Michigan Magic Day – OutstandingInside MagicMagic News Updated Daily for the Professional Magician

The Incredible Mark Cannon

First, we want to apologize for the delay in publishing this review of Michigan Magic Day (“MMD”). We could blame the delay on many things but the truth is we had to pawn the Inside Magic computer to get enough money to buy back some organs we had put up as collateral the last time we needed quick cash. Your state or country may be different, but Michigan does not regulate pawn shops’ preservation of organ tissue left as collateral on ‘consumer loans.’

This lack of regulation is not a big deal if you’re leaving a guitar or video equipment because you expect they’ll be returned – if you can raise the cash to get them out of hock – with a few dings and dents. But as our local television news under-cover team reported in their week-long series, ‘Liars for Livers,’ pawnshop owners often do little more than throw them untagged into a salt-water fish tank with the other human collateral.

Anyway, the organs we consider ‘vital’ are back and working but we had to trade-in the Commodore 64 and the single-sided hard drive to spring them from their salt-water storage unit. We are writing this review on the computer at the Mystic Hollow Public Library. That means it will be a short and clean piece. We only have computer access for one hour; plus they have a porn and filth blocker that keeps it free of curse words.

In fact, we needed the Assistant Head Librarian’s approval to use the word ‘organ.’

Michigan Magic Day was a success regardless of the method used to measure. It had more participants than any other, the dealers were actually pleased or, more accurately, not despondent by the sales, and the acts were great. Upon Chris Reesman and his associates, great praise and thanks should be lavished.

The lectures were very well-attended and more importantly, appreciated. Under this year’s MMD format, each lecturer was kept to a 40 minute block (We are not sure what that is in Metric). This was a plus because it gave us all a chance to see top-shelf guys (and they were all male) perform and teach without being torn between simultaneously scheduled lectures. This was a negative because each of the masters was restricted to just about 40 minutes.

Who would want to see David Acer (pronounced ‘Day – vid’) or Losander or Whit Haydn or Johnny Thompson for only 40 minutes? But that was the trade-off for seeing them all together.

Because the format required the lecturers to focus their material, this trade-off was actually more than acceptable. Mr. Haydn was the very first subject of the Inside Magic Celebrity Interview and was therefore the reason we had enough hits on the site to justify a second edition of Inside Magic. He also used his forty minute slot to perform and teach his life-changing routine “The Intricate Web of Distraction.”

The Incredible Mark Cannon

In fact, we needed the Assistant Head Librarian’s approval to use the word ‘organ.’

Who would want to see David Acer (pronounced ‘Day – vid’) or Losander or Whit Haydn or Johnny Thompson for only 40 minutes? But that was the trade-off for seeing them all together.

Chances are you are not familiar with this ground-breaking routine. It is unique in so many ways but significantly the only one in which Color Changing Knives are used to perform an effect where the audience has no inkling the knife has ever changed color. We can tell you that this routine changed our thinking forever. In fact, we have purchased two sets of the fabulous Joe Mogar Color Changing Knives as recommended by Mr. Haydn. (I had to purchase two sets because the first was confiscated by the TSA).

We memorized the patter, the gestures, the incidental moves, and even the pacing. We don’t have Mr. Haydn’s ability, style, grace, or wardrobe but we’re able to fit it into my unintentional bumbling style to guarantee a position in the magic pantheon – not a good position but at least we can see it from here.

We have even memorized Mr. Haydn’s explanation for the routine. In fact, look for our DVD “An Intricate Web of Deception.”

Mr. Haydn demonstrated how one can use props in a way different than that described in the instructions. In fact, the premise behind the whole routine makes sense and is almost logical — a magician would have to weave an intricate web of deception to vanish a knife from a closed hand.

Yes, the lecture in 40 minutes format restricted his teaching of all of his normal lecture material but what was taught was more than enough.

David Acer bounded into the lecture room with energy ready to be funneled into ad libs, lecturing, and demonstrating. Within seconds of taking the stage, he performed a close-up gem: the least effective methods to end clean in any coin routine. It was hysterical.

This may be a secret but Mr. Acer is not just a good magician, he is also pretty funny. Seriously. And it really ticks me off. I pride myself in trying to be witty and clever while poorly presenting trite tricks. I certainly do not need folks like Mr. Acer with accomplished skills and great improvisational abilities making me feel inadequate. (The last sentence was cleaned up by the Assistant Library).

He offered incredible moves and allowed us to take the time to get our cards and follow along. This was very helpful – at least to those of us with no dexterity or cards. We borrowed cards from a sweaty man next to me. Everyone in the room was sweating. We assumed this was because we were all very hot or we all were suffering from the same withdrawal symptoms. In fact, our shirt was drenched with sweat half-way through Mr. Acer’s lecture although it wasn’t our sweat — but that’s another story. The seating was rather close.

