The Real Secrets of Magic, vol. 2 Review
The Real Secrets of Magic, vol. 2 by David Stone
Price: $39.16
Available from: Your favorite dealer
This review in a nutshell: Buy it, you’re not going to regret it. Want more? Okay.
Like the first volume, David shows you a group of effects designed for table hopping and a group of effects more geared toward walkaround cocktail magic. In between all the magic, he gives advice and talks theory about things important to the restaurant worker, such as tips, business cards, how to approach a table, and how to make your exit.
I really think that these two videos are a must have if you are wanting to start or are just starting out in the world of restaurant or walkaround magic. Not only will you learn good magic, the advice that David gives will bolster your confidence and help you get more prepared to make those first steps into the business. Not all the tricks require immense skill, and some of them require gimmicks you’re not likely to have, but there is something here for everyone. If you have a basic knowledge of card and coin sleights, you’ll probably be able to pick everything up fairly easily. If you decide you absolutely have to do one of the routines requiring gimmicks, everything you need could be easily purchased from your local magic shop.
Like the first disc, the teaching is done silently. There were a couple routines where I had to really pay attention and re-watch it a couple times to get what was going on, but no major problems. In my opinion, learning from this is like learning from a book: If you just skim the words, you’re not going to have the clearest picture as to what you need to do. If you pay attention and re-read the trickier parts, you’ll be fine. As long as you pay attention and have the patience to go back and watch the explanation a couple times, things will be fine.
A few of my favorites from this disc include French Kiss, William, Soubock, and CigCoin. Although CigCoin is really only practical in a one-on-one situation, I love playing with it and just amusing myself. And for those times when you’re in a one-on-one situation, it’s completely impromptu and will work nicely. William, in which a selected card is found reversed in the deck, is almost (almost) self-working and a great quick trick.
David Stone is an excellent teacher and performer. You can tell that these routines are ones that he has used and perfected in the real world. When he gives advice about working in the restaurant business, you can tell it’s coming from someone who knows and you instinctively sit up and take notice. These DVDs are wonderful, either seperate or together (I strongly recommend you get both, because you’re going to want them both eventually) and will leave you with plenty of commercial magic and even more food for thought. Strongly recommended.
Andster