I've placed this note on The Sidewalk Shuffle page in answer to a question, but think it will also be of interest here too;

"Crowdpuller" is a brand new 2 DVD set starring Peter Wardell, who some of you may have seen at the Magic
Circle Celebrations in the summer. I think he has tipped all the info there is to know about performing real street magic on these DVD's. Not only does he reveal all of his act, including his trademark Cups
and Balls plus his knotted silk routine, but also he gives some fabulous advice on using his techniques for working tradeshows. The DVD's feature Peter performing live at Covent Garden, The South Bank and at a major trade show event at the NEC. This plus studio footage for all the explanations make for a unique look into the world of a great magical talent.

Regards,
Russ

Can't believe Peter has tipped so much of his work. He even goes into how the process works for getting the best pitch position.

He's basically selling you a career for forty quid.

The DVD is one of the best releases this year. Even if you don't do perform on the street/trade shows you will learn a lot from the DVD. Peter is a trained actor and it shows in terms of his audience management techniques.

Although he doesn't do it on the DVD Peter also does one of the best Shadow Coins I've ever seen.

Any more reveiws or news on this dvd?

Any one have the dvd yet?

Early days - just grabbed a copy and watching the first DVD (of two).

Superb. Won't say that am a close friend of Pete but have worked alongside him at a handful of corporate whatnots.

With that in mind - it's a mighty powerful DVD. As have just written to him - it's brilliant to finally see someone in front of an audience. Not an L&L audience (no disrespect) but an initially stone-cold audience of passers by - within minutes Pete builds up dozens of people around him and then adds to that as his routine builds. The routines themselves (explained in detail) are cornerstone pieces - most are traditional effects (card to mouth, cards to pocket, coins through table, his masterful Cups and Balls, Slydini silks, C&R rope) and adapted perfectly for a street-setting.

Again - haven't watched in depth but will follow-up with a more indepth review in the coming days. VERY positive initial thoughts.

D.

I like it.

If I didn't already have a cups routine, this would be a great one to look into.
I bought it becuase I'm interested in the idea of busking and am always looking for ideas. I also am looking for ideas for the knotted silks and I got a few from his DVD.

The only part I didn't seem to go for was his crowd building technique of basically yelling as he performed. It seemed to work over time but it did not sit well with me. Again, I'm not a busker making a living on the street so don't listen to me, but it seems there would be better ways to build a crowd than shouting as you perform.


Lots of material on the DVD. It's a keeper I think. Especially for the newbie busker.

I still prefer Cellini Art of... #1.

<<Copied from my review on another site>>

Name: CROWDPULLER by Pete Wardell.

Author: Pete Wardell, produced by RSVP Magic.

Price: £39.99 incl. delivery.

Publisher: RSVPMagic.com

Date: Available now; released December 2005.

Pages/Length: Over 3 hours, spread across 2 DVDs.

Difficulty: 4/10-8/10 (Moves, gags, presentation, confidence…)

Out of 10: 10.

[u]Contents & Publisher Schpeel[/u]

"The street is where it all began both historically and personally. I've spent over fifteen years making a living performing magic to crowds that didn't know they were going to be a crowd. Providing the unexpected to the unsuspecting. Shakespeare said 'all the world's a stage' and if the police don't stop you then that's pretty much true. No matter where in the world I've been, and I've been around, no matter what language the people speak, the magic works" - PETER WARDELL

2 DISC SET CONTENTS INCLUDES:
- Behind the scenes - A exclusive look into the world of street performing filmed around Covent Garden and the South Bank in London.
- Getting a Crowd - Learn the real secrets of building a crowd and apply these techniques to your magic.
- The Pre-Show - Watch and learn from a true master as the techniques are put into action!
- The Magic - Explained in detail for the first time... Peter's entire pre-show performance! Featuring his versions of The C&R Rope, Coins thru table, Ambitious Card and The Peter Wardell Coin Load (Revealed for the first time).
- The Knotted Silks - One of Peter's featured routines and worth the price of the entire DVD set!
- Bonus Pickpocketing Techniques - A masterclass in boldness and technique.
- The Cups and Balls - Peter's trademark routine featured on DVD for the first time! First watch the complete routine in a live performance from the home of street theater, Covent Garden in London. Learn the correct props to use and where to get them! The complete routine revealed in intricate detail - nothing is held back! The One-Cup Variation - A fantastic seldom seen move!
- Trade Show Work - Learn how to apply the techniques taught on these DVD's into your next corporate event or trade show.


