I had never before heard of Geoff Williams, but after reviewing his Miracles for Mortals Volume 1, I’m throughly pleased to have discovered his work. This DVD presents some excellent and varied close-up and stand-up effects along with solid advice. Williams reminds me somewhat of Jay Sankey with his quirky humor, technical skills and ability to take effects, improve on them and make them his own. There’s lots to like here.
Outlet for Fun
Electrical Artlet is a hilarious effect that works well as an opener. The magician is beginning her set and discovers, to her dismay, that the sound system isn’t playing music. The solution? The magi draws a picture of an electrical outlet on a pad of paper, plugs in the cord from the sound system and the music plays.
Williams’ variation on a Fantasio effect is clever and funny. The cord actually plugs into the picture and controls the music on the sound system. One could perform a similar effect by using a timed sound track without setting up the sound system and pad of paper, but this one is a gem.
William’s Uploopted offers a visual and mystifying horizontal card levitation that is ready to go at almost any time. Here, the card convincingly floats horizontally between the hands of the performer.
Based on a Larry Jennings effect, Williams’ The I Hate David Copperfield Trick offers an astounding pass-through effect where one card visually melts through another one. This one is fantastic and only requires three playing cards to prepare and perform. I really like this effect, and I’m still a fan of David Copperfield.
Wanna Bet?
Omega Bet is based on a Karl Fulves effect and built on top of work by Bob Wagner. Here, a spectator shoves an indicator card into a packet of cards, and the magician is always able to predict whether the adjacent card will be a match, for example, black and black or red and red, or not a match, black and red.
The bewildering effect offers five phases and Williams serves opportunities for strong audience interaction. The effect takes some practice and memorization, but it’s not overly difficult. It also requires a table. I don’t usually care for these kinds of card effects, but this one is well worth the time to learn and perform. For this effect, Williams teaches his smear shuffle, a variation on an overhand shuffle that lends itself to the trick.
In More Oil & Water, Williams offers his version of Sam Schwartz’s three-phase, eight-card oil and water routine that requires little sleight of hand. This one can be powerful if you have the personality to pull it off. Miracle Coin Vanish offers a gimmick-based, disappearing coin. This one requires that the magician wears a sportcoat, but the method is good and easily resets. Best yet, the attachment to the jacket is one that’s easy to get on and off.
