Cosentino's final performance was amazing. After floating down onto the stage, Cosentino announced that whilst that was an illusion, everything he was about to do would be for real. He was restrained in a straitjacket and dangled underneath literal (And flaming) Jaws of death which would snap shut in 82 seconds if he had not escaped by that time. Cosentino milked the suspense generated by this routine to the last, literaly jumping down to the ground, free of the restraints, just as the jaws snapped shut, and the relief when he got up safe and sound was palatable. When asked how well he thought the routine went, Cosentino joked "I survived"
WHAT DID THE JUDGES SAY?
Brain praised the fact that Cosentino just got "Better and better" and also supported his aim of using the $250,000 prize money to open a magic school. Danni noted that the trick scared her, but was generally full of praise, comparing his performances to "Some kind of new fantasy land". Finally ,Kyle, who was unwell but judging by video link, said Cosentino was "World-Standard" and "Excellent" and likened his last-second escapes to the Roadrunner
WHAT ARE COSENTINO'S CHANCES OF WINNING?
Cosentino is coming into the results show as a dark horse. He performed last and recieved good comments from the judges, but the nine acts he is up against are also excellent. However, Cosentino's main rival is Jack Vidgen. A 14 year-old singer, Vidgen has recieved praise and attention from media across the world, but has recently suffered some negative publicity. This concerns the fact that the "Original" song he performed in the final, "Yes I am" is not his own work.. This has led to some strong critism online and could cost him victory. That said, he is still the one to beat. There are also other acts who gave excellent final performances, such as song and dance group Tinomatic and comedian Rod Gregory, but I still think Cosentino has a moderate, hopefully high, chance of winning
FOR BRITSH VIEWERS, THIS ARTICLE MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS
WHAT DID SETH DO?
Seth performed an act which began with him being hoisted over a tank full of what appeared to be tar in a straitjacket. He appeaerd to fall into the tar, then the tank opened up to reveal assiatants carrying what appeaerd to be his body. They put it in a cannon and fired it at a water tank, where Seth then appeared, alive and clean. Like all Seth's other tricks, it was unique and inventive, but too easy to figure out. There were mistakes which aggravated this problem too (When Seth fell into the tank, his hands were free, but the body in the cannon still has bound hands). Nonetheless, the production values were good, and the trick wasn't conventional
WHAT DID THE JUDGES SAY?
Howie claimed that he was fooled by the trick and thought that Seth blew him away. Sharon claimed that she hadn't seen the trick before and liked the lavish production values, whilst Piers said that it was "Bigger, better [and] Slicker" then his previous performances
WHAT IS THE COMPETITION LIKE?
Whilst "Singer" Mauricio Herrera, Young rappers the Sh'boss boys,Yo-yo performer Ian Johnson, Dance act The Purrfect Angels and sideshow performers Captain and Maybelle can all be ruled out of the running, the rest of Seths competition was all very impressive. The Summerwind Skippers did some impressive and exciting jump rope tricks. though they may not have worked well on the big stage, they were still excellent. POPLYFE impressed the judges with a solid version of "rolling in the deep". Landau Murphy Jr. made a safe song choice ("Fly me to the moon") but is still very talented indeed. Monet has a sob story that will get votes (About her losing her home in a hurricane) and may offset the fact that the judges felt her voice hadn't yet matured. Lys Agnes made a bad song choice ("Habena" from Carmen) but still sang it well. Finally, Professor Splash dived nearly 37 feet into a pool of water only a foot deep, setting a new world record.
WHAT ARE SETHS CHANCES?
Low . If Landon Swank couldn't get out of a very weak heat last week, Grabel should have no chance in his more competitive group. However, Grabel had good stage presense and a memorable, if not perfect, trick that was more spectacular than Landon's. Expect him to be the last performer eliminated before the judges choice
Whilst many britions are familiar with Britains got Talent or Americas got Talent, the controversy when a
comedian on the show copied a Lee Mack joke is the only knowledge we have of the Austrailian version
However British magic fans are missing out on something big. One of the finallists this year is magician and escapologist Paul Cosentino. His Audition, quarter final and semifinal performances can be seen below
So, can Cosentino win? The final airs in Austrailia on Tuesday and Cosentino has several excellent rivals, such as the 14 year old singer Jack Vidgen or the singing dancing group Tinomatic. However Cosentino has impressed Judges and viewers alike with his performances and even though Adam Murby who represented the art of magic in the final last year with the trick shown below didn't win, Cosentino has advanced with more support and better votes
So, how will Cosentino do in the final? Find out on Tuesday evening how well he did and see if he can do what only Swedens Charlie Caper before him has done-Prove that a magic act can win a Got Talent series
For British Readers, this article may contain Spoilers
WHAT TRICK DID HE PERFORM?