[u]Comments - The Chap[/u]

Attempts will be made to keep the following comments as impartial as possible; I’ve had the pleasure of working with Pete a handful of times and obtained this copy last week (paid for) from RSVPMagic. From the austere levels of the meandering beginner, to the more advanced-level working man – one could wager a hard bet any Magi would learn (most a HUGE deal) from this DVD set. As stated above; Pete’s been working the streets for 15 years – internationally he’s worked in the US, the Far-East and Asia. As a corporate Magician he’s worked in the UK for some of the top business boys around, and to add the final credibility for the gold-lovers; Pete snatched first place at the International Magic Competition 2001, up against such top-notch names as R.Paul Wilson, Bob Kohler, John Carney, Aaron Fisher and Andy Nyman.

Aka – the chap knows his chops.

Earlier this year Pete was debuting his one-man show “Hustle” in London; a demonstration-performance of the hustles we experience day-to-day, a lecture-demonstration in card-table artifice, and a splattering of his regular pieces. A DVD is forthcoming.

Pete also does the best shadow coins you’re ever likely to see in this life or the next.

http://www.PeteWardell.co.uk

[u]Comments - The DVD[/u]

So what of this masterpiece? In truth, impartiality cast aside like a dolphin in the wake of a tanker; I loved it. Two words bounced back and forth whilst watching it for me; the former being “brutal” and the latter being “honesty”. Pete is hugely modest in his aptitudes, his charm and his comedic capabilities.

[u]First DVD Deals with:[/u]
- An [u]introduction [/u]from the man himself, a little face-to-face chit chat and light verbal foreplay before the frivolties begin.
- A lovely little [u]montage [/u]section of Covent Garden; not quite peak season since Pete took the decision to film whilst the Edinburgh Fringe festival was full-throttling in Scotland. 7.15am too – full credit.
- The [u]Draw[/u]; the inaugural process of the performers deciding who does their proverbial ‘thang where and when. Plucking billets from a chaps cap it’s an age-old part of busking and well worth watching if you don’t know about the process.
- [u]Getting a Crowd[/u]; for anyone who works in groups larger than a half-dozen this is one of the real gems of the project; tips on who to choose, why to choose them, what people would stop and watch and why they might just turn and walk away.
- [u]PreShow Magic[/u]; pieces not part of the “Routine” but that will get a crowd gathering around you to a size large enough to work with. Standard routines (C&R rope, Coins Thru Table … ) but well adapted and worked to the street setting. One watches the entire warm-up phase, from Pete setting up table in an empty square, to him commencing his routine with forty or fifty people around him (that builds throughout to well over a hundred).
- [u]The Knotted Silks[/u]; Pete was personally taught this routine by the master of streets Cellini, who was himself taught by Slydini himself; the quality of instruction and the depth of experience is obvious; Pete also works a perfectly-covered watch steal into his version.
- [u]Final words[/u]; a brief insight from Pete with final tips on how to approach street performing, the mindset of a performer, and a final instruction never to work on his pitch. Ever.

