Today’s Magic AudioBoo is some magic bar stuff!
Magic AudioBoo Magic Bar Stuff!
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Tag Archives: Magic Bars
Tired Myself Out Having Magic Fun
Magic For People!
Only June 18th and 19th I was performing at Terushita’s Magic Bar Intiki Magician. Terushita went to Malaysia for a magic convention and some us other Shikoku Magicians took over his bar while he was gone. During the past 3 years I have not had a chance to work a full evening at a magic bar, I have done a few short spots, but not all evening like I used to do 3 times a week when I worked at the old magic bar Momentos. On Friday, June 18, I worked with my good friend Mame Jiro and a University Student Magician Shohei. Another University Student Magician Masashi came at the start of the night but had to leave and came back to help us close up. It was a great and busy night. The picture in this blog is from that night. We were so busy we were not able to take many photos at all. We opened at 7:00PM and finally left the magic bar close to 2:00AM
On Saturday June 19 we “held” the meeting of the Shikoku Magic Friends Club. We were so busy we could not actually hold a meeting. Again we were packed and a lot of people came after the Japan vrs Netherlands World Cup game. Japan lost so people came to watch magic! We had great people all all night. Magicians that performed that night were and I hope I don’t forget anyone, Mame Jiro, Shohei, Shinnotsuke, Kiniku Kun, Jack Amano, Uru, Masashi, and myself. It was good we were all there because it was that packed that we were all kept busy. Shinnotsuke and I left to head back to Ehime at 2:30AM and the last customers were still there. Thanks to Jack and Uru for closing up that night.
It was great to get back to working all night at a magic bar, I have really missed it. Recently I have only been working private events for a shorter set time, but getting behind that bar and enjoying the people like they are enjoying the magic was really good and very motivating. Going to have to do this again very soon. I want to thank Mame Jiro for letting me crash at his place Friday night.
Aaron
Inspire Magic first Video
The Magic Bar Competition Was Excellent!
Me With Terushita after the Competition!
The Bar Magician Competition at Bar Magician Intiki Magician was excellent! There were 14 competitors and everyone did an great job. This was the 3rd time Terushita held the event. It also was the magic bars 2nd anniversary. Competitors ranged from University Magic Club Member’s a group of 3 1st grade elementary school girls to professionals. But the main point of the evening was no about the competition but having fun with each other and entertaining the guests. I was lucky and won the special achievement award.
What I enjoyed about it was I got to enjoy doing magic with my magic buddies as well as I made some new magic friends and this is what magic is all about. Here is a link to the pictures from the evening. During the evening I made 2 AudioBoo’s one pre-event and one after with an Interview with Bar Intiki Owner Terushita and excuse Terushita’s attempt at very bad English at the end LOL
Pre-Event Magic AudioBoo
Magic Audioboo Interview with Bar Intiki Magician Owner Terushita.
Bar Magician Competition Tomorrow!
Magic Bar Show
The bar magician competition that I have been blogging and twittering about is tomorrow. You can read the 2 blogs posts here and here. I am all set and ready to enjoy the evening. A lot of great friends of mine will be there so I am so looking forward to it. I will debut and new routine and excited about it. During the even I will send some tweets and hopefully I can do an AudioBoo from the bar. If you want to follow tomorrow night follow me on Twitter. Ill also have some pictures and maybe a video during the week. Now I better go and rehearse and please with me luck!
Aaron
Less than A week Until Bar Magician Competition
Momentos 21 Anniversary Show
In this blog post I mentioned I was participating in a bar magician competition on October 3, 2009. Well it is now less than one week until the event! I have the routine done and have rehearsed it. Some of the material is my regular performance sets with new changes and some reworking. I tested some parts of it out on Friday and they went over very well. I still have a lot more work to do to get the parts all right but it should be a fun set.
I am not a person who is big on magic competitions but this one will be fun which is the main point of the compition. So the routine I created will cover several points I like to make it fun. One being lots of audience participation, with the goal of making people to really feel a part of the show. I always want to break the ice at the beginning so the audience will feel comfortable and feel they are at a party with friends. I also wanted to use nice mix of effects that have some meaning.
Some problems I may have are of course the time limit because of the audience participation. I have created the set with different endings depending on how the audience reacts. If this path is good I will go this way or if it goes that way I’ll go that way. This is how I like to perform so two shows are rarely the same because of this path way system use. The show changes depending on the feeling during the show. Anyways I am looking forward to next week. I better stop writing here and get back to rehearsing! I’ll get some picture and maybe a video from the show next week if I can. I will also try to do an Audioboo posting from the event.