Landon had host Nick Cannon sign a double-sided mirror front and back, put a sheet of paper over the front, stood behind the mirror, walked through both paper and mirror, then showed the mirror intact and the signatures still there. It wasn't amazing or that hard to figure out, but the signatures added a unique spin. Landon is beginning to carve a niche for himself as a performer who does original and impressive spins on what are normally Ho-Hum tricks
WHAT DID THE JUDGES SAY?
Piers asked to see the back of the mirror, and after Landon confirmed that the signature was on the back, Piers, after making everyone worry by saying how much he liked the first two tricks Swank did, usually a sign that a judge doesn't like the newest one, said it was "very impressive". Sharon, however, was "Confused" but also found it "Very Interesting". Which one? Howie, however, said that the presentation was "Lacking" (The issue that got Murray Sawchuck eliminated last year, although, unlike him, Swank does not have as many excellent opponents in his heat or a direct rival) and preferred his Vegas performance
WHAT IS HIS COMPETITION LIKE?
In a word, lacking. There are two acts likely to get an automatic pass: The Silhouettes, who posed as American Landmarks (Although they ruined this effect by overlapping real silhouettes of these landmarks over themselves) and the Smage Brothers, A duo of stunt motorbikers and their assistant, who are direct successors to last years finallist, Jeremy Vonschoonhoven. There are also four decent but unspectacular singing acts; Dani Shay, who has a voice with plenty of potential but lacks confidence or a firm handle on her act, Daniel Joseph Baker, who only sings Lady GaGa songs, Dylan Andre, who is shaky and forgettable, and Mona Lisa, who the judges felt didn't stand out.Only one of these will go through, and it will be either Daniel or Mona Lisa. Meanwhile, Pole Dancer Steven Retchless recieved praise from Howie and Sharon, but Piers dislike the act, and I don't think people will vote for a pole dancer. Attack Dance crew, like the singing acts, were talented but meh, and Western act The Rhinestone Ropers, comedian Geechy Guy and juggler Thomas Johns all fell flat and can be ruled out.
WHAT ARE LANDON'S CHANCES OF ADVANCING?
Landon has a moderate to high chance of advancing, and I think he will get through as a judges choice
Yesterday's episode of Penn and Teller: Fool us included a returnee from the pilot, A pair of Victorian magicians who I saw at the Edinburgh Festival last year, A French illusionist duo, and a restaurant magician. Which of these acts were the two in this episode that fooled Penn and Teller and won a trip to Vegas?
CUBIC ACT- French Illusionist duo
Cubic act did a trick involving a floating canvas box with a girl inside. It was a cute trick, but I've seen that type of trick too often for me to be fooled by it, and Penn and Teller weren't (Although, just as with Alan Rorrison last week, Penn claimed that he himself had been fooled). However, Penn said it was "The best stage illusion I have ever seen". Will an illusionist ever fool the pair?
NICK EINHORN -Mentalist
Einhorn wowed everyone with an elaborate trick. He asked a volunteer to put a dish on each of three tables. The volunteer then assigned three male volunteers an envelope and a seat each at random. The volunteers then opened the envelopes, which correctly predicted the volunteer, where they sat, and what they served. The trick fooled Penn and Teller
MICHAEL VINCENT-Cardsharp
Like Richard Bellars last week, Vincent had previously been seen on the pilot. This time, he had Johnathan Ross, Penn and Teller each select and sign a card. He then made their cards appear in another deck. He didn't fool Penn and Teller, but Penn called him "My favourite performer"
MORGAN AND WEST- Victorian illusionists
I saw Morgan and West at Edinburgh last year and liked them, so I was keenly anticipating their performance on this show. They did a trick which I haven't seen before. In it, West gave Johnathan Silhouette cards to memorize, and Morgan Predicted the names of the silhouetted people from the other side of the stage. The pair fooled Penn and Teller, and won a trip to Vegas
The show finished with Penn and Teller's most shocking trick yet. It involved Penn playing Russian Roulette with a nail gun. He loaded it with a partially empty clip of nails, and fired it into a board if he though there was a nail in the chamber, and fired it at his hand (Or, on a couple of occasions, Teller) if he thought it was empty. Thankfully, his intuition was correct each time, and no one was hurt.
