It’s hard to believe that it’s been three years since the magicians of the world gathered in Rimini, Italy for the Masters of Magic – sorry – FISM convention
2018 brings us to Busan - a bustling metropolis in South Korea. The road from the airport is lined with banners & posters proclaiming Busan to be the City of Magic – and for the next 6 days home it shall be.
Day One, though, is off to a chequered start.
Rather than opening registration on the Sunday ( as is the norm for major conventions ) registration opened exclusively at 8 am on Monday ... and with the resultant long lines of 2000+ people attempting to register all at once. Not the smoothest of starts for many attendees who missed Richard Turner’s opening lecture due to the queues. The delegates “pack” is severely lacking – 1 x beautiful souvenir program / 1 x name badge and the return of the dreaded wrist band ( complete with the added complexity of a different color band per day ) Is there seriously that much of a blackmarket for convention registrations that we need a multi-colour wristband plus badge ? Sadly there is no delegates bag, souvenir cards, or anything else that we have come to expect from a FISM event ( unconfirmed reports say the bags aren’t ready yet... we wait and see if they appear later in the week )
Day One’s schedule is fairly empty ... no contests but single lectures by Richard Turner, Boris Wild and Flip. Along with a workshop by Mathieu Bich.
With Richard Turner effectively being the ‘opening’ event – and his lecture not repeated at all ... we have over a thousand people trying to squeeze into a room that seats 400 ... so the place is filled with people on the floor, standing in the back etc. Not exactly what you expect when spending $600+ for registration for what is supposed to be the ‘ultimate’ of magic events. The dealers room is somewhat disappointing and pales in comparison to past FISMs. Gone are the professional convention dealer booths – and we are back to flea market style tables in a relatively ‘compact’ hall. Many of the dealers had failed to setup by mid-morning leading to a depressing start to the day with empty tables and strewn chairs.
Up until now – this has very much been a case of “FISM Lite” ...
Lecture tech has been spot on thus far with crystal clear LCD screens ( bizarrely advertising Masters of Magic once again ) Richard Turner presented his Magic castle show whilst Boris Wild premiered his latest Sensations lecture to audible gasps of amazement. Again, very unusual that these are being presented as once-offs.
The Opening Ceremony was scheduled for 5 pm – and kicked off after a 15 minute delay. Our hosts included a local radio presenter who proudly welcomed us to the opening of the World Championships of Music
FISM president, Domenico Dante kept his welcome short & sweet ( foregoing the marathon session of all 5 languages ) whilst the Mayor of Busan and a few other dignitaries did the obligatory speeches. After officially being welcomed – the lights came up ... momentum was killed ... and the stage was still to be set for the evening’s headline entertainment – “Lee Eun Gyeol’s Illusion” stage show.It was worth the wait.
EG ( as he calls himself ) is a phenomenal performer with boundless energy ... his opening set merges full stage projection, rock concert music of epic proportions, appearing helicopter, sawing in eighths, spiker complete with audience run around and suspended animation. And that’s just the opening ... it’s exhausting to watch. But EG pulls it off with style.
He is incredibly creative with some fascinating ideas ... shrinking bird linked to a time machine as the bird morphs from full size to juvenile to egg ... or a roller skating Ghandi (!) doing the yo-yo produced from a Gemini cage. This is a man who is not afraid to go after the ‘different’.
Some of it hits – some of it doesn’t ... but he takes his audience on a whirlwind journey from the recurring motif of a bird in flight, the exploration of imagination to the boyhood dreams of taking to space ending with African shadowgraphy to the strains of the Lion King’s Circle of Life.
Throughout the show – EG exudes charisma and charm. But most of all he has an incredible understanding of the sheer power of music and how it elevates a performance. Every beat is accentuated, every note thought out – volume deafening when reaching crescendo, the energy pulsates. It’s beautiful to watch.
And by the end of the show ( some 2 hours later ) the auditorium erupts in a well-deserved standing ovation. The first for FISM 2018!
A short break allows those to grab a bite to eat before the evening choices of Shoot Ogawa & Simon Coronel, Tina Lenert & Mike Caveney or Juan Tamariz’ one man show. Tine & Mike covered their individual approaches to magic complete with standing ovation for Tina's mop act whilst Mike did his best not to spill his coffee
I've heard great things about Shoot & Simon's one man show and am looking forward to seeing the repeat on Wed.The stage contest kicks off tomorrow – Tuesday – at 8:30 am. I can’t wait. Let the competitions begin ...
--> Photo album available on FB here https://www.facebook.com/11620608509660 ... 3755785489
