had happened before (they do every show). It amazes me how he keeps it fresh every night. The true mark of a pro....

Well done, Dinky!

Scott Compton

Yeah Kline - sorry I didn't make it up to the room - the folks from Cincinnati were celebrating a 50th birthday for a good friend, so I partied with them all night. (also driving back sat night puts a damper on things).

Speaking of Dinky, I came across the masks he was using for his excellent vent routine on-line. You can find them by doing a search for "ventrilomask." There's even one for sale on ebay right now. Careful though, he's set the bar pretty high.

What did you guys think about the Headliner Show downtown?

First of all, I thought it was technically flawless. Now some may say I am biased since I was on the crew which I am not, but I have a higher purpose for writing that.

Steve called the show this year and pretty much ran the show at Vets from every aspect. For those who are competing and peforming in a couple of weeks at the World Magic Seminar, take heed.

Steve has worked on the technical angle the last few years for the Headliner Show as far as lighting and music goes. He has the load in down to a science. We showed up Thursday afternoon with a 4 hour block of time to hang 8 intelligent light fixtures and all wiring and Steve had a 3 man crew in and out in less than 2 hours.

We arrived at the theater on Friday morning shortly before 8 am waiting for the acts to show up and start setting up their equipment. By the time they arrived, the stage had already been taped off for safety standards, and Finney's lighting was already done. Steve stood center stage the whole day and ran through each performers set list and made quick work of their lighting needs. I use to travel with him as on stage assistant about 10 years ago, and this was my first time "back in the saddle" so to speak. Seeing him call a show was nothing short of in awe of his professionalism. He received a lot of compliments from the acts and their support staff back stage.

2 acts performed a dancing cane and were worried about the obvious lighting standards. Steve made short work of those concerns. A vanish and reappearance in the audience, and the lights swept from the stage to the exact spot in the audience right on cue.

I don't want to tip all of his trade secrets, but let me just say to read through his production manual and familiarize myself with what I needed to do, this is the real deal. He had everything from performers flight times to the convention, call times, performance requests, phone numbers of suppliers, etc. Everything that was either used or anyone performing, Steve had at his fingertips every bit of information.

All I can say is, if you are performing at the Seminar in 2 weeks, get your riders and set lists to Steve now. You won't regret it. Rich Bloch worked with Steve on the Headliner Show last year and there is a reason he is bringing him to Vegas to produce the shows.

Do I sound biased? Maybe...but for the last few years, I have sat through Magi-Fest and IBM Convention shows, and there are missed music cues, insufficient lighting etc. I could not figure out certain acts who I know use a Showtech, having music problems, but I understand they were not permitted to use Showtech's for these shows. This is the first show I have seen in a while with no music problems or missed cues. (Albeit the House Lights on a delay, but Finney got much mileage out of that and for what it is worth the House Light guy was 80+ years old, and almost deaf).

Just my 2 cents. Thanks to Steve for letting me learn the ropes. You may take a bow and take a seat. (Seriously, I stood next to him from 8 am to 11 pm. 20 minutes for dinner and 18 minutes for lunch is all he sat. Try standing 14+ hours nonstop without leaning against anything.)

Michael - absolutely. for a show of that size and complexity to come off without a problem technically is very impressive. Also, I thought the show was a perfect length and had a nice variety of performers. Finney did a great job as usual as MC.