It was a shaky start to be sure. He did ok but was definitely nervous. Letterman did nothing to help. Ellen is great at letting the magic be the magic. While there were some things we could all nitpick on in the performance it was really pretty good given David and being on national TV. And for all of David's awkwardness it really helped the card box effect because of the stated awkward hold of the box then there was a bit of a break (time delay).

It's great to see magicians on TV that work in the real world. I like Blaine and Angel but their magic is not what the rest of the magic world can do or will do.

Excited for tonight to be sure.

Adam

The audience tends to suspect any prop which appears to exist only for the purpose of doing a trick. If the presentation justified or explained some other reason for the prop existing then the question Dave asked might be avoided because it wouldn't occur to him to ask it. For example, you might notice that he didn't ask Jason if he could do the trick(s) without the wallet, or without the cards. Everyone knows what cards and wallets are and why they exist.

Not putting down Jason, just hoping maybe others might learn from it.

I don't comment here often, but I did see this episode last night and thought it appropriate to comment. To me it shows how unbelievably important using "non-gimmicked" effects is for a TV spot such as Letterman. If it's close-up magic week, it needs to be not only close-up, but world-class non-gimmicked sleight-of-hand. The quote "can I ask you a professional question? Could you do that without the sleeve?" left Jason absolutely no "out" or wiggle room and, no disrespect meant here at all, but Jason kind of set himself up for it by doing such an obviously gimmicked trick in the first place.

And, my thoughts as to never upstaging someone like Letterman or Leno- you're not going to upstage them- but you can get them to back off. How do you do this? You have to REALLY FOOL THEM. Freak them out. In other words, it comes down to one thing. If you want to really make a magic spot on national television work you need to act like, feel like and really be one of the best sleight-of-hand magicians in the world. Period.

Also- remember one final thing. I've read posts where we give Letterman grief for busting a performer's chops. Which, honestly, is a legitimate gripe. We need to remember one thing though- it's a CHALLENGE situation for the host. They aren't inviting a magician onto the show because he is a celebrity. Letterman invites magicians onto the show to purposely try to make them look bad. It's the challenge and the overall "ah- I got you now" attitude that sells the spot. American Idol shows this off brilliantly as well. Performers come to sing and then get upset when they are told they aren't very good. Not the same, but a "challenge" situation. And, whenever performers are on TV in a challenge type of environment- they'd better be good. Otherwise, they signed themself up for it.

So yeah- I'm looking forward mostly to seeing Johhny Ace Palmer on Wednesday- just coming off his appearance at Metro-Magic last October

- Kevin

Ooof ...that was a rugged start to the week.

Exactly. That's why Penn & Teller do so well in dealing with someone like Letterman. I think he's a little bit scared of them. (ever since the cockroaches thing. remember ?)

I agree...I feel like you should know how to handle those situations before doing national TV. I once saw Jamie Ian Swiss cut a heckler down to size in the bar at the Castle and it was one of my favorite moments of the night.
I must say...Jason's bio page on his web site is the most extensive thing I've ever read in my life. I'm surprised the guy had time to even buy a deck of cards, much less learn a trick with them.

Does anyone know how this all came together? Randal has been appearing on the show for some time so his presence is no surprise. The other names, however, I would think were chosen by someone well-versed in the magic world..
Anybody could have booked the Stage Magic week, as Wyrick, Penn and Teller, Mac King, Lance Burton and Dirk Arthur were all headlining Vegas guys when they appeared. But someone who knows magic must have selected Carney, Ammar and Palmer.
Does Dave have a magician on his staff?

Am I the only one who didn't think Letterman was that bad of an audience? I thought he was being funny, not as bad a heckler as I've seen (notice he didn't grab the props he wasn't supposed to grab), and in fact some of his remarks should have been an opportunity for byplay.

Plus, I honestly thought his reaction to the final trick actually helped to push it over the top and rescue what was, to that point, an awkward experience.

If I worked for Letterman, I would have started off the week with a bang by booking the Magic Castle's Close-up Magician of the Year. He's a Colorado guy, right? I've got his name on the tip of my tongue...

The audible separation of the cards from the double-stick tape made me cringe.

That being said, the ending had a great "kicker" finish. Even though Dave claimed to "know" what was about to happen, I don't think he did. He was probably expecting the five face-down cards to be non-Ace-of-Spades, but I doubt he expected a royal flush with his signed card.

Looking forward to Ammar! I'm guessing he does Triumph.