N.B For the next couple of weeks, I will be on holiday, and I will catch up on, and analyze, the episodes I have missed when I return
For British readers, thiis article may contain spoilers
In America, Americas got Talent has reached the liveshows and when (According to rumours I have heard) Landon Swank performs in and for America on Tuesday evening (In America), it will get the magic in the liveshows underway, and for the next two months, we hope against all hope that a magic act (We have four magic acts in the liveshows this year (Counting Frank Miles) and more may be on the way in the youtube and wildcard heats) may win this year. But the previous five seasons have seen some impressive standard setters for the art. Who are the best illusionists Americas got Talent has seen so far?
Honourable mentions before we start (i.e excellent magic acts who didn't make the cut): Shimshi (Series 3), Antonio Restivio (Series 5), Dan Sperry (Series 5)
10. The Pendragons (Series 3)
These magic legends rank low on the list, because, whilst their audition was amazing, they vanished without trace and were not seen again in that series. However, their spin on the metamorphosis trick was amazing enough to make the list
9. Eliot Zimet (Series 1)
A dove magician from the Bronx, Eliot impressed viewers far and wide with his exciting audition and stage presence. He made the liveshows, but didn't made much of an impact there. However, he had already secured a place as one of Americas Got Talent's star magicians
8. Jay Mattioli (Series 4)
Mattioli, Like Zimet wowed with a fresh, exciting audition. But like Zimet, he underwhelmed with a conventional performance in the liveshows, (unlike Zimet, he had been brought back as a wildcard after being initially eliminated). But, also like Zimet, his audition was one of the best pieces of magic that year.
I couldn't find a video of his performance, but I can tell you that his floating microphone trick was legendary
7.Anthony Reed (Series 2)
Unlike Mattioli and Zimet, Anthony Reed didn't make the liveshows. However, unlike those two, his second performance was not as disappointing. Whilst not the best of the many versions of the Aquarian Illusion I have seen on Got Talents around the world, his was impressive enough to give his competitor and former mentor Kevin James a run for his money
6. Drew Thomas (Series 4)
Drew Thomas became the first magician since Series 1 to get beyond the first round of liveshows with an elaborate illusion involving changing female assistants in a box into male ones. Although he flopped in the semi finals with a set of simplistic tricks with an overly sentimental theme, he had cleared the way for magicians to get far in the liveshows
5. David and Dania-Quick Change (Series 1)
David and Dania became infamous on Americas got Talent for repeating almost the same trick every time, and somehow making the final almost entirely because of their feud with judge Piers Morgan. So why are they so high up on this list? Because, first time we saw their routine, it was solid gold. The many videos of their audition on youtube have altogether over 20 million hits, and the duo have performed on Americas got Talent twice more as guests. They may not have been the best magic act on the show, but they are the most famous
4. Murray Sawchuck (Series 5)
Series 5 was an excellent year for magic acts, with all four magicians in the live shows making it past the first round. Probably the most spectacular of these however, was Murray Sawchuck. With an explosion of blond hair and Armani Sunglasses, Murray stood out the most out of any of that years magic acts. So did his magic. In his time on the show, Murray made a car appear, a train vanish, and a lady turn into a tiger. In his semifinal, he duelled with Michael Grasso and came out the loser, but there is no doubt that he left a huge impression on the show
3. Kevin James (Series 2)
Kevin James was magic's sole representative in the liveshows of series 2. However, his first live performance was a disappointment. So why is he so high up on the list? Well, like David and Dania, Kevin James owes his high placing to a pair of wonderful audition performances, with his Vegas performance in particular going viral. Anthony Reed never stood a chance.
