Hey Guys,
What's happening? I promised you I would do a review of tonight's Amish Gig so here it goes.
4:15 PM I pull out of my drive with hand written instructions because my GPS cannot even locate the gig site which is just about an hour away in the middle of nowhere, Ohio. The gig doesn't even begin until 6:00, but I am giving myself plenty of time in case I get lost, traffic, etc. It is supposedly an hour away.
5:15 I arrive at the Carlisle Inn and immediately find the management so I can see which banquet room I will be performing in. The woman is nice and gives me an accurate account of how many guests will be attending tonight's dinner and performance. 75 is the count.
I unload my table, props, Happy Amp and double check where I can set up inside the room (Always ask before setting up or you may end up moving everything) I find a corner of the room and begin setting up. I also plug in my Happy Amp and check to make sure I am not going to get any feedback or noises due to other electronics and microphones that are set up in the room. Check! Everything sounds great.
5:45 The boss / client arrives and introduces himself and gives me the rundown on what he wants me to do and when to do it. He wants Pre dinner strolling magic from table to table from 6:00 - 6:30. Then everyone is going to sit down and eat and he does not want the guests disturbed while eating. I am to do my stand up / parlour show from 7:30 to 8:00. He has also requested that I sit and enjoy the meal with the group. Wow...I normally don't do this and just request to take any food home after the gig if it is offered but he asks me again to please sit and eat with the group so I did not want to be rude and said I would.
5:50 The Amish families are beginning to arrive and as they come in the room immediately start to stare at me and I can tell they are a bit uneasy and not sure what is going to go on tonight. I decide to jump right in and start hitting the tables NOW since the boss is there and his guests are entering. My strolling sets were:
Set A: ring thing, CMH, and sloppy triumph Set B: mismade bill, Star Gazer, and Biddle
6:00 I am table hopping and everyone is enjoying magic, however, things are quite different than my other gigs. There is no clapping, no gasps, no cheering, no oooooohhhhhsssss or aahhhhhsss....just simple nods of approval and an occasional smirk or smile. The Amish are very shy and were not sure how they should react to the magic. By the facial expressions I could tell they were having fun.
6:25 The boss comes over and tells me to please be seated that he is about to say grace and wants to keep the evening right on schedule. He shows me where I am to sit and enjoy my dinner. Everyone has a silent grace, the massive amounts of chicken, ribs, potatoes, stuffing, green beans, and rolls were outstanding. I decided to not pig out and just eat enough to make them happy and to fill myself before the show. During the half hour dinner NOBODY spoke to anyone. 75 Amish were silent as could be and just sat and ate. Even the children. They were very well mannered.
7:00 I can tell everyone is finished eating and the boss looks worried because he told me not to begin for another half hour but he sees everyone is just sitting there so I politely tell him I will continue to table hop for another 15 to 20 minutes and he says, "Super, that is outstanding." The people are starting to warm up to me now and are interacting and beginning to talk a little bit.
7:30 - 8:15 Parlour Show Set included: Growing Head Illusion, Lie Detector Test with a Jumbo Deck, Needle through Balloon, Change Bag Routine with Silks, Spongeballs, Book Test, Stratosphere, You're the Star by David Ginn, and Crystal Clear ESP effect.
The show went PERFECT. I started throwing some humor into the show and had people rolling. One thing to keep in mind is that NOBODY wanted to be up in front of the group to participate in the show. The Amish are very private and do not want to be front in center, even for entertainment purposes it was like "pulling teeth" to get volunteers to come have fun with me.
The Happy Amp worked great for this venue. I highly recommend it. I used the lapel set up and the pack was in my left side suit coat pocket.
8:15 I thanked them for having me, the boss came over and gave me my check, and I handed him some business cards for future possible bookings. I packed up my show and headed home with a grin on my face and the adrenaline rush of a "job well done".
I really had a great time tonight! If anyone has any more specific questions....feel free to ask and I'll do my best to answer.