Here's a Jason Randal clip from Letterman :

http://www.cbs.com/late_night/late_show/......lay=true


Letterman messes with him, but Letterman also seems to like him. Quote from Letterman on Jason Randal's website:


(how Letterman knows what kind of magician Houdini was is beside the point I suppose ... or maybe Letterman actually does know what kind of magician Houdini was reputed to be and so he's actually insulting Jason Randal ? )

http://jasonrandal.com/Quotes%20Page.html

I love sleight-of-hand as much as the next guy, but there's some bad news about pure, world-class non-gimmicked sleight-of-hand: TV cameras never blink (they can't be misdirected) and almost everyone can use a DVR to go over your bit again and again. I haven't seen much pure sleight of hand that could stand up to that kind of scrutiny. At least Masuda's WOW is a visual effect that looked great on TV. (Too bad that the trick puts too much heat on the gaff.)

That's why I understand where you're coming from, but I respectfully disagree. I'd put it another way: if you're going to use a gimmick during a TV spot, it probably shouldn't be immediately obvious that a gimmick is being used. You'd better have a way to bring it in and take it out that won't cause suspicion.

Also, the Letterman show presents some fascinating angle problems. Take another look at last night's spot and ask yourself: what kind of blocking can work under those conditions?

Heck, the number one problem is battling nervousness and dealing with David Letterman. David isn't a classic heckler. The problem is much more difficult to surmount. It's David's show, he MUST be the center of attention, and he has a disarming way of completely taking a magician out of his rhythm. When someone completely disrupts my timing, I find it difficult to stay on track. Letterman is the very definition of the type of guy who disrupts the rhythm of a close-up performance.

There's an enormous amount of sleight-of-hand that is camera friendly.

I came away with a "too many props" and a "not enough practice with those props" feeling.

The sticky cards issue was beyond uncomfortable. I would have opted for completely different tricks and probably no gimmicks.

In a situation like that a plain old deck of cards is our best friend. Why not use them?

I know some folks think "flashy" is best but it looked like he had not done those routines very many times. Even the way he handled the wow gimmick seemed to telegraph the method too much. It was as if he posted on the magic Café, "i'm gonna be on TV, what are some good flashy gimmicks I can use for a TV spot?"

I hate to be critical when he's doing something I've never done and probably never will, but .. I think a discussion can be beneficial for all of us.

What did you think of the trick selection? Or anything else?

I agree, bad choice of effect...Who's fault is that?

And yeah Barry, can't understand why he wouldn't have a guy like Mickey Silver on the show? Now he's practiced being absolutely angle proof and has it down to perfection. Can't think of a better close-up guy to have on there that would not only baffle Letterman into absolute quiet, and then wow the audiences in absolute amazement, without a gaff. Guaranteed, the world would've went wild watching Mickey do his thing.

Letterman was fine. Yes he disrupts the rhythm but so do a lot of audience members especially in a bar. He was not heckling... merely voicing what any astute spec might say in the moment. I thought that Jason might have 'handled' him a bit better.

That being said,
I am not sure that in the heat of the battle I might have done a whole lot better. I like to think I would have.

and with THAT being said...

There were several cringing moments in that segment.

red deck from a blue box, hello? why.?

Can you do it without the sleeve? oooof.

Is that a wallet? why aren't there any credit cards in there.? oooooh!

we'll do it with 9 cards. no, 7 .. suddenly there are 9 again.. ewwwww

loosening the sticky cards to get em apart SNAP! oooooooo!

and the effect was? ???? confusion is not magic.

The actor from LOST did a trick that was easier to follow than Jason's. He came off looking better than Jason!

Again, a rugged way to start the week.

Carney will kill.

Letterman has gone on at length about how much he admires Jason and his magic, so I don't think he intentionally tried to 'bust' him. I also think Letterman was well aware, as we all were, that Jason was struggling with those aces and there was some sticky stuff involved. Letterman even asked him at that point, I believe, if he was making Jason nervous. I think David was being as supportive as he could -- and although there were some rough spots -- the audience was laughing a lot, especially with the moving of the coffee mug business that Jason was quick enough to capitalize on. I bet most audience members will remember that more than the mistakes we noticed. Jason also got a great audible gasp at the end of the Red Hot Mama-type routine.
Jason comes across as very likeable and I think that might be more important to Dave than the tricks.

Wow...I fell asleep before the presentation and awoke after it was over. I thought I could just catch a couple of winks during the commercial. I won't be reclining on the sofa tonight! It sounds like I didn't miss too much other than cringing on the edge of the sofa and talking to the tv. I will make sure to not miss tonight's show.

I thought the same thing about the guy from LOST.

I agree with the second statement too but I'm *'ing out his name so I don't jinx him (not that he needs the help).

This is funny. Nobody knows the actor's name (Matthew Fox - I had to google it), but everyone knows the magician by name. Well, this is a magician's forum.

http://tv.popcrunch.com/matthew-fox-davi......7-video/