2. Nathan Burton (Series 1)
David and Dania got the furthest of all of series 1's magic acts, but the best was undoubtedly Nathan Burton. From his audition to the wildcard show, Burton wowed the judges and viewers with his slick, original illusions, giving viewers a new trick every time, including at the results show. All in all, Burton performed six times that year, including as a guest at the series finale. He appeared in Series 4 but didn't make the live shows. However, by then, he had already earned his own Vegas show and cemented himself as an Americas Got Talent Legend
1. Michael Grasso (Series 5)
There is no doubt about it, Michael Grasso was an inspiration for every magician who watches Americas Got Talent.
Initially eliminated at the Vegas round, Grasso was brought back as a wildcard, and capitalized on this second chance like there was no tomorrow, making the top 10 and only narrowly missing out on the final four. All of the tricks Grasso performed were clever and exciting, from his version of the suspended animation trick in the auditions right down to his transposition trick with swords in the top 10. For the first time ever, Americas got Talent had a magician who could genuinely compete with the best
Congratulations, Michael, you have earned your place on the top of this list.
The performer shows the audience a toy bow and arrow, and tells an assistant or volunteer to fire the arrow. Even though the performer has their hands up their sleeves until the last moment to make it more difficult, they catch the arrow anyway!
YOU WILL NEED
A Toy Bow and Arrows (These are advailable at 99p or toy shops)
Long Sleeves
A Volunteer or Assistant
PREPARATION
Place one of the toy arrows up one of your sleeves. Have it close to your wrist but in a way that does not prevent you from being able to move your arm.
If using an assistant, tell them to fire away from you
PERFORMANCE
Show the toy bow, with an arrow in, and your otherwise empty hands
Give the bow and arrow to your volunteer or assistant. If using a volunteer, tell them that the arrows can be fired in a curved path, and stand a marginal distance to the side.
Tell the volunteer/Audience that you will catch the arrow with your bare hands, but, to make it more diificult, you will have those hands in the sleeves until the last moment. Use this to take hold of the arrow up your sleeve
Tell the volunteer/assistant to fire. As they do, pull both hands out from the sleeve quickly, with one of them containing the arrow. As the real arrow flies away, show the duplicate arrow and tell the audience that you have caught it. This misdirection means that no-one will notice the fact that the real arrow is somewhere else.
If performing in a small room for a small audience, have the real arrow fired so it lands behind them. If performing on a large stage, do the trick side on, next to the curtain. The real arrow will land behind the curtain. In both cases, no-one will see the real arrow, and everyone will assume that you caught it.
Today's episode featured the series' youngest magician,its first solo female magician, and a performer previously seen in January's pilot. But did any of these manage to fool Penn and Teller?
DANIEL KRAMER- Comedy Magician
Daniel is only 15, but had excellent stage presence and a strong patter. He did the Six-card repeat, which doesn't fool many magicians (Some magic books teach you how to do it), and a twisted arm trick, both of which were funny and well presented. He didn't fool Penn and Teller, but the two noted that he did the magic better than they did at his age
ROMANY- "Burlesque" Illusionist
Romany did a trick that I have seen before, but did it well. She had Johnathan Ross (Still the perfect patsy!) Tie up her hands, and the two climbed into a sack. It was lifted over them both, and Johnathan's suit passed through Romany's restraints onto her body. She didn't fool Penn and Teller, who noted the similarity of the restraints to those seen in a spirit cabinet trick, but they praised the presentation
ALAN ROMSON- Close up Magician
Alan had Johnathan and a female volunteer stand face to face with their hands wide open. He put a coin on each hand, then a card on top of the coins, then made them teleport to a single hand. The trick didn't fool Penn AND Teller, but Penn told Alan that he himself had been fooled by it
RICHARD BELLARS- Mentalist Magician
Having failed to fool Penn and Teller in the pilot, Bellars returned with a considerably more elaborate trick. He invited Penn and Teller to play three games: Darts, Countdown and Paper-Scissors-Rock. He then revealed that he had predictions of every result in these games, correct to the details, in his foot, where they had been since the beginning. With this trick, Richard became only the third magician in the regular series to fool Penn and Teller and win a trip to Vegas
Penn and Teller then finished the show with another trick of their own. Teller's head was encased in concrete above a board on his shoulders. Penn made a volunteer's glasses vanish, then cracked the cement block to reveal the glasses on the board on Teller's board. It was another impressive trick to conclude another impressive episode
The performer shows a flag, waving it by it's pole. They tell the audience that they have discovered a new way to pack the flag in their bag. They wrap the flag around the flagpole, then squash it into a ball to show that the flagpole vanishes!
