|
|
Go to page 1~2 [Next] | ||||||||||
flimnar Special user Salt Lake 577 Posts |
There are 2 pricey "Bill in Lemon" tricks
that each purport to be the ultimate version-- one by Doug Malloy and one by Scott Alexander. Each has a bevy of Big Name Magicians swearing one is the best. What do you think? What is the difference? Which is the best? Flimnar
"This one goes to eleven..." Nigel Tufnel
|
|||||||||
RandyM Special user 579 Posts |
Malloy's lemon game is a wonderful effect and worth every penny. Now, I'll probably get flamed for my next remark...but (my opinion) I think the cost for Mr. Kohler's BIL is way too high. Yes it is a wonderful effect, yes it is a magician fooler. However, there are many BIL's out there that are far more reasonable and play just as strong with an audience. In fact any method for BIL from $10.00 to Kohler's price will result in an excellent response. Presentation is the key.
I get tons of mileage from Doc Eason's version, pleny of audience participation, comedy, and wonder. Secondly it was included on his set of DVD's , so I got a great closer and tons more for $60.00 May I suggest you research the following BIL's ,(prices are approx:) Yigel Mesika's-$60, Hunter Vitamin C $10, Anywhere Bill $10.00, Doc Eason's that I already Mentioned, all of these are reasonably priced and play very well. Oh, and let me add... to answer all you asked about Difference is Malloys is a complete act with tons of audience participation, Kohlers is wonderful also and I'm sure can have a lot of audience Participation as well, as far as the Best? That is a matter of opinion. I hope my post has enlightened you on the many others. Let's face it, all are a bill to impossible location , the audience only remembers that a bill somehow vanished and appeared inside a lemon and they all leave them talking so long as presentation was good. RandyM |
|||||||||
Bradley Morgan Special user 702 Posts |
I am familiar with both of them and say it would be really awesome to get both. But each one has a different approach as to how the props are introduced and how the final outcome ends.
The final Answer is nice because you can go on-line and find a whole bunch of new routines and ideas for the whole trick. For me The Final Answer Will be first. Best, Brad
"I do not know with what weapons World War 3 will be fought, but World War 4 will be fought with sticks and stones." - Einstein
|
|||||||||
kenscott Inner circle 1869 Posts |
Malloy's bill in lemon has gotten be standing ovations before , I close with it now and it has gotten me gigs because of it.
Don't know anything about kohlers verison however everything he puts out is well thought out. Ken |
|||||||||
joeyjojo Regular user uruguay 126 Posts |
Quote:
On 2004-11-14 02:08, RandyM wrote: Si mi amigo. unfortunately that is how the magic world seems to work - some people and their buddies have been canonized so you cannot give an honest but negative opinion about their products without their cousins and uncles and neighbors yelling at you. thank you for your honesty, though. I heard similar things about both products and went for the malloy one which is excellent (it is two weeks salary for me to purchase this effect, so I had high expectations!) adios magos joey |
|||||||||
runawayjag Inner circle 1085 Posts |
RandyM, thank you for the voice of common sense. I said this on another thread. Way too much!
|
|||||||||
Hoggle New user 77 Posts |
Final Answer is high priced. The quality is great but I tend to agree about the price. You are paying a premium to keep the numbers down. That has great appeal to some, and makes no sense to others.
Merry Christmas
|
|||||||||
Dan Watkins Inner circle PA 3028 Posts |
I'll give you my rationale for whatever it is worth.
Signed bill to lemon is the way to go - it’s the strongest proof that the actual bill went inside the lemon. If you are going to use a signed method, then obviously you will have to insert the bill into the lemon sometime during the routine. Typically you need a convenient time to do this so you have to have the lemon in your possession, in your control and out of sight. Scott’s method is a device that can get the bill into the lemon right in front of the audience with them none the wiser. Scott actually teaches a few handlings on his DVD set. One he secretly loads the lemon while the spectator is apparently holding his bill. I think the strongest part about Scott Alexander's BIL is that it is a signed bill that can be found in a lemon that the audience had control of (not in your possession) until the very end of the routine – but never does it ever leave their sight once it is brought up on stage. So when the audience thinks back to when you could have loaded it – there apparently isn’t any. The lemon can be inside a ziplock bag which you never open, you can have the spectator cut right through the ziplock and separate the lemon in half themselves, and take the bill out and unfold it. I can't fathom a stronger method. As for the routine: Scott’s BIL has three different performances, one stage, one parlor, one close up. So you get three routines. The stage version is the one that has evolved from the works of Steve Spill, Bob Kohler, and Scott Alexander, etc. The routine itself comes down to your personal taste. If you like their routine or the Lemon Game routine. When the bill is revealed inside the lemon, many people will wonder how that happened. Their minds start to go backwards. If the lemon was in your possession the whole time, they might not know exactly how you got it in the lemon, but since it was in your possession, the method becomes feasible. Thinking back on Scott’s routine, they know the lemon was in the audience possession. Then the ziplocked lemon was taken out and the lemon cut. There is nowhere for their minds to backtrack to with this method. Therefore, I feel that Scott’s is the stronger version. |
|||||||||
Michael Dustman Inner circle Columbus, Ohio 1220 Posts |
I will piggy back on what Dan said...(and for the record, Dan has made significant contributions and new ideas on the TFA forums that are fantastic).
