Why I don't perform for drunks.

[Jack Webster]

Over the past 3 years I've been into magic I always hear about how drunk people have the best reactions and we should perform to them. I have to disagree with that. Sure if you are recording stuff it looks great because they get a awesome reaction and that makes you look better, but if there isn't a camera who cares.

I know people who have been drunk..... a lot. And I always hear from them that they don't remember what happened that last night. The problem is right there. Magic is about creating a memory. Sure magic is cool in the moment but what really is cool is the memory that the magician left with you that will leave you scratching your head for days. If you perform to drunks there is a good chance they don't even remember your a magician in the morning.

Also drunk people have a hard time taking instructions and will usually heckle you. I have performed to them before and when I say pick a card they will take five, than want to change there card, I do the trick, they say it wasn't there card at the end. They will have a harder time seeing your sleights though.

I know some of you won't have an option but to perform to drunk people some times. If this happens you don't need to do your normal routine. Do tricks that are simpler and tricks that they will have a hard time messing up. For example don't do the 2 card transpo, they will be more likely to look at the cards during the performance. A trick that will be good to perform is a trick were they don't pick a card like the queens or some other dan and dave tricks.

Well I want to hear what you think about this so please feel free to respond to what you think about this.

Thanks
-Jack

 

[popchris3]

I never perform for drunks anyway, but that is personal preference.

I have seen too many people in my life screwed up by alchohol, and so I am a HUGE advocate of not drinking and encouraging people not to drink.

But good idea for a thread. Kinda like your own Cerca Trova...

 

[magicman1040]

I totally agree with everything you said. Good advice.

 

[RickEverhart]

To add to Jack's post...I will also mention that when people are drunk that their attention spans are about 10 seconds long so you need to keep it simple and fast like color changes and what not. Or.....just don't even perform for them if they cannot enjoy the effects.

On the other hand, there is nothing wrong with performing for people, even at a bar who have had a few but are totally "getting into the magic" and enjoying themselves.

Laugh, have fun, but don't stay past your welcome.

 

[chriswiehl]

yea if you perform for a straight out drunk. when i perform to drunk persons, i make sure they are not super drunk. go to a party early on and you'll hit up buzzed people. that is where you get good reactions. i cant ever think of a time i performed for someone drunk and ever had them react well or at all. they are like. what? or they are not interested.
usually if you perform for a drunk that doesnt remember things, they will most likely say no. that is if you have ever performed for a drunk stranger and not your mom or dad (who might get drunk and hit me(joking))
but yes. slightly buzzed spectators react the best out of the "drunk" spectrum

 

[DannyT]

Over the past 3 years I've been into magic I always hear about how drunk people have the best reactions and we should perform to them. I have to disagree with that. Sure if you are recording stuff it looks great because they get a awesome reaction and that makes you look better, but if there isn't a camera who cares.

They don't automatically give the best reactions, I don't know where you got that from. I've heard it's easier to perform for them when they aren't hecklers. If they are heckling, well chances are those drunk hecklers were hecklers before the booze anyway.

What do you mean by, "If there isn't a camera who cares"? Do you only perform to get credibility by the millions of youtube/myspace kids? Come on man/ That can't be true.

I know people who have been drunk..... a lot. And I always hear from them that they don't remember what happened that last night. The problem is right there. Magic is about creating a memory. Sure magic is cool in the moment but what really is cool is the memory that the magician left with you that will leave you scratching your head for days. If you perform to drunks there is a good chance they don't even remember your a magician in the morning.

Not everyone blacks out from drinking. You can be drunk and remember what happened the other night. I performed at many parties and some of the people who were at the last party would tell everyone what I did as soon as I take out a deck of cards.
Also remember when your performing to drunks, you're performing to everybody around them.

Also drunk people have a hard time taking instructions and will usually heckle you. I have performed to them before and when I say pick a card they will take five, than want to change there card, I do the trick, they say it wasn't there card at the end. They will have a harder time seeing your sleights though.