We really appreciated Mr. Acer’s neat use of the Nielsen Vanishing Coke Bottle. We say ‘appreciated’ because we always hated the traditional Vanishing Coke Bottle routine. We don’t hate the props; just the routine.

You know the one: ‘Look, here’s a Coke bottle. I’ll put it in this paper bag here. Look, it’s gone. Sure it is. You don’t believe me even though I am holding the bag upside down? Oh, okay, well I will end the trick now by crunching up the bag and throwing it not far from me for fear someone will pick it up or someone will actually put it in the trash.”

We have always hated the Vanishing Bottle routine.

It seems or seemed anti-climatic and obvious but we have never seen it as a lay person. Mr. Acer was not able to take us back to those days of innocence but he was able breathe meaning and purpose back into the effect. To be fair to the trick, we had never seen it performed as anything other than a literal throw away gag.

Mr. Acer is a funny guy with a great magic mind. In his short time in the lecture spotlight, he won many fans.

Johnny Thompson is not only great but he does great magic with his great, self-effacing style. His presentation of the Silent Mora and Dai Vernon Balls and Net and Al Baker’s Coins through Table are two of his routines we have admired years. To be honest — a change of pace — we never really wanted to know how he did either effect. In his hands, these are classics. We don’t deserve to know.

On Saturday, May 21st, however, we learned the secrets. Yeah, we knew it wasn’t real magic but still . . . This was like learning the awful secret behind Santa. Of course it still doesn’t explain why we saw Mommy kissing Santa Claus while Daddy was away on tour; or even why Santa Claus was in our house at Thanksgiving, Easter, and the Fourth of July.

Mr. Thompson’s presentation of Al Baker’s Coins Across was mingled beautifully with several other mini-routines from Dai Vernon and others in a symphony with several profound movements. His vanish of coins through the table top to a waiting glass was absolutely wonderful and his conclusion with the Glass through Table a/k/a Vanishing Glass proved his prowess.

We all do the Glass through Table. Some of us use a salt shaker rather than the glass. For those of us with hypertension, we use the pepper mill. In fact, our doctor said our blood pressure is so high, that if we didn’t have skin, we’d be a fountain – and not a good kind of fountain.

In Mr. Thompson’s skilled, calm hands, this staple of every kid magic book was returned to its rightful status as a great illusion. The set-up made sense: he challenged his volunteers to guess whether the coin he flipped was heads or tails. He explained, apologetically, the game is not really on the level because as a magician he could manipulate the result. His solution was to put the coin under a glass and thus out of reach. To ensure no cheating by any of the participants, he covered it with a small bit of newspaper. When the glass vanishes, it did not return – at least not from under the table. Mr. Thompson found the coin had magically transported to a position behind one of the volunteer’s ears and the glass was found behind the other volunteer’s elbow. The trick was complete – and even more importantly, it was a complete trick.

Mr. Haydn, Mr. Acer and Mr. Thompson each entertained and taught at the same time. They took effects we long ago abandoned as too simple and made them perfect.

The Benefit the Show was emceed by Cherie Kay from Houston, Texas. She worked the crowd well and gave a special heartfelt tribute to the surviving family of the late magician, Mark Bellinger. This young man derived his income from our art and left behind a wife and young children.

The lovely Cherie Kay handled the responsibilities with an excited attitude and professional polish. She is a likeable, gregarious magician who did a great job handling what is often a very tough job – coordinating several acts from different locations around the country with very limited rehearsal time.

Unfortunately, the quality of the benefit show was inconsistent – even within any given routine. Each of the performers seemed to go on too long and without an exit strategy or planned last effect.

The highlight of the show was Ms. Kay’s presentation of Gaetan Bloom’s incredible Quarte. She selected volunteers from the audience she then named Mr. Stop, Mr. Horse, and Mr. Go. The actors then acted out a horse race to select four cards at random. Mr. Horse started when Mr. Go said “Go” and stopped when Mr. Stop shouted “Stop.” When Mr. Horse stopped, a card was selected according to his position.

Also unfortunately, the Benefit show ended on an extremely weak note. Ms. Kay explained that the show was over but that if we went quickly outside we would catch a ‘truly crazy man.’

So, with Ms. Kay standing on a darkening stage, waiving good-bye to the audience members she just urged to leave quickly, the benefit show ended with a fading whimper.

Mark Cannon had hoped to present a straight jacket escape while suspended upside down high above the crowds departing the benefit show. True to the old show business saying, ‘No Crane, No Dangling,’ the escape was performed on terra firma when the scheduled crane failed to show.

(Sorry for the delay. I had to get the Assistant Librarian’s approval to use the word ‘dangling.’)

I don’t think this was a bad thing: no dangling.

Mr. Cannon bounded onto the outside patio with energy and charisma reminiscent of first-hand accounts of Houdini taking similar outside challenges.

