What is your favorite compliment/reaction to a perfomance?

[Webs579]

I've only been on this forum for a very short time and I've seen a ton of great threads. However I went about 9 pages back and didn't see one like this and I figured it would be fun:

Everyone has a favorite Compliment and/or Reaction that they've gotten during or after performing. What is yours and the story that goes along with it?

Here's mine:

My favorite is still my first "compliment" (probably more of a reaction) after performing a few card tricks in public for the first time. I had just taken up magic, specifically card magic. I had been holed up in my house for a month practicing. Whenever I didn't have to do something with my hands, I had a deck of cards in them. I was very concerned about messing up and giving something away. finally at the end of the month I was going a little stir crazy. I had to get out of the house and actually try these tricks out, I needed to know if I could actually perform for people. So one afternoon I went down to a bar near my place for lunch. There was a really cute bartender there and I was hoping I could pique her interest with a little Sleight of Hand. I mean, come on, I was in my early twenties, of course I hoped magic was gonna get me some dates. So I order a beer and lunch and I just quietly pulled out my cards and started doing some of the flourishes that I'd learned hoping to bait her in. Now the Bartender didn't take the bait, but the only other customer, a middle aged African American guy 2 seats down, did.

He looked at me and said, "What? you got some tricks or something?"

I casually replied, "I might have a couple, wanna see?"

He said yes and I launched into my routine. I think it was about 4 or 5 different tricks and an ACR. I was so nervous that my hands were shaking, but with each trick his eyes got wider and reactions got bigger, big enough that the bartender came over and joined in the fun. When it was over, I explained that I was still learning and out of tricks, the guy leaned in a bit, looked me directly in the eyes and in a dead serious tone said: "You the Devil".

I never did get a date with that Bartender, but out of all the reactions and compliments that I've gotten from performing, I still think that's the best one.

 

[Gabriel Z.]

Today, I performed my Ambitious Card Routine for an older fella who came to pick up a sewing machine that my mom didn't want anymore. I did about 3-5 phases and he was blown away. He asked me if the deck was all 9 of hearts that was the card he chose....... And he insisted there was something special about the deck. I told him it was a regular deck of cards which it was. Anyway welcome to the forums nice to hear you're favorite compliment!!

 

[MohanaMisra]

The first two that come to my mind are:

1) When I performed something for a group of seniors (it was a coin production) and the person in whose hand the coin appeared took an entire second (which felt long, then) to process it, then walked slowly out of the room where I had performed it for her, and then back in. She didn't shout or do anything, but her expressions were priceless. Honestly, aren't the silent, speechless reactions the best?

2) It was when I had performed a prediction effect for a very large group of students during a bonfire night. I had handed the prediction to the Sister who was ('is', actually) the provincial head of all the Loreto Convents (and branches) in Southeast Asia. Once she opened the prediction (after I had dressed the trick a lot) she, again, took a moment to read the it to herself before reading it on the mic, and then pretended to faint! There was nothing more necessary. She did read out the prediction but again, it wasn't necessary. Her initial reaction itself was enough to have the entire crowd laughing and applauding. Somebody from the audience screamed that magic is real, I think that reaction too was great!

But if I'm honest, my favourite 'reaction' to magic are not really how people react to the effects themselves, but what happens AFTER the entire performance is over. That is when even if I've gone somewhere for the first time, everybody knows me as the ''magician'', and they keep referencing that, maybe somebody who missed the show tells me that they 'heard' how 'great' I was and feel bad that they missed it. These after-show-reactions are my favourite. Always.

 

[RealityOne]

As people were leaving a show, several audience members came up to me and complimented me on the show. Someone asked "what was that line you said... because I want to tell my husband about what you did when I get home." But the best compliment was someone who came up to me and said, "I've seen a lot of magic shows and what you did was just a completely different kind of magic." That is now the name of my show "A Different Kind of Magic."

 

[WitchDocIsIn]

David - I've gotten a similar reaction from one of my good friend's wife. After my first solo-produced show she said, "It was like if a magic show was made for smart people."

I think my favorite reaction came from Tim Wiseman, though. He said my show was his favorite he's ever seen, and that I was the H.P. Lovecraft of bizarre magic. (You know, minus the bigotry)

Another great reaction I witnessed but didn't cause - After a magic club meeting my friend Kyle and a couple folks went to Denny's for food. Kyle had just recently gotten a FISM Flash, one of the original kinds. Our waiter was an older hispanic guy who asked what we had been up to that day. We told him we're all magicians and Kyle offered to show him something. He picked up the knife and fork from the table, said something about generating static electricity, rubbed them on his shirt a couple times and then tapped them together while setting off the FISM Flash directly behind them. The waiter just kind of gasped, crossed himself, and quickly walked back into the kitchen. About ten minutes later a different waitress came over to take our order and said the original guy refused to serve us so she was taking over. For the whole time we were there he kept peeking out at us from the kitchen and avoiding our whole section. Hilarity.

 

[BlakeG1]

My favorite reaction is when I perform the two card monte and the person just stares at the jokers and is left speechless