Aaron
More About Performing Magic In Japan
Me at Kansai Airport
Today I feel like blogging some more about performing magic in Japan. As I am sure I have mentioned before I have lived in Japan since 2003. And I do love it and I love performing here. In Japan I have had the opportunity to perform for a different type of audience. In Canada I performed at many types of events from schools, bars, malls, exclusive clubs, companies, and many others. But in Japan when working at a magic bar I had a new audience. Fist I must explain briefly and simply about Japanese night life. I could go on for pages about the different kinds of drinking establishments in Japan. This night life bar system is called Mizushoubai. There is type of bar called a Snack pronounced Sunakku in Japanese. This are bars were you pay a set price to sit and have a drink which is usually water and whiskey. Most Magic Bars in Japan are like Snacks. The customers come in and pay a set price anywhere from 3000 yen to over 10,000 yen depending on the bar and where is it located. So that’s the basic system. So whats my point? Oh yeah, the main customer base for these are business men who should be on their way home. So a lot of the audience I performed for at the magic bar was for groups of businessmen. Many times the groups that came were some kind of manger with his subordinates. This group is different than any other type of audience I have performed for. You may they think of the stereotype Japanese businessman but as you know stereotypes have no meaning. They guys know how to relax and have fun. They are great to perform for. You see they come to the magic bar and it is not cheap, so they expect to have fun and want to have fun. They love the magic and love watching the show and I loved performing for them. Every night at the bar was great fun with this kind of audience and I hope to perform for this group again some time soon!
Some Japanese Magicians I Like
Maggy Shinji and Me
Today I will introduce some Japanese magicians that I like. Of course there are many, many good magicians in Japan. The ones I would like to introduce are magicians that are well known to the Japanese public as they appear regularly on TV.
The first Magician I would like to introduce is the magician in the picture with me in this blog. His name is Maggy Shinji and is a comedy magician. He is one of many students of Maggy Shiro. He often appears on Japanese variety shows and is most famous for performing with Rocky Raccoon and making his ear big. His magic is silly but he always has a real magic punch at the end. He is also a really nice guy.
Next I want to introduce Mr. Marick. He is one of my all time favourite magicians in Japan. He usually has one or two magic specials a year on TV along as appearing as a guest on Japanese variety shows. His magic is very creative. He never does any standard magic or bought prop as is, he always changes them to fit him, and I admire this about him. I have not had a chance to see his dinner show live yet but when I get the chance I am there. His name Marick is a combination of the words Magic and Trick. I believe his image as a magician is the strongest image of a magician in Japan. I believe this because of the way he has branded himself. From his name to his own theme music which is well know in Japan.
The next Japanese Magician is one of the best close-up Magicians I have seen and that is Tomohiro Maeda. He is all class. He appears on Japanese TV from time to time on Variety shows and is always dressed in the best suits and performs to perfection. He is not just a great magician in Japan but one of the best in the world.
The last magician that I will introduce today is Pierr. Pierr’s close-up magic is superb along with his skill his character is great. He performs as if he was a high class French Magician. A good mix of comedy and beautiful magic make his performing fun and entertaining. He is a regular at Vernon’s Bar in Osaka. The next time I head to Osaka I will try to go see his show there.
There are many many more Magicians that I love here and in the future I will blog about some more!
Aaron
Working on my Magic Bar Close-up Show
Performing at Momentos 20th Anniversary May 25, 2009
I am now working to fix up my 45 minute magic bar show. Back in Canada when I worked close-up shows I was used to performing short sets from 5 to 10 minutes at different events for close-up magic . I would work at restaurants, bars and private dinners where I would go from table to table showing each table some close-up magic over a few hours. So just a small amount of time at each table. After I moved to Japan I started to work at Momentos Magic bar where I had to perform about a 45 minute close-up set. At first it was a bit difficult as I was used to performing such small sets. But over the 2 years I worked there I was able to create a 45 minute close-up show. I am now reviving it and redoing the same show over and adding some new content and organizing it better. It is a show I hope to use to perform at different magic bars around Japan as well as in a small private events where I can do a more intimate show.
Magic Bar Hopping with Magic Boo!
At Momentos Magic Bar
Yesterday I went to Takamatsu to visit some of my Favorite magic bars. First after the train ride, I went to Momentos Magc Bar. This is where I worked for 2 years before I moved to Shiga Prefecture. During that time Momentos moved to Nagoya and just after I moved back to Shikoku Momentos moved back to Takamatsu! Unfortunately Mr. Momentos will close his bar in September after over 22 years of the Magic Bar. So I went to say hello and to see how Mr. Momentos was doing. Just before I went to Momentos I dropped by my Friends Terushita’s Magic Bar Called Bar Initiki Magician. He was preparing for a show at the local festival for later that evening.
Shinnotsuke and Jack
Then after Momentos I went to Hijouguchi Magic Bar where two of my friends perform. I performed at Hijoguchi a few years ago before it became a Magic Bar. It is a a nice place with lots of room to perform. Last night After my two Friends Shinnotsuke and Jack Amano finished performing I did a small set. After I was able to interview them for a Magic Audioboo with I will post below this. Was a great evening and I had a god time. I don’t get to Takamatsu so often so it was great to drop by these bars and visit some great old friends here in Japan.