The fact that more than a month has passed since the MAGIC Live! convention in Las Vegas serves only as a reminder of just how little spare I have had since the convention. With a busy day job that taunts me for many more hours than one man should work, topped with adding the finished touches to 52 Memories, I almost forgot about sharing my thoughts of this wonderful convention. And as I begin to reminisce, I remember just how much fun I had.

For me, the convention started a few days before most when I touched down into Las Vegas. As I walked through the large arrival doors, confronted with the fact that I had to battle the taxi queues in the punishing Las Vegas heat, I noticed my three favourite Canadians, Tyler Wilson, Ryan Pilling and Donovan Deschner (oh yes, even Dai Vernon doesn’t get a look in when these guys are around). The three of them stood united, holding a sign with the name “Andy Leviss” on it. Normally I’d be somewhat annoyed if somebody deliberately confused me with my old A Squared Productions buddy as they did, but their friendly banter was welcomed as I confirmed that it was me that they had come to surprise at the airport!

After quickly checking into my room, I was ready to have fun. Forget that I hadn’t sleep for 24 hours; I was in Vegas! Through somewhat of a coincidence, my three Canadian friends and chauffeurs were in the room next door to mine. If that wasn’t lucky enough, my friends Joshua Jay, Rune Klan and Joel Givens were all immediately opposite. I knew this was going to be fun! The sessions began the moment I arrived and they went on constantly throughout the whole event.

We all decided to celebrate our room arrangements with a visit to the Las Vegas strip, which started with the New York, New York rollercoaster and then straight on to see Lance Burton’s show. Josh and I appeared on Lance’s Young Magician’s Showcase television special six years ago, so that theatre always brings back memories of our red suits, cheesy haircuts and week-long sessions. It was great to spend some time with Lance before moving on to the Monte Carlo bar and then later back to the convention hotel, The Orleans. I think I managed around 35 hours before I decided to call it a night and get some sleep.

I could stop here and sum the convention up as exactly the same as you’ve just read: great friends, great magic shows, constant sessions and a whole lot of fun. But you’ve read this far, so I should at least tell you a bit about the convention. I’ll list some highlights of the official events:

Johnny Thompson’s talk on Charlie Miller was a great insight on a man that I have studied a lot. His Magicana columns in Genii magazine are a collection of some of the most insightful parlour and close-up magic tricks and essays I have read and his other published work is equally as good. To hear someone like Johnny, one of Charlie’s closest friends, tell stories about the man was a real thrill and I thoroughly enjoyed this event.

Michael Weber hosted an afternoon that really made the convention special. He started with some incredibly funny observations about the convention and magic in general, taught some of his own fantastic close-up magic and then interviewed Cyril of street magic and YouTube fame. MAGIC magazine have a certain influence that most other conventions do not, so to have someone like Cyril there was really a unique experience.

Another highlight was Joshua Jay’s informal Talk About Tricks session. Josh called on his friends to stop by and perform for a large group of avid close-up magicians. I performed three or four sets, including a trick with Rune Klan that made me feel somewhat alive, while feeling somewhat numb inside. It’s a long story for another day, but it will always stay with me as one of my most interesting convention performances to date.

It’s easy to sum up any convention with just details of events, but that’s like listing the ingredients that you might eat at a restaurant. For me, the most important thing for this convention was the people. I managed to catch up with many old friends, meet with some business acquaintances and customers, talk business with other publishers such as Todd Karr (Miracle Factory) and Gabe Fajuri (Squash Publications) and session with lots of different groups. In all, I had the time of my life and it was great to be around so many like-minded people for a week.

MAGIC’s sweet sixteen celebrations were a blast. I can’t wait to see what Stan and his team have planned for their next milestone (perhaps twenty years old?). If they do organise another convention, in the words of Shakira, “Whenever, wherever we’ll learn to be together. I’ll be there and you’ll be near and that’s the deal my dear.” Or something like that. Basically, if Stan puts on another convention I’ll be there!

This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 2nd, 2007 at 8:58 pm and is filed under Shows & conventions. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.