Banachek Live

[Guest]

This past weekend I had a chance to see Banachek perform a show here in Rochester, NY. This guy is the real deal. A brilliant showman who absolutely amazed and dumbfounded a room of laymen (and a small handful of magicians). He did nearly two hours and was a perfect gentleman. No hints of the pomposity that often accompanies mentalism. Seeing the quality of performance, and the fact that he managed to do all of these supernatural feats without ever making a spectator the butt of a joke, gives me a new high to reach for.

If he comes to your town, buy tickets. Take all your non-magician friends so they can see what magic CAN be.

[Guest]

Ditto. Banachek is an amazing performer and is one of the most entertaining mentalists out there. Don't miss his show if you can.
Oh, and he has to be one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet.

Greg

[Guest]

Banachek is a living legend and I am honored to have been able to toss a few ideas off of him. His style is graceful and his mentalism direct and devistating.

ASIDE: Which mentalists are pompous?

[Guest]

Did you mean pomposity, or bombast?

[Guest]

Why would you ask if he meant bombast when he said pomposity? You might as well have asked if me meant juggler instead of mentalist. If there's one thing mentalists generally are not, it is bombastic. It might liven things up if they were.
And I wanted to say I, for one, appreciated the joke: "The All Knowing Scott Xavier" asking which mentalists are pompous.

[Guest]

Originally posted by John Lovick:
Why would you ask if he meant bombast when he said pomposity? You might as well have asked if me meant juggler instead of mentalist. If there's one thing mentalists generally are not, it is bombastic. It might liven things up if they were.
And I wanted to say I, for one, appreciated the joke: "The All Knowing Scott Xavier" asking which mentalists are pompous.

Like, dude, you know, uh... sorry for asking a frickin' question.

[Guest]

I DID mean pomposity, thank you John. I think that a certain amount of bombast may find its way into many mentalists' (and certainly many magicians') presentations.

And my original post was meant to laud Banachek, not to disparage anyone else in particular.

[Guest]

I don't get it. Did I sin to ask a question? This is the weirdest board sometimes.

[Guest]

Originally posted by John Lovick:
Why would you ask if he meant bombast when he said pomposity?

The terms are not mutually exclusive John.

Hell, "Bombastic" is even used as an alternative definition of "pompous".

pompous (pŏm'pəs) pronunciation
adj.

1. Characterized by excessive self-esteem or exaggerated dignity; pretentious: pompous officials who enjoy giving orders.

2. Full of high-sounding phrases; bombastic: a pompous proclamation.

I (and others) are certainly no stranger to such things. ;)

[Guest]

So, it was a perfectly reasonable question after all...

What a surprise.

[Guest]

How about a little clarity on my part, since this has seemed to get out of hand...

It's really quite simple: Banachek was a gentleman in his show (as well as before and afterward). It's that simple. Maybe I shouldn't have mentioned that, but thought it appropriate after seeing other mentalists (and magicians) lord their power OVER their audiences, instead of using that "power" to entertain.

Let's let it rest at that. A simple compliment.

Dan

[Guest]

I just got another college gig cause some one said that the previous mentalist was quite pompous or arrogant. I am assuming we can all agree that those words are interchangable?

[Guest]

Well...Pompous has synonyms like pretentious or inflated while arrogant leans towards synonyms like presumptuous, haughty and imperious.

Feel free to help me out here...but I think pompous is displaying yourself as a superior jerk and arrogant is to make overbearingly assuming claims of your own superior jerkness. :)

[Guest]

I've never seen him live, but I've always enjoyed Banachek's TV appearances.

[Guest]

I remember staying up all night watching tech tv last time he was on. I feel like a little kid.