Hi, Cris Johnson here with yet another lengthy review. I never review something unless I've used it in paid shows. A little about me...I'm primarily a stage guy and have been a full timer for over 7 years. Onto the review...

EFFECT: As performed on America's Got Talent!

It is a rare moment in Magic History when a concept as revolutionary as the Appearing Pole comes along. Jason Renek inspired this idea, and now, the Appearing pole concept has been taken to a whole new dimension.

The Magician strolls onstage with a small lunch sack. He looks inside as if to find something magical. Sprinkle a little bit of glitter into the bag, immediately a microphone pole emerges from within. It seems to take on a life of it's own as it grows and grows. This looks like pure magic, but it is only just the beginning of the magic that soon takes place.

The magician looks out into the crowd, hands the bag to a spectator to hold, and then continues pulling about three more feet of the microphone stand out of the bag! If that wasn't enough, it doesn't end there:

The magician removes the entire staff from the paper bag, yet it appears to be way too tall. The magician comments that the mic stand may be fine for Wilt Chamberlin, but unfortunately it won't work too well for someone like him. Mystically and slowly as the magician taps on the mic clip, the pole begins to shrink while remaining in full view! Down it goes. Now, the magician plugs it into the base that is under the scarf on the floor. Now for the most amazing part:

The microphone stand seems to take on a life of it's own as it floats and bobs and tries to get away, but it is no match for the magician's skill as it eventually obeys his commands and comes to rest gently on the floor to a well deserved applause!

Does not include Microphone

PRICE: $99.95

MY IMPRESSION: First off, full disclosure - when I bought this, I had no intention of using the "growing" part of the prop. It's based on a principle many of you will be familiar with. I have no idea how that part of the routine would go over. I only do the "floating" part. As far as the routine and how it goes over in front of an audience, I definitely have to give this a high recommendation. In short, audiences like it, because the mic stand looks so innocent. The set-up is quick and easy and getting "into" the routine is simple, but it does require a lot of practice to "get into" the routine smoothly and quickly in front of an audience.

ANGLES: The angles on this are roughly the same as a zombie. This is not designed to be anywhere near as elaborate of a routine as some of the classic zombie routines, so you can probably assume slightly better angles.

Now that I've covered my thoughts of the trick and (most important to me) how my audiences like it, I want to get into specifics...

QUALITY OF PROPS: I have to give this a "middle" review. If you're familiar with the concept that makes this "grow" then you know the plastic will crack over time. I use an 8' Appearing Wand in my school shows so often, so I need to replace it once a year. Since I don't plan on doing the "growing" part of this routine, this should last me much longer. The supplied gimmicks and foulard are both of decent quality.

However, there is a "big but." When I received my unit, the magnet (necessary to the routine) was missing. Fortunately, I bought it thru Hocus Pocus and they remedied the problem immediately - GREAT staff, those guys.

Unfortunately, that wasn't the end of my problems. I was really busy doing shows on the road when this came, so I didn't have time to thoroughly check the package and essentially, the mic stand comes in two pieces...my second piece was also completely missing!! Once again, Hocus Pocus made the correction IMMEDIATELY. (They are so awesome.) I felt bad not cathing both mistakes right away and making Hocus Pocus send two separate shipments - oops!

I also don't blame Hocus Pocus as the unit comes sealed in a plastic wrapping, making it impossible to realistically check each unit.

that STILL wasn't the end of the problem, however. The two pieces each, according to the directons, have a hole to allow you to insert the gimmick. Well, one piece did not have a hole, so I had to make my own.

Finally, the written instructions left much to be desired. Fortunately, the effect is based on a familiar principle in magic, so learning the routine was rather easy. Fine tuning the routine took some time, but the results were worth it.

I know a lot of old school magicians prefer books to DVDs, but to me, not every magician is good at writing, so this is one case where a DVD would have been a better choice.

OVERALL: It's actually a really good effect and I do recommend it. Maybe I'm the only one who had an incomplete package, who knows? Just order it from Hocus Pocus and they'll make sure you'll get everything.

Cris

I forgot to add this - another "beef" I had was the actual mic clip - I have a Shure sm58 wireless microphone - an industry standard. The mic clip with the prop was waaayyyyy too small in diameter to hold the microphone I own. If you want to put an actual microphone in yours, you'll need to find something thin - perhaps a toy. Due to the nature of the gimmick, I don't think you can swap out the clip without damaging the prop. That REALLY irritated me, but it didn't seem to matter to my audience. They seemed to "get" that it was a mic stand even without a actual mic in it.

Cris

This was the biggest magic purchase that I threw away after owning it for one month.

Mine had all the problems that the above poster had as well.

S. Patrick

Hey Chris...I know you are new to the Café, but your reviews are excellent! Just letting you know I appreciate it. I especially like when you show the product in one of your performances.

Keep'm coming.

Rich B.

Rich,

Thanks! I really like the Café but I was tird of reading "this sucks" or "this is awesome." Context is important as Brad Henderson said. Some people are collectors in magic. Sme are street performers. Some are full-time kids' guys, etc. Knowing a person's situation as well as details on why an effect is good/not good in their eyes is important. Rather then complaining about it, I decided to give reviews as I would like to see them. It's nice to know you like 'em - thanks!

S.Patrick,

I can certainly understand your fustration - it drive me nuts! But once you actually get those issues ironed out, it's actually a pretty good product. I judge by how my audiences respond. Just my 2 cents.

Cris