Reporting The Illusionists 2.0 in Mexico

[Andres Reynoso]

The Illusionsits 2.0 actually is runnig in Mexico City. The venue is the Auditorio Nacional, a huge building that is’n my favorite one. It has a full capacity for 10000 persons. Season is July 16 – 27, with 1, 2 or even 3 performances daily. I’m not sure how many shows will be held but maybe 18. Seats ranging from 15-80 USD on weekdays and 22-100 USD on weekends. During the weekend was offered a 4x3 promo for second week shows (offer finished on Sunday)

Altough the capacity is 10000 not all sections are open for this show, the laterals and too high sections are closed. Is difficult to me to say in which number is reduced the capacity, but maybe to the half.

I attended with a friend (she is not related with magic) to the Saturday 16:00 performance (second one in a day with 3 shows) and only the low sections had audinece, I don’t know if people on high section were relocated. With a rough calcullation I esttemate 3000 persons.

Meanwhile I continue waiting for the printed June issue to arrive, I will describe the show using the illusions names Luis de Matos mentions in his Genii article and I will make references to things he states there.

There is a pre show with a welcome and performance of mexican Joaquin Kotkin who was the host in Latin America The Illusionists (1) tour. He prepares the audience with some jokes and performes that trick (sorry I don’t know the name) in which a diamond is swallowed and taken out by the eyelid. This year Joaquin isn’t on the poster unlike past tour, this time is a guest magician.

The show starts with the “Triangle Reveal” appearing the 6 performers. Luis de Matos welcomes to the show speaking in spanish for the pleasure of the audience and performs “Fish tank” The magicians alternates their participations. I don’t promise to list the acts in exact order, but in show’s first half Adam Trent presents “Cutting Table”, James Moore performs “Impaled”, Yu Ho-Jin his FISM winning act, Kevin James – The Inventor – performs an illusion in which a head get live and then appears her body, Aaron Crow “supravison”, Adam Trent returns with “wonderful cards”, Kevin James with a cannon ball (bowling ball) making a hole in the assistant’s chest, this section ends with Luis de Matos “mini posters”

Intermision

Luis de Matos performs “the chaos card mystery” I haven’t watch EMC 2012 so I’m not sure if he compressed on this spot the “newspaper prediction” using playing cards or if all is the same card mystery rutine. (angry birds predicting the seats, then the three participants throwing away playing cards until held one each person, a video prediction with the three cards, the same prediction into the wallet and stickers with the correct angry bird and participant name) Aaron Crow performed “bowman”, James Moore “table of terror” with a tricky video signal in the big screens, Adam Trent “Video to life” and Kevin James “floating rose”. At the end de Matos asks if we want to see more and Yu Ho-Jin returns with an impressive card act.

I’m not sure, but i think was in the first part of the show James More performed a diferent kind of “metamorphosis” (a cage over a tube pedestal with the girl, and he standing besides the cage over the theatre floor) and “squeeze box”.

As I type this I’m noticing first “half” is actually much longer than second one. Total run with intermision: 2 hours.

In Mexico Raymond Crow was substituted with Kevin James who performed too in Latin America The Illusionists 1 tour. Was announced that would present different illusions (really repeated floating rose)

There weren’t 3D video images neither souvenir program. I didn’t noticed at the end some magical appearance or disappearance that I could think in a Million Dollar Mystery.

I enjoyed the show but for me Illusionists 1 was much better: a little cheaper, runned near 3 hours and the most part was big illusions, the kind is hardly difficult, near imposible to see nowadays in Mexico, and the best kind of tricks for a huge venue.

My higlights in The Illsuionists 2.0: Adam Trent’s “cutting table” (it has an extrange ‘thing’ but I really enjoyed it) Kevin James’ living head with appearing body, Yu Ho-Jin’s both acts (I watched his FISM act in Magic Live in a more suitable theater. I enjoyed to see him one more time)

Aaron Crow work isn’t my fovorite kind of magic, but is a higlight for me because is different all I have watched before and has a very strong personality, giving instructions only with signlas and his attitude.

The worst for me was close-up/parlor magic in a very huge venue. To watch an ambitious card on a screen on a 10000 seats theater is not my hit (Ironically it was close-up Yu Ho-Jin’s routine) And I feeled too long Luis de Matos’ segments, speaking perfeclty spanish but with a really quick velocity that stuns. Maybe is for the reasons he explains on Genii about a timer and thinking in a different lenguage his own. Kevin James cannon ball was odd, more like a puzzle, I feel it inconcluded.

About mini posters I’m not sure if is a good idea to use magicians posters, many people doesn’t want to break them (maybe if there is a souvinir program it could be easer) and when everybody is throwing away the first papers my friend (as I mentioned not related with magic) asked to me “Why there are on the floor only papers with legs and no one with chests? Is it relatad with the method?” I think the answer is “not necessarilly” but a clearly uneven image maybe can give hints unlike playing cards or texts as de Matos says he uses in CHAOS show.

For my friend the highlights were ... all, particularly “cutting table” , the living head, Yu Ho-Jin, “table of terror”, “squeeze box” and Aaron Crow (described by her as so handsome)

Finally, The Illusionists 1 performed in the three bigger cities on Mexico: Mexico City, Monterrey and Guadalajara. The Illusionists 2.0 is schedulled only in Mexico City.

[Andres Reynoso]

Update: Today Ticketmaster offers 2x1 for 5 performances: one today, two tomorrow and two on saturday. Valid for all seats, purchasing online just today.
Exempt from the offer one performance on saturday and two on sunday.

I think the total run will be 20 shows. It seems it doesn't selling as well as expected.