Michigan has had what many would call a cool spring. Some may actually call it ‘winter.’ But on MMD, spring broke out like my first wife’s acne before prom. It was hot. Very hot.

Why do you care?

Well, first of all, the missus was looking forward all year to the prom and she was disappointed to still have to deal with pimples at her advanced age.

But additionally, Mr. Cannon had to care about the heat because he decided to perform a double straight jacket escape.

So he would have to be tightly restrained in two real canvas jackets under the blue skies and hot sun. The first jacket was an authentic Posey model and the second was Posey’s transport restraint. The latter jacket had no arms but was designed to encompass – tightly – the first jacket to ensure the arms could not be moved.

Two ropes were affixed to the jacket to allow transportation of the criminally insane – or as we now call them, crazy people who could kill you and eat your liver with Chianti and fava beans.

The escape was affected in 57 seconds. We wouldn’t have believed it if we had not seen it and even then, we still don’t believe it. Fortunately, we videotaped the entire escape and even more fortunately, Mr. Cannon consented to posting of the escape on Inside Magic so you can see for yourself.

The big show at the conclusion of the evening was dramatically affected – in my uninformed opinion – by the heat-oppressed effort expended in escaping from the two jackets. More on that shortly.

The evening show was all that you could hope for from an event that already exceeded all hope. Billy McComb emceed and presented his deservedly world-famous Vanishing Bird Cage. His is the best there is. It is done slowly, easily and without any hint of a method.

We don?t expose magic secrets on Inside Magic but Mr. McComb’s nuances are what make this birdcage vanish different than any you have seen.

An example of his refined presentation is the way it all begins.

He tells a delightful story about his pet mouse, hypnotizes the rodent by whacking its furry skull on a box and then sticking its lifeless body into the cage.

So?

Well, he wasn’t holding the cage he is about to vanish the whole time. Only when he needs to show that a reasonable facsimile of the conked-out rat does he pick up the cage. If you know the secret, you know how impressive this is.

Luna Shimada and Losander performed separately on either side of the intermission. Ms. Shimada was right on with every move, flourish and sleight. It was an effortless display of what some would later suggest incorrectly had to be performed via black art. Her final production of her loyal puppy (who followed her on and off stage for her many bows) was wonderful.

Losander is amazing not only for what he can do and how he improves on it every time we see him, but also for what he offers in lectures and just hanging out with us. He’s a big star. He doesn’t need to hang out with us geeks and card-tossers. He could do his outstanding lecture, perform his platform show and then the big show and head back to Vegas. He doesn’t, though. He was available to attendees and seen walking and talking in the dealers’ room and halls. We need more like Losander.

Two acts stand out in our recollection of the final show. Johnny Thompson’s time-honored and still fresh Great Tomsoni and Company never fails to entertain and astound. We mentioned this on Ring 2100 and the more we think about it, the more we are convinced it is true: Johnny Thompson is one of the best manipulators we have ever seen anywhere. We put his skills on the same level as the great Lance Burton.

British actor and director Sir Donald Wolfit’s last words, “dying is easy, comedy is hard,” applies in spades when considering Mr. Thompson’s work. Mr. Thompson’s moves and timing are on par with the Master Magician and yet he adds supreme comedy to the routine to boot. His last effect — he says the effect is his encore but he performs it within his main act because he doesn’t want to take any chances — is the production of a dove from a piece of clear plastic wrap. Somewhere along the process of showing the plastic wrap to be see-through from “both sides,” he loads his final production. Where in the process does he do this? We have no idea. None. Zip.

We couldn’t imagine he was going to produce a dove from the clear plastic wrap and yet, voila, he does. That makes him a skillful magician. The fact that he produces the dove from clear plastic wrap taken from a roll makes him a novel comic. We have great magicians and we have great comics. We have very few great magicians who do great comedy. Mr. Thompson is so good, we are not jealous of him. That is good. His skill set is so far beyond our dreams, we are just happy to be able to see him, buy his videos and DVDs and learn from his lectures.

Mr. Cannon told us before the big evening show he intended to do the straight jacket escape as well as his famous 55 Gallon Drum effect. We’ve told you about his straight jacket escape and it was just as impressive on stage as it had been in the round. We want to focus on his 55 Gallon Drum ordeal.

In a recent MUM article, Mr. Cannon describes the origins of this incredible escape:

I remembered the Houdini Water Torture Cell in the (Tony) Curtis movie and was excited when Doug Henning performed that effect on television in 1975. For my High School talent show on May 10th, 1979, I decided to do something really memorable. Again, I had no budget. The result was the creation of my “Water-Filled 55 Gallon Drum Escape!” After designing and building the Drum, I contacted a local locksmith and invited him to the show, and asked that he bring five padlocks (three for the drum, two to chain my wrists). I then contacted the newspaper and told them what I intended to do. . . . The stunt went much longer than I had planned, and in fact the two minutes and fifteen seconds of music had run out when I finally emerged. When I came out from behind the curtain, people from the audience were on stage, screaming ‘Get him out!’ That was the first time I ever received a standing ovation. I won first place in that show and was firmly established as an escapist. There would be no turning back.

