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| - This review is strictly for the "MagicJam" alternate show for Criss Angel due to the review so I will treat this as a separate show than the "Believe" show.
Ok, with that said, this show was bad. Yeah, like that.
Self Indulgent, Poor Taste, Uninspiring Tricks, and just an overall "no bueno" kind of show.
Criss Angel has built his reputation on his street magic over the last 10 plus years or so and was blessed (yeah the holiest of holy) with an opportunity to have Cirque Du Soleil to attach their name to his show. His TV show and the illusions (or TV trickery) allowed his name to reach the mainstream. I can totally see why people would want to check the live show out and fork over hundreds of dollars to watch him go on and on and on and on about what he's done. I've seen many shows in Vegas (I'm a resident) and the one thing that truly annoys me is when performers feel entitled to open up their show with some retro montage of their glory days... I've seen three shows that does it. Criss Angel is more than well known in the magic world and he has no need to partake in all of the self indulgence he consistently spews to the crowd.
For Christ sake, we bought the ticket to see you because either:
1. We know who you are and what you're about.
2. Cheap Groupon Deal
3. Or we decided to just try something offbeat and was interested in something
Any who, on to the show...
The 'MagicJam" concept was a way for Criss Angel to buddy up with other magicians to fill times so he can heal his shoulder and do a bit of magic in the end to sell the name. His assistants opened the show and truthfully, they are the only saving grace in the entire show. The Hispanic comedy relief guy had me laughing most of then night but maybe it's because of the crude humor. He was very committed in making us laugh and it worked pretty well.
The only name I can remember out of the comedy lineup is Nathan Burton and he opened the show. Nathan also has a Vegas residency at Planet Hollywood. Didn't really enjoy any of his comedy as it's just basic tricks in my opinion . He was promoted as the "comedy magician" but didn't really make us laugh either. All in all corny... and one trick you can clearly see how it's done. Bleh
The next guy was a little cooler with the big robe and doing tricks with pidgeons. It seems like a tired act and one that Lance Burton perfected many decades ago... I watched the clip on youtube and it's still thousands of times better than this... but nonetheless, I still appreciate the skill in this act.
The only other performer worth mentioning is the one who did the close up magic. I'm pretty sure he had the best reaction of the night (outside of Criss Angel simply walking on stage) and for good reason. Simplicity and skill is sometimes the only thing you need to make people feel mystified. This guy did a few tricks but they were all effective. It MADE people wonder "How did he do that?" and that's all you need to do to make people enjoy a show. I would've been fine if he did another 10 minutes of cool card tricks like that for the rest of the show. This is what earned the extra star on top of the comic relief host.
As for Criss himself... again, the rest of the night was just talking about himself and what he's gone through. The energy of the crowd was just waning with each uninspiring trick thereafter. Maybe his injury diminished the value of his "magic" since he was just doing hand signals like a flight conductor. Towards the end he kept rallying crowds to scream and yell.. but it must truly suck when you realize that you HAVE to do that to get them to cheer.
I had front row seats and really, none of the tricks impressed me... I love magic but it's not like I'm an aficionado who knows the ins and outs of magic. But if I can clearly tell you how something is done, that's not a good thing for the next person either. Criss needs to go back to what made him famous... the street magic... mystifying guests by doing things right in front of them. The worst part about Magic Jam is that this is all a ploy to just make money while he gets back into shape.
Give the audience your all or don't give them anything at all. The best magic he pulled in was convincing audiences he can take 100 percent of their money with 10 percent of his effort.
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