Doug puts out quality stuff, and it is stuff that was honed through many, many shows. The Lemon Game has served me well since 1997. Fantastic routine. Great concept. For me, The Final Answer gave me the last piece to a puzzle to come up with a routine that is all me. (After all, I think there are 4 or 5 magicians in the Columbus area doing Lemon Game). Scott has a great routine that he tips. But what you are getting in essence is a great utility device that allows you to adapt to any of the methods. TFA will improve the Doc Eason method, the Bill Malone method, the Lemon Game, and others. Or, in my case, it will allow you to come up with something all your own. In my routine, the lemon is introduced by way of a gag during a routine 10 minutes into the show. It is stapled inside a bag and given to the onstage assistant as a souvenier. A half hour later, after a ten minute routine destroying a borrowed, signed bill, all of a sudden the lemon is called back into play. The aforementioned spectator brings the sealed bag up, hands it the guy who loaned me the bill. He opens the bag, takes out the lemon (they have tossed the lemon, squeezed the lemon, examined the lemon, with no problem). That exact same lemon is cut open to find his signed bill. The same lemon that was not in the magicians case or table during the signing and burning, but in the audience for a half hour. Finally, (again, I love the success the Lemon Game brought me) TFA allows you to a bill in lemon in any situation. With the props involved with Lemon Game, it is pretty much a stand-up bit, not conducive to strolling. TFA allows you to do a close-up version, strolling version, etc. It allows you to use other types of fruit or other items for the reappearance. Is one any better than the other. My take is they are both killer routines, guaranteed to be your reputation maker. I just believe that TFA gives you more opportunities to adapt and create new ideas, and to be able to perform it anywhere, anytime. Michael |
|||||||||
kenscott Inner circle 1869 Posts |
WOW! Michael I think "you" sold me!!!
Thanks Ken |
|||||||||
Socalesq Regular user 189 Posts |
Didn't Chris Korn use TFA in Mondo Magic recently, using oranges?
icuryy
|
|||||||||
runawayjag Inner circle 1085 Posts |
No, he did not. I know Chris and spoke with him about this on the phone. It was not the TFA.
|
|||||||||
TrickyRicky Inner circle TrickyRicky 1653 Posts |
There is another excellent "bill in lemon" that nobody talks about, and that is the Sam Berland's method.
The bill is loaded into the lemon while inside a paper bag. The good thing about this method is the price. Chech "Abbotts". Richard Lyn |
|||||||||
ScottLeavitt Special user 730 Posts |
Using Scott A's approach, you can load through a plastic bag...haven't tried with paper...
|
|||||||||
Barry Gitelson Special user Kona Hawaii 971 Posts |
Sam Berlands was the first method I learned and the one that I use at most of my shows still. Modified slightly for my own tastes. Simplicity ... and very much talked about after the show.
I do have The Lemon Game and love it but save it for the bigger stage shows rather than the living room performances. Guess that is just because I have be doing the Berland method for so long and am so comfortable with it and I operate on automatic when performing it. Can't go wrong with either of these methods.
"Your talent is God's gift to you. What you do with it is your gift back to God." Author: Leo Buscaglia
|
|||||||||
RandyM Special user 579 Posts |
Where is the Sam Berlands method? Book? Purchase? etc.
RandyM |
|||||||||
Steve Hook Inner circle Raleigh, NC, USA 1266 Posts |
Always thought it was in THE MAGIC OF SAM BERLAND... but it's not! Was it a pamphlet release only?
Steve H
Like Bonnie Raitt said, "I miss Little Feat more than I miss being 8 years old." Thanks for the concerts + recordings, Lowell, Richie, and Paul!
|
|||||||||
Barry Gitelson Special user Kona Hawaii 971 Posts |
When I got it (long ago) it was a set of instructions with three methods depending on the situation and, if my memory serves me well, a bowl to put the lemons in.
Barry
"Your talent is God's gift to you. What you do with it is your gift back to God." Author: Leo Buscaglia
|
|||||||||
runawayjag Inner circle 1085 Posts |
Ther Berland version was a commercially sold trick and included a simple, but very effective, gimmick. I don't know if anyone has any of Berland's great items any more, but you can find them on used lists if you keep your eyes open. And Richard Lyn is correct; it is a GREAT method and unbelievably reasonable in price.
|
|||||||||
davidcarlo New user 55 Posts |
Obviously, both are killer routines/closers from real pros. But I'll relay my own experience in event may be helpful to you. I think many (or at least me) got too caught up with the method of loading versus the more important routine aspects of any BIL routine. What you get with TFA is 2 things: (1) the gimmick that allows you to load the lemon, and (2) incredible, well-thought out and explained routines. My own issue is that I already have a routine and am VERY happy with it(using steve spill method to load lemon). But when I saw the TFA ads and reviews, it seemed like an opportunity to improve upon the loading method (no need to use bag, for example). In overly simplistic terms, my routine involves a bill switch from a high denomination bill to a $1 and then the spectator's signed larger bill appears in the lemon which has been in the spectator's possession since before he gave me the bill. It never occurred to me that the fold used for the bill switch was not compatible with the TFA gimmick. So I was quite disappointed when I learned after my purchase that I would have to change my routine to use the gimmick. Thus far I have stuck with my own routine. This is in no way a criticism of TFA--its a fantastic product and even better DVD--but just raising so that those who are performing BIL already might want to consider how TFA might require some routine changes. If you don't perform a BIL, then can't imagine how you could go wrong with TFA, or Malloy for that matter.
|
|||||||||
The Magic Cafe Forum Index » » Tricks & Effects » » Bill In Lemon--Alexander vs. Malloy? » » TOPIC IS LOCKED (0 Likes) | ||||||||||
Go to page 1~2 [Next] |
[ Top of Page ] |
All content & postings Copyright © 2001-2024 Steve Brooks. All Rights Reserved. This page was created in 0.04 seconds requiring 5 database queries. |
The views and comments expressed on The Magic Café are not necessarily those of The Magic Café, Steve Brooks, or Steve Brooks Magic. > Privacy Statement < |