Hi everyone. It’s 8am in LA on the second day of KGB10 and what a great time we all had yesterday!
After some poolside reunions with old friends Payne, Mike Bent, Joaquin, and Jozo Bozo we kicked off at 11am with a talk by Joaquin Kotkin on his experiences on an arena tour with a grand illusion show. I’ve played one or two big venues in my time, but it’s hard to imagine what it must be like to play to crowds in excess of 5000 people. Amazing!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07dy0HYuunw
Joaquin is such a funny guy and a great performer (he invented tricks that are used by Copperfield and other greats in magic). It’s great to see him enjoying this level of success.
Dave Cox and Joaquin – Devil Beard meets Half-Beard.
Next up was Tamar, lecturing for the first time ever – what a baptism of fire that must have been! I know how nerve wracking it was the first time I came to talk to these guys and by that time I had quite a few lectures under my belt. All I can say is that if she was nervous, it didn’t show. She talked for just over an hour on the subject of games and the British-style two hour party, a subject quite alien to most of the crowd. It sparked a lot of great discussion!
Tamar preparing her lecture by the pool
Other newbie, Gary Dunn came next – lecturing on ‘How to entertain with almost nothing’. We had great fun with the ahh game and Gary’s cheeky persona was a big hit with the group. We ended the first session on a huge high!
Gary lecturing with nothing.
After dinner we reassembled for the official opening ceremony and that was followed by David Kaye’s lecture ‘Don’t do these Tricks’ or ‘Don’t be a Douche’. This was a fun Keynote presentation about the pitfalls of using tricks that ridicule the spectator, followed by a ‘twist’ ending – great.
Payne was up next with the a similarly themed talk on the use and mis-use of stock lines (Lectures have been paired together this year). Payne was hilarious as always and provided a lot of food for thought.
The evening ended with our first ‘show and tell’ session – I showed a couple of my new tricks from my ‘Trix in the Stix’ lecture. Other highlights included Jozo’s amazing new take on the colouring book and Gary’s ‘Janus’ bag.
What an amazing first day!
Today promises lectures by Payne (again), Buster Balloon, Dave Cox, Mike Bent, followed by an evening at the Magic Castle!
That’s it! – off for breakfast!
Shabum!
Gary and Mike
Don't read this... 
Love the blog.
Last picture on KGB Day 2 had me gasping. Pic of Gary and Ken. I just can’t believe how much Ken has changed and now looks the spit of Mike Bent!
Are they related?
Do they share shows or cover for each other?
Congrats to Tamar on what sounds like a really successful lecture.
Please pass on PM’s best wishes to the KGB crowd.
I spoke to Herry Turbot today who said he was worried that he had nothing new to say or do at Trix in the Stix.
I told him not to worry. I said that Kimmo would fill the void. “Cheeky bugger,” he said – aimed at me.
Anyway, Trix in the Stix now sold out – with 5 months to go!
Looks like your all having a ball.
Sorry I’ve missed it. But enjoy every minute.
Tamar & Gary. Hope your loving it. X