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The Texas outlaw magician, Lonnie Chevrie, tips some first rate, commercial close-up routines on his DVD, "Wanted! The Outlaw Magic of Lonnie Chevrie: Volume 1." The five effects are not difficult to learn and perform, and one is strong and absurdly easy. Those who are developing and building close-up material can find lots to like here.
"Counterfeiter" offers a fairly conventional bill switch with Chevrie’s own folding and handling. In his routine, Chevrie transforms a piece of paper into a real dollar bill by folding it. And his method offers a first rate and visual process that relies on the standard gimmick and makes excellent use of a coin purse. If you've been wanting to learn a bill switch, this is an excellent one. On the other hand, if you already perform a bill switch, there's little reason to learn this one.
"String'Em Up" is Chevrie’s take on "Gypsy Thread," with dental floss. Here the magician takes strands of floss, rolls them into a ball and turns them into a single length of floss. Chevrie’s use of dental floss makes a lot of sense because the dispenser is a common object found in most homes; it features a cutter, which meants the magicians wont cut their hands when trying to break the thread and the waxy properties of floss improve the handling. This is a great adaptation.
"Two Bits in a Bottle" is Chevrie’s version of the classic "Coin in the Bottle" with the usual gimmick. The magician hands a quarter out for examination and then inserts it into a bottle-there's seemingly no way that the coin can fit through the bottle's neck. Chevrie uses a quarter and a small bottle with a long neck, and offers an interesting and innovative use of tweezers that is logical and visual, and offers misdirection. Another good close-up effect.
In "A Stab in the Dark," Chevrie performs a card stab. Here, a selected card is mixed back into the deck and the deck is sealed into an opaque envelope. A spectator shoves a knife or letter-opener into the envelope, and when the envelope is ripped away, the knife is found next to the selected card. This one initially fried me until the absurdly simple secret dawned on me. Despite its easy approach, the effect is strong.
The final effect,
"Game of Chance," offers an offbeat routine with a chop cup and sponge balls. Chevrie begins with a teleportation-a ball is placed in the pocket and then appears under the cup; sponge balls are then produced from the cup, he performs a standard two-ball sponge set-balls come together in the magician's and spectator's hands and a potato is found in the cup at the end. This effect is commercial and plays well.
Throughout, Chevrie offers excellent explanation and the DVD features good-quality video and audio. I appreciate Chevrie’s wry humor and presentation that enhances his excellent magic.
There’s lots to like about "Wanted! The Outlaw Magic of Lonnie Chevrie: Volume 1." The DVD is most useful to beginning and intermediate magicians who are building their close-up routines. Advanced users will likely have versions of these classics already in their repertoires
-Wayne N. Kawamoto
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