Whither Magic Clubs?

[bignickel]

We had a Magic Club/caberet called 'Flim Flam' in St. Louis, MO, for about a year.

And for no reason that I can think of, I never got around to visiting it before it closed. My mom took my grandfather to see it, but I never did.

Which is a real shame, in that I had gotten interested in magic again right after it closed.

No magic clubs/caberets currently in St. Louis, MO.

How about your towns?

Note: If you live in Las Vegas, yes, I know you have magic clubs there. :P

[SteveW]

Of course the ultimate is (was) the Magic Castle. I was a pro member there for years. I can't find any near me now (New Jersey) but I sure miss the Castle. Having drinks with Bill Larsen, lunch with Dai Vernon, Charlie Weaver, and the old magicians. I treasure the stuff they passed on to me.

Before I die, I just want to have one more bowl of the Castle's chili. They used to serve it around midnight and I remember sitting around BSing with Cary Grant, Kuda Bux and Johnny Carson - those were the days.

[rustypouch]

The IBM and SAM have local chapters in most major cities. Go to your local magic shop and ask them, because they should know.

[HotSoup]

Originally posted by rustypouch
The IBM and SAM have local chapters in most major cities. Go to your local magic shop and ask them, because they should know.


Nooooooooooooooooo. Don't go . And anyway I think the question was refering to night clubs.

[RSLancastr]

Whither magic clubs? As in, "where have they gone?"

The same place that vaudeville houses went. Unfortunately, it's an art form that is nowhere near as popular as it once was, I believe largely due to the advent of television.

There seem to be the huge vegas-style magic shows, and guys doing kids' parties, and seemingly few places for all those practitioners which fall between the two.

[NoZed Avenger]

Houston still has the Magic Island . . . .er . . . at least last time I looked. Some talented folks there, too -- but pricey except for the special occasion, IMO (But I am a cheap b*st*rd, so YMMV).

NA

[SteveW]

Originally posted by NoZed Avenger
Houston still has the Magic Island . . . .er . . . at least last time I looked. Some talented folks there, too -- but pricey except for the special occasion, IMO (But I am a cheap b*st*rd, so YMMV).

NA

There used to be a Magic Island in Southern California - is it operated by the same people I wonder. It was very expensive, open to the public and in my opinion generally crappy since the performers there were mainly psychics passing themselves off as genuine instead of mentalists performing for entertainment.

[Silicon]

I love the Los Angeles Magic Castle. But I do have to admit that at even the best magic clubs the acts are REALLY CHEEZY.

The close-up magicians are great, and the small-room magicians develop such a rapport that the staging and the patter would be tremendous entertainment even without the tricks.


But the Stage illusionists have GOT TO GO! Unfortunately these guys are the face of Magic to the public. This is what folks today snicker and sneer at. Clowns in sequined tuxedos producing doves from serving trays. Mall-shop top-shelf pre-made illusions, split-second choreographed to the latest hits of 20 years ago. People performing gift-shop de-light routines in front of an audience of MAGICIANS, to the tune of Michael Sembello's "She's a Maniac". Then the slow tune, a menancholy, silent pantomime to "Just you and I" where a glowing rose is presented to a feather-boa-festooned blushing beauty in fishnets, who disappears, leaving the lonely heartsick magician to grasp at the falling petals, and the woman who turned out to be merely a dream...

This stuff is utter garbage, the same ancient vaudeville schtick repackaged in the sequins, disco-balls and laser light-shows of the 1970's. No wonder it's a dying art.

These folks are living in the past. Magic should be a vibrant, living art-form, instead of a rote-by-the-numbers pantomime.

I've stopped going to see the stage illusionists, and just go catch more of the other shows.

Hardware, technology, that is our real magic now. Folks ooh and ahh when I ride my Segway. That's a fantastic illusion, and gets applause such as I've never heard after the 100th time I saw someone pour milk into a newspaper funnel.

Magicians get enamored of the hardware themselves. The technology. Home-made or store-bought, a peppers-ghost illusion is still 100 years old. But they slavishly present it, as if nobody had ever been to Disneyland, as if the Haunted Mansion never existed. As if dime-stores don't sell piggy-banks with the exact same trick.


Magic shouldn't be about the hardware. My favorite illusion fools exactly nobody, but still leaves a crowd in awe. Give me a room with a drink, a crowd and Irma the piano-playing ghost any evening.

It's not about the "trick", it's about the personality. Irma is really there in the room, and it's because she's a real spirit, not because of any fancy effect, or any gimmick. Nobody familiar with 20th century technology is left scratching their head at the hardware that embodys the illusion. Anyone who's even passingly familiar with the cutting-edge technolgy of a player-piano isn't the least bit impressed with the image of piano-keys tinkling by themselves. Nobody even seems to care. Why? The PERFORMANCE is the magic that brings her to life. She is a living character, sharing that room, commanding that audience. Getting laughs, getting folks to sing and play along. A live room creates her presence, everyone playing along with the magic. Everyone suspending disbelief, and bringing a ghost to life.

Stage illusionists who are stuck in the 70's could learn a lot from her. The artform of magic could learn a lot.