Our most recent meeting was 2 hours of non-stop magic! We had a great turnout of our Close-Up Showcase with 24 members and 5 guests. Six close-up performers each had their own table and four spectators at each table rotated every five minutes to a new close-up performer until everyone had seen all six acts. Performers got a chance to experience performing the same routine over and over for different audiences. Spectators got to see lots of great close-up magic. After, spectators voted on their favorite act and Mike Reuter was awarded the Close-Up Showcase winner for 2025.
- Mike Reuter showed a tiny grand piano and then performed a well honed bare-handed coin matrix with silver dollars to ragtime music - Scott Joplin's "The Entertainer". Then Mike showed a super tiny Apple Mac computer. A card was selected and somehow in the spectators hand, the Mac was unfolded and it was the selected card with a Mac back. What will Steve Jobs think of next?
- Phil Mann performed a nice coin through table routine and then went into a coin matrix with engraved playing cards and half-dollars.
- Bou-yu Chen did some lovely sleight of hand with a coin vanishing into thin air, then a pen whose tip seemed to constantly change which end of the pen it was on. Bou-yu concluded with a baffling coffee stirrer in Starbuck's Bag. The stirrer broken by several spectators hands on through the bag magically was in one piece when the bag was ripped open. It matched a small broken piece taken before it was put in the bag proving that there was no switch.
- Sean Howell performed a well honed cups and balls routine based on a custom Rub-a-dub-dub verse using three hand crafted leather cups. For the finale, three small bottles of Tequila appeared under the cups and then to everyone's amazement two limes and a salt shaker appeared under the cups for a super climax.
- April Barrett performed routines she uses at Detroit Tigers Baseball Games to keep kids entertained while they are waiting to get their face painted. April first produced a tiny balloon animal from a bunch of un-inflated balloons.
- Dan Jones performed a couple Jay Sanky card tricks. First he did a nice rendition of Hi Jacked where 4 Jacks turn into Aces, then he did Bigger Finish where what appears to be four cards turns out to be a jumbo of the selected card in the spectator's hands.
Then we had a few bits of business. Our President Sean Howell reminded us that next month we will have a lecture by John Luka. Sean then called up past Presidents, Dan Jones and John Russell to present them with the IBM's Past President medals to a well earned round of applause. Finally members were reminded of two upcoming events. Michigan Magic Day will be May 17th hosted by Ring 22 and our own Parlor Show will be May 24.
Then it was on to member performances.
- Lincoln Stone performed a nice rendition of Color Vision and concluded with an Appearing Cane from his top hat.
- Fred Lenter performed a baffling 2 deck card trick where a card selected from one deck turned out to vanish and was the only card in the second box.
- Austin Peczynski for his first time ever on stage performed a nice Copper-Silver two in the hand - one in the pocket routine.
- April Barrett did a "your name" on card routine.
- Dreygon Hibbler did an incredible time travel routine where he made 3 minutes completely disappear.
- Mike Bogdas performed a Needle off Thread routine where he magically removed a needle under cover of a handkerchief while the thread was held at both ends by a spectator.
- Boyu Chen did a very nice 2 spectator prediction where a number written on a card by one spectator is telepathically transmitted to another spectator who then writes down the same number.
- Fred Lenter was back with a very nice multi segment cut and restored routine.
- Finally John Russell wrapped up with a card trick and Cootie Catcher routine from his act where the Cootie Catcher ultimately reveals the chosen card.
That only left a few more minutes for jamming and socializing before the lights went out.
