I am watching the lecture, and I am loving his thoughts on Touching on Hoy. It as if he is giving a master class on the effect. Love his thinking.

Bobby

I thought it was a fantastic lecture.

Really worth the money. Great to see some new thinking here and you're right, the Touching on Hoy section really brilliant.

Downloading it tonight, I have to say, I do think Luke is one of the very best thinkers and performers...he has that creative spark as well as being able to perform to such a high standard too...

Plus, I have to support a fellow Essex boy 👍🎩

Watched the first half last night. Will finish it up today. So far a great lecture....HOWEVER....this needs to be said...

Penguin absolutely MUST resolve the (unheard) question issue!!! Too many times questions are asked from the audience in attendance and we hear absolutely NOTHING! I know they try "sometimes" to get a mic out and they "sometimes" repeat the question, but you would think that after all this time, after all of these lectures that they would have this worked out and they don't. We should be hearing ALL of the questions!!

Come on Penguin!! Get this squared away...it's not that difficult!

...rant over....so far Luke is great...looking forward to finishing it up

Dunno why they don't just set up a question section, a seat with a mic and let people move there to ask their question...simple...

Agree. It's very frustrating.

TMoca,

This lecture was shot a while ago in England, and the didn't have the exact setup they have back in the Penguin studio in Columbus, Ohio.

In recent lectures, Dan Harlan has been pretty good at making sure the questioner has a mic or he repeats the question.

In this lecture, though, I agree with you.

Bobby

Bobby,
I understand and am aware of all of that. I know Dan does his best and he does a fine job, however, it's nowhere near consistent. With that said, it's not Dan's fault by any means.

A CONSISTENTLY working system should be in place by now and this should not be an issue...ever.

I agree as this and other problems have existed consistently since the beginning. In the beginning I looked at it as they had to work the bugs out. Now after several years and thousands of dollars in revenue from these lectures the fact that this and other issues still exist in unexcusable. This is why I haven't purchased from this series in a while. This problem specifically absolutely amazes me for two reasons - 1. in this day and age of wireless mic technology where the mic can "go to them" this shouldn't be a problem. Having two or three mic runners is a simple solution. Even in the old days of having a mic in a stand and people with questions walked up to it, this would still be a vast improvement.

Secondly, the people in the audience ARE ENTERTAINERS! THEY SHOULD KNOW ABOUT MIC TECHNIQUE and know not to ask the questions until they are mic'd!

The host should not have to intervene, as I think in many of the lectures the host can get in the way, become overbearing or even ruin the flow and structure of the lecture. Soooo many times the host derails the lecturer's answers and questions never get answered completely. We don't need to hear the hosts 2 cents or watch them try to carry their own with the guest. Several of those that have lectured have mentioned this specifically. I find myself yelling at the host/moderator to shut the heck up and let them finish their thoughts and answers. They need a director or some broadcast consultants as part of this series and these tapings, not just magicians on the loose in control.

These problem would be tolerable and perhaps even acceptable if these were free lectures or maybe even $9.95, but for $25-30 this should not be happening. Are these guests getting paid for these lectures? These problems will not get corrected if no one speaks up and just accepts this level of quality. I appreciate tmoca bringig this up. And no it shouldn't matter where these are recorded.

Though it is an issue - it shouldn't detract from the lectures themselves...

i mean, it would be cutting off your nose to spite your face to say "oh, I won't watch the docc lecture because I can't hear three questions some have asked..." - particularly when a lot of the questions are...well...y'know...

I agree with the question issue, I find it annoying, but that said, this is a fantastic lecture. Luke is passionate, smart, detailed and a terrific communicator. It's one of the most useful lectures I've seen in some time. Easily a top 5 for me.

How does the explanation of T.O.H. compare to the explanation from the Alakazam DVD filmed in France called Luke Jermay Live? How does it compare to the explanation from the Jermay's Mind DVD set?

I very much enjoyed this lecture. I found it just the right balance of theory and practice, and the format was just about as perfect as it could be to teach this material.

Luke demonstrated two very strong pieces, then when on to explain each, their components, history, and variations, In fact, anything I could think of asking was answered, and the detail given ensured that everyone present understood.

After the demonstration and explanation of the first two pieces, Luke entered into the theory aspect of his lecture. I really enjoyed this section, and will have to go back and review it when the download is available. Not only did he discuss the core principles used in the first two routines, he discussed his views of magic and mentalist, entertainment, structuring your performance, why he strays from conventional thought on openers, and much, much more. His thoughts on cold reading, claimers and disclaimers, and a host of other things. In short, we learned a bit of how he thinks.

At right about the two hour point, Luke entered the second performance phase. I’m not exactly sure how many routines were demonstrated and taught in this section as multiple variations were also explored. These were very strong pieces, and based on principles taught in the first section and elaborated on in the second (theory) section. Had the lecture not been structured the way it was, many of the key and core principles may have not been understood or not truly understood.

In addition to very cool routines, and what could be a complete 1 hour show, we were all provided with key concepts and building blocks to expand upon and build our own material with.

To conclude the lecture was a very candid an open conversation between Dan and Luke. I know that this helped me understand Luke a lot more, where he has been, and some of what he has gone through. We also got a glimpse and where is going to.

I highly recommend this lecture to anyone interested in strong, personal mentalism and mind reading.


Tony Iacoviello

Well said, Tony.

Bobby

Thanks Tony that was very helpful and insightful. I too would be interested in the answers to Mike's questions.

I don't have the products Mike mentioned.

The reason I ask is I already own the Luke Jermay Live DVD. Luke demonstrated and explained T.O.H. pretty thoroughly there and spoke at length about theory. I'll eventually buy the new set, Jermay's Mind, which also includes T.O.H. among other things. If there's nothing unique in the Penguin lecture compared with the other releases then I probably don't need it.

Mike, I have the Minds DVDs and a lot of it is word for word the same. Hoewever there was some discussion of theory that I'd not heard before which made it a worthwhile purchase, for me at least. It's fascinating to listen to someone who has thought so much about how to perform mentalism in such a realistic way and he's very good at getting his thoughts across too. Crystal clear thinking.

This was, hands down, one of the best lectures (if not THE best) penguin has ever had. The theory Luke discusses is amazing. He also mentions some great books to check out regarding story telling, and the process of creating a show.

Luke is really at the top of his game. One can learn so much just by watching him perform, much less him EXPLAINING the theory behind it.

In terms of tricks, if you have all of Luke's material, you probably won't find anything new here in that regard. As they say though, "don't we have enough tricks?"

Luke's lecture, plus Bob Cassidy's and Richard Osterlind's, and one would be well on the way to developing a great act.