YOU WILL NEED
A quarter of a sheet of A4 paper or thereabouts, cut vertically
Some sellotape
A flag, preferably a cheap souvenir one (you can get them at sports games)
PREPARATION
First of all, remove the real flagpole from the flag. It is only attached by a small blob of glue, so you only need a little effort to prise the flag from the pole. This will leave a hole in the flag where the pole normally is
You will only need the flag. To replace the flagpole, roll the paper vertically so that the paper is of similar height to the pole, and of similar thickness
Secure the paper with a little tape, then ease the paper pole up the hole in the flag, taking care to ensure it keeps it's shape. You now have a flag with a paper pole that, from a distance, looks like a proper plastic one
PERFORMANCE
Wave the flag by the "flagpole", holding the "flagpole" by both hands. Explain that you take your flag wherever you go
Tell the audience you have discovered a new way of packing it up. Roll the flag around the pole until it is covered completely
Hold the covered "flagpole" at either end
Bring your hands together, squashing the flag, and "flagpole" inside into a ball. Tell them that the flag can now be packed into smaller spaces.
The Crystal Sub Tank (AKA Suspended Animation) trick is one of the most popular among modern magicians. In it, the magician gets into an elevated box. It is covered with a curtain, but his hand is visible at all times. The assistants stands beside the box, and throws a cloth over himself, with one end held by the magician. The cloth comes down, and in a split second, the two have switched places. In this trick, the effect is replicated with a pair of cards
YOU WILL NEED
(FOR THE TANK)
Some sellotape
A rectangle of card. You should be able to fold it into an open cuboid, big enough to fit the whole deck with some extra space
A Toilet Roll
Clingfilm or a freezer bag
A square of cardboard bigger than the roll, or cuboid
Some kitchen foil
A sheet of paper
(FOR THE MAGIC)
A Deck of Cards
A Helpful volunteer
Knowledge of some card sleights- Namely the control and double lift
PREPARATION
(For The Cards)
There are two main sleights that are needed:
First of all, the CONTROL. While the card is being selected and looked at, take the top half or so of the rest of the deck and hold it in one hand. Hold the bottom half of the deck in the other hand. Have the volunteer put the card on the bottom half. Hold the ring finger over the chosen card-not by much, a few milimetres will do.This is called a "Finger break" and is key to both of the sleights in this trick. Put the top half over it. "Cut" the top half of the deck to the bottom. Due to the break, the chosen card will be left on top of the deck
Secondly, the DOUBLE LIFT. Hold another break under the card second from top. Using the ring finger holding the break as a lever, lift up the top two cards at once. They will look like one card, so it look like you are only handling the top card, which appears to be different to the chosen one (The top card is actually the chosen one
(FOR THE TANK)
Fold the cardboard into a cuboid, securing it with tape. Cut out two rectangles of the bag/clingfilm. Tape them each to either end of the cuboid. Cut a hole in one of the windows big enough to put a card through.
Stand the cuboid on top of the loo roll, and tape the two together. Attach the other end of the loo roll to the cardboard base.
Cut a hole big enough to put a card through into the foil. arrange the foil so it covers the box, with the hole in the foil in line with the hole in the bag/film. The Tank is now ready
PERFORMANCE
Have the volunteer pick a card from the deck. Using the control sleight, move the chosen card to the top of the deck. Tell the volunteer that this will be the magician. Do some fake shuffles to keep the chosen card on top of the deck
Perform a double lift to show an indifferent card. Tell the volunteer that this will be the assistant. Remove some of the sellotape from the door with the hole in to open it
Place the top card (assumed to be the assistant) beside the tank. Put the rest of the deck in the tank, and replace the tape and door. Put the card on top of the incomplete deck (Assumed to be the magician) through the hole. Place the foil over it, passing the magician card through that hole as well
Cover both cards with the paper for a second, then turn over the card beside the tank to reveal it as the "Magician" card
Remove the foil, open the box by removing the tape, and reveal that the card that has been protruding from the holes the entire time to be the assistant!
For british readers, this article may contain spoilers
Over in America, Vegas week of Americas Got Talent has finished and we have our top 48 for the liveshows. But which magicians are there?