[u]Second DVD Deals with:[/u]
- [u]Pete’s Cups and Balls routine[/u]; a mezcla of Ammar’s routine, Vernon’s routine, Gazzo touches hither and thither, and the final BOOTER of a melon underneath his hat, along with x4 final loads. His performance stretches for approx. 15 minutes (from memory) and is peppered with asides, audience-gags and involvement. A priceless touch with a little kid and Pete’s waistcoat – you have to buy it to see it. (Or watch the demo on RSVPMagic.com … ) This is Pete’s self-confessed cornerstone of his work today, it’s a routine of great beauty and ticks EVERY box required for the man on the street (or any large-scale performance). He quite rightly states that the number of people that would stop for a pasteboard-effect and the number of people that would stop and watch 3 old-age cups with 3 curious little baseballs are very different things. Just sitting on the table people stop to watch; again another golden touch from Pete – he gets the cups out and will then do his entire AC routine (finishing with card into mouth) before starting with the Cups.
- The [u]explanation [/u]is just as thorough as the effects and routines in the first DVD – MORE than enough covered. He starts with his props, the placements, where to obtain them, why he uses them as he does, how he began and why the routine’s evolved as it has. Explanations are concise and in extreme detail; he explains every nuance and metaphysical cranny, and then goes on to detail other non-performed tips and variations.
- [u]TRADE SHOW WORK;[/u] Much of Pete’s current-day work is from Trade Shows and as something of a bonus to the DVD Pete has included a lengthy reel of him working the people at an IKyP stand, his interactions with people passing by, as well as an interview with the MD of the company detailing the advantages of using a Magician.
[u]Final Thoughts[/u]
Niggling demons tell me I’ve omitted details from the set, and in truth I’ve only had time to watch it all once, (with re-watches of certain moments), what is sure is that there are several more rewatches and re-re-watches to come; there’s simply too much and too many to ingest, digest and outwardly-utilise from one glimpse. Pete has experience; in a day when bedroom webcams are now dominating the Magic markets with nippers rushing through their 63-packet Sybil variation, it’s a cold-water refreshment to see a man of such talent putting such vast quantities of top-quality material into a project.

As stated – there’s material here for EVERYONE; there’s a ton of live footage of him on the streets (again, refreshing to watch someone performing a) Live to an audience and b) not to a happy-gas L&L audience (no disrespect)) and for the price there’s little or nothing on the market, in this arena that offers as much across such a spectrum.

Much like the Malone DVD-set – even if you’re not looking for material you’re guaranteed to find ideas, gags and lines – AND you get to watch again and again one of the UK’s top street-names doing what he does best; pulling in the Crowds.

DVD Trailer on RSVP Website

Best wishes - questions PM or email.
D.

Just for the record, I didn't participate in the 2001 Internation Magic Competition. I was a hired performer for close up and lecture.

Just received this dvd this morning, been buying magic videos and dvds for years and haven't seen as good a quality as this for the way it is filmed and material. Does anyone know if there are any more dvds like this in the pipeline.

Some people like the cellini stuff? not me but some people

In answer to Russ Brown's question:

Peter Wardell will be releasing a brand new DVD project at the beginning of 2006. Entitled "Hustle", it features Peter's live show and was recently filmed at a London theatre. As mentioned in another post "This is a performance of the hustles we experience day-to-day, a demonstration in card-table artifice, and a splattering of his regular pieces".

I'm glad that you liked the DVD's!

Have got be honest, I bought this because of the title and advertising that went with it, "Crowd Puller", I'm interested in how to pull together a crowd or to gel together a group of people to watch so to speak, and I think I/We was sold down the swanie, don't get me wrong, the magic Peter doe's is good, nay exellent most of the time, but that wasn't what I bought it for, have plenty of magic.....

Let me explain, I really do think £40 is a bit over priced just to watch someone go to a place where people "expect" to see street performers, and shout very loudly "I'm building a crowd" whilst banging a stick on the table....this is how to build a crowd?, surly anyone could do that?, is this is really the BIG secret?....

I wonder if they would have been better if they had filmed Peter in a shopping parade elsewhere, you know away from what must be the easiest place in the country, to show us that the shouting and banging would build the same size crowd and fill the hat......? Please don't get me wrong, I'm not saying it wouldn't work, I really don't know, but it would have conviced me more that this was the Real work on crowd building....as is I not sure this is.