Indeed, when Mr. Cannon and his beautiful assistant and wife, Shelia, began Cannon’s Great Escapes, “The Inspectable 55 Gallon Drum Escape” was the featured escape in their premiere 24-page catalog.

Harry Houdini once wrote, “No one wants to see a man die, but they want to be there when it happens.” He also wrote his greatest victory was over panic. Panic, Houdini believed, would end an escape artist’s life more efficiently than any impediment or mechanical failure.

On May 21st, we feared we were about to watch our worst fears realized. Following his second escape from double straight jackets in one day, Mr. Cannon introduced the 55 Gallon Escape while panting and attempts to catch his breath. He was clearly winded and, we imagined, exhausted. He stepped off stage to change into his swimsuit as the drum was inspected by a volunteer and another volunteer was instructed in the proper use of the stopwatch with which Mr. Cannon’s submerged time would be called out in 15 second increments.

Mr. Cannon stepped back out on stage and reminded the audience how dangerous any escape could be and specifically how dangerous an underwater escape was. He lowered himself into the drum to acclimate his body to the cold water. He invited the audience to hold their breath with him and then dipped down under the surface as the lid was put into place and the locking straps were attached. Suddenly, before the lid could be bolted shut, Mr. Cannon pushed upwards to stop the process. He explained he was not able to catch his breath and asked the audience to indulge him as he tried again.

Our young son asked, “Does he make it? Will he be okay? What happens?”

We told our son that this was not television or a movie. What we were seeing was real and the outcome wasn’t certain but that Mr. Cannon was the best of the best and would never do something too dangerous for him.

The audience was completely silent as we listened to Mr. Cannon breathe slowly and deeply. There was not a sound heard other than Mr. Cannon’s breathing.

He indicated to his wife and to his partner/safety consultant Joseph Fox that he was ready to go. Again he ducked beneath the water, the lid was put in place but before the straps were fully attached, Mr. Cannon again pushed up and out.

He again explained that he needed to catch his breath to last the entirety of the escape. No one in the audience would have it any other way. He told us, “I am sorry, Folks. But this is the ‘Real McCoy.'”

He called over Mr. Fox and instructed him to move the curtain to the drum so that it could be lifted immediately after the lid was bolted shut.

The audience was completely at one with Mr. Cannon. We did not want to see him fail. In fact, we were probably all in agreement with our son that, “he doesn’t have to do it. He got out of the jacket. That’s enough.”

But Mr. Cannon is famous not because he is foolhardy but because he works very hard to perform to the best of his ability. Although we are approximately the same age, he has the physique and energy of someone 30 years our junior. He knew his limitations but also knew how close he could push himself toward those physical and mental limits.

Again, Mr. Cannon descended into the dark water, the lid was fastened and it seemed an eternity as Mr. Fox and the volunteer struggled to get the restraining band attached to the top of the drum and the eight inch bolt drilled into place. The curtain was raised and for several seconds the only sound to be heard was the music track that had started and stopped previously. At one minute under, there was still no encouraging sound from the drum. At one minute and fifteen seconds, there was still no encouraging movement or sound. We felt confident that if there was a problem, the towering Mr. Fox would be able to break into the drum and while he looked concerned, he did not move to assist.

At one minute and twenty-seven seconds, the curtain was pushed from within and the sound of water splashing filled the silence. We all breathed once again. Mr. Cannon took two steps towards the front of the stage and collapsed. It was not a theatrical collapse, but an inelegant giving out of strength necessary to remain standing and perhaps conscious. He had clearly expended all that he had to perform the escape for us.

This was a moment we will never forget. We gave Mr. Cannon a standing ovation although it is doubtful he was aware of it.

Amidst our ranks are those who will create illusions of danger from which they will pretend to escape. There is no doubt the Inspectable 55 Gallon Drum Escape is built to allow an efficient and stealthy escape but until the escape actually starts, Mr. Cannon is required to hold his breath and maintain his bearings in the dark, confining water. In these moments there is real risk few of us will ever experience. Why does he take on these risks? Why could we not turn our gaze from the escape?

The MMD was outstanding. The chance to see and learn from these accomplished magicians is rare. To see and learn from them all in one 24 hour period is even rarer. We will not soon forget the lessons, the routines, and the people we encountered this weekend. That is more than any convention attendee can ask from any such event.

Our congratulations again to Mr. Reesman and all of those who presented this year’s moments to remember.

Our time is up at the computer terminal.