1. Judges Favourites
Fantastic Fig went first in the set, doing another cute but unspectacular card trick, again with his cat Newton on his shoulders. However, the main rivalry was between Michael Turco and Scott Alexander. Alexander did the Eclipse illusion, involving an assistant vanishing from one half of a circle and appearing in the other half. The trick was not spectacular, but was still hard to figure out. Lastly, Turco performed two tricks for the price of one. He did the slicer illusion, involving dividing an assistant into ninths, but had problems with a set of doors to the box that wouldn't close. He finally made 3 assistants appear in a cone-shaped box only big enough for one
2. Standbys
The set started with two disappointing performances. The Halls of Magic performed a version of the Cube Zag without the Zag, in which the male member handled a prop staff badly, and an unnamed Indian magician performed an unconvincing version of the sword basket.However, Landon Swank restored the judges faith in magicians when he made an assistant appear in a floating cardboard box. It's a fairly easy trick to figure out of you consider how Swank was standing, but it was well done. Last to go was acrobatic magician Seth Grabel, who made 2 girls appear from a juggling cube (after initially dropping it) and did a transposition trick that was well done, but easy to figure out.
3. Non magicians
Daredevil Frank Miles, although not a magician per se, did what was basically a large-scale version of the Spike in Cup trick, which was as exciting and well-presented as any of the best magic in the magicians category
4. Who went through?
The magicians who made it through to the live shows were:
Scott Alexander
Landon Swank
Seth Grabel
(Honorable mention, as he is not a magician) Frank Miles
I wish all of them the best of luck in the Live Shows!
THE EFFECT: You are able to determine which of four paper cones has a buzzer underneath it
HOW TO DO IT
For this trick you need:
Four sheets of A3 paper
Four paper plates
One Britains got Talent buzzer (available online or in gadget shops)
Some sticky tape
A needle or pin
A volunteer
PREPARATION
Make a cylinders out of the four paper plates. Put sticky tape on one of the shorter edges, and attach to the other shorter edge without folding the paper. Use the tape to attach a paper plate to each cylinder
Before you begin the trick, make a pinprick in one of the plates (Get an adult to do this if necessary) as an identifying mark. You are now ready to perform
PERFORMANCE
Show the Britain's Got Talent buzzer and tell the audience that you want to avoid hitting it until the end of the performance. If you hit the buzzer, the performance is over.
Put the buzzer underneath the cone that has the mark on top.
Get a volunteer to go up on stage and shuffle the cones until they are sure you do not know which one has the buzzer underneath. Hopefully, they won't notice the secret pinprick, and will keep the buzzer under the marked cone at all times.
When they have shuffled the cones accordingly, come up on stage. A quick glance at the cones will tell you which one is marked and has the buzzer underneath.
Hover your hand over the cones, then crush one of the unmarked cones with both hands
Repeat this for the other unmarked cones
When you have crushed all three unmarked cones,take the marked cone of the buzzer and show that you have made it to the end of the performance without hitting it
Yesterdays episode of Penn and Teller: Fool Us had plenty of good magic, but none of the four acts competing managed to fool Penn and Teller. That didn't matter though, as all four managed to impress not just the duo, but Johnathan Ross and the whole audience as well. These acts were...
Piff The Magic Dragon - Comedy Magician
Piff changed a spectators signed card into a predicted one, quarter by quarter. It was a cute and funny effect, but didn't quite fool Penn and Teller. I think it may have been done with a gimmicked card, but it was a nice effect all the same
Soma - Hungarian Close-Up Magician
Soma did a number of phone manipulations, which impressed everyone watching. Even Penn and Teller, who weren't fooled by this, said it was "delightful". It was entertaining and slickly presented too.
Alan Hudson- Comedy Mentalist
Alan did a cheerfully old fashioned routine involving guessing the song playing in each of four CD players. These songs were rather retro ones, not surprising given the nature of the trick. For the climax, he revealed Elvis Presley's "Viva Las Vegas" as the song on the final CD player, through a set of cards held up by the crowd to reveal his name, and a picture of Elvis on Alan's shirt. However, Penn and Teller weren't fooled, guessing that modern technology had been used to "Force" the song choices
Damien O'Brian - Street Magician
Damien performed a trick involving Johnathan choosing a card at random from a pack, which not only matched the card chosen randomly from another pack by a second volunteer, but also matched a prediction made by Damien. The trick didn't fool Penn and Teller, who noted that the card had been forced and that Johnathan was the "Perfect Patsy"
The show ended, as usual, with Penn and Teller performing a trick of their own. Teller made coins appear out of nowhere in an empty fish tank. He put them in another, full, fish tank, and made a large number of fish appear, before turning some of them back into coins for the volunteer. That trick fooled us most of all.
