What The Audience Sees:

"Wow, Jamie sure has had a tough time the last few weeks. I mean some of that magic lately was a bit weak- too bad I can't tell you about it. Anyways, he made up for it this Friday. And it wasn't anything big either. Check it out, he took out his pen, right? It was a plain old Bic pen, but he could make the cap jump on and off at will! It was crazy! Basically, he would be holding the pen, writing side up and the cap on the bottom and then he would then just twirl it and the cap would be on the writing part. It was nuts! Just by turning it around he could make the cap go from one end to the other. It was so cool! We loved it!"

How It Went:

Lol, sorry about the delay in Magic Friday reports folks but the last couple Fridays haven't been the most fantastic, lol. Oh well, that's the point of MF- to try things out. I was quite happy with this Friday, though. Greg's new effect played way bigger than I thought it would. I think it has something to do with the fact that everybody has used a Bic pen at one point in his or her life. That, and the fact that the illusion just catches people off guard.

I started off the day doing the full routine but, by the end of the day, would just do it twice. I found that the first time was a "What just happened, show me again!" kind of moment and the second was a "Wha? C'mon, one more time!" to which I would respond, "No." lol. It's a perfect little opener that is a great introduction. It's not like you're walking up to someone and pulling a bird out of their shoe or anything. You're simply doing something really visual with an object that they've used many times in their own life. It went over really well.

Best Lines:

"What did I just see there?! Man, you must have fast hands!"
-It's always nice to be credited with skill, lol.

"Gimme that pen...What on Eeee-arth? How did you do that?!"
-Pretty standard but nice, nonetheless.

Angry Bob Rating:

"Hunh. Why don't you show me ***** ******** ********* ** ***, you %$^^$% &^$%$."
-1/5. What can I say? He nailed it. I sure as heck didn't tell him that though, lol. I also showed this to my magician gang and they knew what was going on but I have to say, I honestly don't think the lay audience caught it. I think the only reason Angry Bob knew was because he probably owned, or saw, a *** through ******* at some point in his life. If someone's unfamiliar with that device, I don't think you'll have a problem. Also, Greg has some awesome points (the one from Garret Thomas is great) on the DVD that cover the handing out. So no worries.

My Rating:

Magic Friday Approved!
-Like I mentioned earlier, this trick isn't about changing someone's life. For me, it was about establishing credibility. I was able to walk up to someone that didn't know me and, literally, within seconds, establish myself as someone that is able to do something very cool, without freaking anyone out. I have no problem recommending this trick. And it went into my gig bag, which says something as well.

The JDG Tip:

Read it here!

Closing Thoughts:

I think I like the new Magic Friday Approved rating. Basically I want everyone to be able to see that and know that they can safely buy the trick and will use it. It applies in this case, for sure. Have fun with it!

Have a great week, everyone!

Jamie D. Grant
New Magic Friday Studio!