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David Copperfield Rocks the House

David Copperfield

It is nice to see the lay (non-magic) media give the props where they are deserved. This weekend’s San Francisco Examiner begins with the following:

Mention master illusionist David Copperfield at any happening party and you’ll probably receive snickers and eye-rolling. Somehow, over the course of the man’s remarkable 30-year career, he’s been stamped uncool, too pedestrian for the cognoscenti.

But snobs have no idea what they’re missing. While the performer looks Las Vegas glitzy, his shows are adrenaline rushes so powerful they border on rock ‘n’ roll.

I couldn’t agree more. David is cool and his work is — as it has always been — first class. Here is someone who clearly loves magic, its history, its performance and the sense of wonder it creates in the audience. He has taken material we all know and combined it, re-engineered it, and put his mark on it.

Other magicians have made a woman levitate or rise and levitate. David makes her levitate, rise and fly in his arms. But, it is considered “cool” by some in the magic inner-circle to dismiss David by fitting him within the confines of one of many categories “they” consider un-cool.

He is either too: showy, rich, slick, old, dependent on stage material or too something. He is not struggling like the rest of us, they say. That could be because he is truly good. He gets it. He understands what it takes to put on a show for which people will pay to see each year.

I liked the quote from David near the end of the article when asked if he is ever fooled by a trick or illusion.

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David Copperfield

It is nice to see the lay (non-magic) media give the props where they are deserved. This weekend’s San Francisco Examiner begins with the following:

Mention master illusionist David Copperfield at any happening party and you’ll probably receive snickers and eye-rolling. Somehow, over the course of the man’s remarkable 30-year career, he’s been stamped uncool, too pedestrian for the cognoscenti.

But snobs have no idea what they’re missing. While the performer looks Las Vegas glitzy, his shows are adrenaline rushes so powerful they border on rock ‘n’ roll.

I couldn’t agree more. David is cool and his work is — as it has always been — first class. Here is someone who clearly loves magic, its history, its performance and the sense of wonder it creates in the audience. He has taken material we all know and combined it, re-engineered it, and put his mark on it.

Other magicians have made a woman levitate or rise and levitate. David makes her levitate, rise and fly in his arms. But, it is considered “cool” by some in the magic inner-circle to dismiss David by fitting him within the confines of one of many categories “they” consider un-cool.

He is either too: showy, rich, slick, old, dependent on stage material or too something. He is not struggling like the rest of us, they say. That could be because he is truly good. He gets it. He understands what it takes to put on a show for which people will pay to see each year.

I liked the quote from David near the end of the article when asked if he is ever fooled by a trick or illusion.

Copperfield maintains there’s no illusion that confounds him. He says, “I wish there was something like that. No, I’ve always been able to dissect everything. I’d love to feel that feeling of wonder myself that my audience feels, but that rarely happens.”

That?s a feeling I know we all share. Half of the fun of watching a show or visiting dealer booths at a convention, is that moment when we witness something that not just fools us, but gives a taste of that initial sense of wonder that drew us into the art initially.

David travels around the world, doing magic. That in itself should be considered worthy of praise. But he does it with a nearly new show each year and with style and polish you would expect from one doing the same routine for twenty years. Perhaps the best testament to his skill is that he has been able to continue as long as he has and still fills the theaters. That?s cool in my book.

Check out David’s website. This isn’t a plug. It is a great site with great resources for fans and magicians alike.

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