What's happening? I promised you I would do a review of tonight's Amish Gig so here it goes.
4:15 PM I pull out of my drive with hand written instructions because my GPS cannot even locate the gig site which is just about an hour away in the middle of nowhere, Ohio. The gig doesn't even begin until 6:00, but I am giving myself plenty of time in case I get lost, traffic, etc. It is supposedly an hour away.
5:15 I arrive at the Carlisle Inn and immediately find the management so I can see which banquet room I will be performing in. The woman is nice and gives me an accurate account of how many guests will be attending tonight's dinner and performance. 75 is the count.
I unload my table, props, Happy Amp and double check where I can set up inside the room (Always ask before setting up or you may end up moving everything) I find a corner of the room and begin setting up. I also plug in my Happy Amp and check to make sure I am not going to get any feedback or noises due to other electronics and microphones that are set up in the room. Check! Everything sounds great.
5:45 The boss / client arrives and introduces himself and gives me the rundown on what he wants me to do and when to do it. He wants Pre dinner strolling magic from table to table from 6:00 - 6:30. Then everyone is going to sit down and eat and he does not want the guests disturbed while eating. I am to do my stand up / parlour show from 7:30 to 8:00. He has also requested that I sit and enjoy the meal with the group. Wow...I normally don't do this and just request to take any food home after the gig if it is offered but he asks me again to please sit and eat with the group so I did not want to be rude and said I would.
5:50 The Amish families are beginning to arrive and as they come in the room immediately start to stare at me and I can tell they are a bit uneasy and not sure what is going to go on tonight. I decide to jump right in and start hitting the tables NOW since the boss is there and his guests are entering. My strolling sets were:
Set A: ring thing, CMH, and sloppy triumph Set B: mismade bill, Star Gazer, and Biddle
6:00 I am table hopping and everyone is enjoying magic, however, things are quite different than my other gigs. There is no clapping, no gasps, no cheering, no oooooohhhhhsssss or aahhhhhsss....just simple nods of approval and an occasional smirk or smile. The Amish are very shy and were not sure how they should react to the magic. By the facial expressions I could tell they were having fun.
6:25 The boss comes over and tells me to please be seated that he is about to say grace and wants to keep the evening right on schedule. He shows me where I am to sit and enjoy my dinner. Everyone has a silent grace, the massive amounts of chicken, ribs, potatoes, stuffing, green beans, and rolls were outstanding. I decided to not pig out and just eat enough to make them happy and to fill myself before the show. During the half hour dinner NOBODY spoke to anyone. 75 Amish were silent as could be and just sat and ate. Even the children. They were very well mannered.
7:00 I can tell everyone is finished eating and the boss looks worried because he told me not to begin for another half hour but he sees everyone is just sitting there so I politely tell him I will continue to table hop for another 15 to 20 minutes and he says, "Super, that is outstanding." The people are starting to warm up to me now and are interacting and beginning to talk a little bit.
7:30 - 8:15 Parlour Show Set included: Growing Head Illusion, Lie Detector Test with a Jumbo Deck, Needle through Balloon, Change Bag Routine with Silks, Spongeballs, Book Test, Stratosphere, You're the Star by David Ginn, and Crystal Clear ESP effect.
The show went PERFECT. I started throwing some humor into the show and had people rolling. One thing to keep in mind is that NOBODY wanted to be up in front of the group to participate in the show. The Amish are very private and do not want to be front in center, even for entertainment purposes it was like "pulling teeth" to get volunteers to come have fun with me.
The Happy Amp worked great for this venue. I highly recommend it. I used the lapel set up and the pack was in my left side suit coat pocket.
8:15 I thanked them for having me, the boss came over and gave me my check, and I handed him some business cards for future possible bookings. I packed up my show and headed home with a grin on my face and the adrenaline rush of a "job well done".
I really had a great time tonight! If anyone has any more specific questions....feel free to ask and I'll do my best to answer.