Dave

For the record I don’t know Peter and I have never met him.
Guess what I found under my Christmas tree, Peter Wardell, ok on DVD.

I really do think this is an excellent DVD.

I have worked Covent Garden and I can tell you, this is no walk in the Park. He was working this show honestly; he had a slow crowd build as well. This marks him out as a well seasoned pro. There can be a massive disadvantage to working an established pitch which is a lack of curiosity or the greater need to create it.
Truth I can pull a crowd in shopping parade in a much shorter time buy passing wind but so could a drunk. In un-established pitches curiosity is much easer to establish. In established pitches yes one right to say people "expect" to see street performers. This does not make it easer in Covent Garden; (unlike other pitches/festivals I have performed at around the world) they judge and choose which performers they are going to watch. This is partly an educated crowd and they know there are ten performers in your flank they can watch instead. He worked dam hard to pull that crowd if you think it was just banging and yelling watch again.

I think it was good that he was not teaching folk to act like him. Which makes this a DVD I would highly recommend to newcomers and pros alike.

£40 as far as the magic world or busking goes that will be a wise investment.

Hat of to you Pete well done.
Mario

Hi

In response to Dave I would say that Covent Garden is probably one of the hardest pitches in the world. The reason I'm shouting is to be heard, not to get a crowd. I don't use amplification and that particular pitch is a big open space and it is the first show of the day, so they are not waiting for me. "I'm building a crowd" is, well, FUNNY, to an audience who quite frankly are not expecting a show (maybe 20 % are), and it keeps them there instead of them thinking 'GET ON WITH IT". I've involved them by letting them in on the mechanics of what I'm doing. If you want the real secret to getting a crowd without shouting, (shhhh don't tell anyone), play some loud music and set your props up - instant crowd. Just be prepared to watch them leave when the music stops and you have nothing to say and you're not going to juggle a chainsaw or ride a 10foot unicycle. I appreciate the comments keep them coming. Pete

Pete, the dvd was great...opne of my favorites and I know a little about dvd's
hope you liked the Slydini
kozmo

Kozmo, I thought "As I recall.." was/were excellent. I have a Trade Show in Feb for guess who? Georgia Pacific, they make napkins. That's got to be fate! Any one who wants to understand how misdirection works needs "As I recall...". Just the archive footage of Slydini would have been good enough for me. If you see Jim Hello. Pete

I meant : If you see Jim SAY Hello

Pete...just watched your dvds again....really good man!
pete, invite me to england?.....i would love to come and take the tourists money!...haven't been there before but it looks like fun....actually I liked the other pitch, not covent ...it looked better for me..sometrees, shade...tons of walker bys...is it busy everyday?

hey man, if I talk to him I will tell him hey from you
koz

Pete there I must disagree with you Covent Garden being the hardest pitch.
My visit there was a short lived one but my hats where fat. I think every one was at 2004 Glastonbury Festavel so there was only a few there. My licience has long sinced expiered and we are not moving to London at the time we were exploring this as an opption.
What works for one does not work for another, that is the bottom line.
If I am to work uncharted pitch and get a fat hat that is hard work.
I can pull crowds in most citys I go to, but making them pay is hard work.
Mario

I suppose you're right. CG in peak season is a good paying pitch. It is a tough pitch with regards to size, filling the space with a cups show isn't easy. Some people play to the side, I play it dead centre and aim for a crowd a juggler would be proud of, (and failed many times, even in peak season). You said it yourself if you're in a long line of performers and the crowd can choose then it's tough. That's why I alway go first if I can, or last to get the drunks. CG is an all year round pitch, and unless you can do a slow build in the quiet times then you're in trouble, why do you think we filmed the dvd in August! So 70% of the time it's a tough pitch. Good job with the hats, I'd like to see you work sometime. Pete