P.S: I'm sorry I haven't yet posted any new magic tricks, but you can be promised several all at once when I get back to posting them next week, hopefully (But don't hold your breath, just in case I miss my deadline again!)
British magic fans may be following the likes of Michael Grasso and Murray Sawchuck in AGT over here, but over in America, an all new series of Americas Got Talent has ended the auditions phase and the following magic acts have made the Vegas rounds (There may be more magicians shown in Vegas. A couple were shown in promos, but their auditions went unaired). I will rank them based on how well I think they will do. I will tell you how they do on Wednesday and Thursday if you can't wait for next year to see them on ITV2 :
1. Landon Swank
Swank did a novel spin on the shadowbox trick, in which he folded up the assistants shadow and put it in his pocket. It was an innovative and original version of the trick. When Swank performs in Vegas, he needs to continue to show originality whilst simultaneously upping his game. However, I expect he will be able to do that.
2. Michael Turco
Turco performed several shadowbox tricks quickly. It wasn't as original as Swank's tricks, but it was slick and well-presented. Turco was only one of three magic acts shown in full out of these six, so America is familiar with him. Expect a lot of focus on him in the Vegas rounds. Whether he actually makes it through depends on him performing a larger-scale, more spectacular illusion than his rivals
3.Scott Alexander (Scott is the first act in the montage)
Three of the six magicians were only shown in montages, so go into Vegas as relativity unknown quantities. Of these three, Alexander has the best chance of making the live shows. Like Swank, he did a unique spin on a cliched trick, floating his assistant on water jets. Furthermore, if that is merely an audition trick, I wonder how much bigger his next performances will be...
4. Seth Grabel (Seth is the third act in the montage)
Seth did a exciting set of illusions, but it is easy to figure out how he did his trick when you consider how much the man in the rabbit suit looks like him. Therefore, technically, Grabel is inferior to his rivals. He needs to avoid such oversights and continue to have fun in order to compete in Vegas
5. The Halls of Magic (The Halls are the third act in the montage)
The Halls of Magic are probably the campest act in the category. Their trick is overpresented and easy to figure out. However, that said, it is still a decent trick, but the Halls will probably be interpreted as a novelty act for it. They need to avoid letting the camp overshadow the magic in Vegas
6. Fantastic Fig
Fantastic Fig did a set of card tricks, then randomly danced to the first few bars of "Hot Stuff", all with his pet cat Newton on his shoulder the whole time. he card tricks themselves were good, but I doubt whether Fig would be able to hold a candle to rivals who all do illusions. If he drops the dancing, ups his game, or gets sorted amongst the pet acts, he may have a chance of making the live shows. If not, he should go out.
In Britain, coverage of last years Americas Got Talent has reached the live shows. Magic fans in Britain should be aware of the following magicians competing in the live shows
Antonio Restivio-live show 2 (Tuesday 5th July)
Murray Sawchuck- live show 4 (Tuesday 12th July)
Dan Sperry-Youtube Live show (Thursday 14th July)
Michael Grasso- Wildcard live show (Tuesday 9th July)
All 4 live shows air at 9PM on ITV2
However,over in America itself, an all-new series is progressing nicely. Over six magicians have been passed to the Vegas round, where they will compete for a spot in the live shows. I will upload videos of all six soon. They are...
Landon Swank
Scott Alexander
The Halls of Magic
Seth Grabel
Michael Turco
Fantastic Fig (with his pet cat Newton)
As well as these, Variety performer Leonid the Magnificent auditioned with an Ultra-Camp quick-change routine (He is not a magician per se though, as a veteran of the first two seasons of the show, Leonid has also done Balancing, Dancing, Hula-Hooping and Cube Juggling Routines.
Watch out for more news on these magicians in the near future.
P.S on Sunday I will try and film three illusions to have up on the site