I know some of you won't have an option but to perform to drunk people some times. If this happens you don't need to do your normal routine. Do tricks that are simpler and tricks that they will have a hard time messing up. For example don't do the 2 card transpo, they will be more likely to look at the cards during the performance. A trick that will be good to perform is a trick were they don't pick a card like the queens or some other dan and dave tricks.

Well I want to hear what you think about this so please feel free to respond to what you think about this.

Thanks
-Jack

Yeah, dealing with drunks is like dealing with little kids - just minus the booze. Just do easy visual stuff. An erdnase goes a long way. The "watch this" tricks leave little room for heckling.

 

[Jv]

OMG! I completely 100% agree.

I once was performing for a drunk and then he started heckling me; took cards out of my deck and hid them, didn't follow directions, bent my cards, didn't even know I was performing for him and had no reaction.

I had forced him a card, purposely, incase he forgot...no surprise he did forgot and started naming cards he didn't even choose.

V.

 

[phrozunsun]

I think it just depends on how drunk they are.

Obviously if someone is belligerent or clearly too drunk to remember, there's no point.

But I find when people are "loosened up" or "happy", that they can be a lot of fun to perform for. As mentioned, their reactions are better, they heckle me more (not the technique, but my personality) - which I actually don't mind - I actually like to toy with hecklers, and overall they're willing to let the magic happen as opposed to trying to figure it out.

Get to know and recognize the various states of inebriation, and choose your specs accordingly.

 

[RickEverhart]

OMG! I completely 100% agree.

I once was performing for a drunk and then he started heckling me; took cards out of my deck and hid them, didn't follow directions, bent my cards, didn't even know I was performing for him and had no reaction.

I had forced him a card, purposely, incase he forgot...no surprise he did forgot and started naming cards he didn't even choose.

V.

This is why you have the "drunk spectator" and all spectators for that matter...show the card around the room / bar to at least 2 other people. This elliminates the spectator changing their card on you even when you know you forced the card.

 

[Jv]

This is why you have the "drunk spectator" and all spectators for that matter...show the card around the room / bar to at least 2 other people. This elliminates the spectator changing their card on you even when you know you forced the card.

Good point, but I showed the card to another spectator who also forgot it.

V.

 

[DannyT]

Good point, but I showed the card to another spectator who also forgot it.

V.

2 hardcore drunks don't make a less drunk person.
If it's only 2 drunks you're performing for and they're messing with the cards or something, just walk away.

 

[Jack Webster]

I like seeing every ones point.

There is a difference between just being buzzed and drunk. Im not going to lie even though I dont get drunk I some times do go to parties were teens get drunk. And a lot of the time teens get really really drunk and do basically blackout.

 

[Haavard]

Drunk people ARE fools. That's why you don't need to fool them.

 

[RickEverhart]

Drunk people ARE fools. That's why you don't need to fool them.

That is funny...and true...ha ha.

 

[phrozunsun]

Drunk people ARE fools. That's why you don't need to fool them.

Sometimes I perform a little "loosened up" for people who are sober. Are you implying a fool has fooled the sober?

 

[Jv]

2 hardcore drunks don't make a less drunk person.
If it's only 2 drunks you're performing for and they're messing with the cards or something, just walk away.

True.

Finally I decided to stop performing for them and just walked away.

V.

 

[chriswiehl]

if u wanna skip drunks for reactions. christians are quite good at reacting. Not like hard core christians but like teen christians. my friend and i went to a christian meeting once in college. then afterwards when everyone was hanging out we did some magic and everyone was floored and basically freaking out. it was some of the best footage we got too, but it all dissapeared as fast as it came.

but yea. heckler drunks suck. normal drunks are better. heckler or not, the person will most likely bend your cards.
saying im in college and have performed for many a frat party and after partys, i understand when drunk goes too far. show up at the party a little early, before everyone starts hardcore drinking. then you go and start, people will start to gather around (drunk and not) then when the party gets goin, you can stop till later or w/e

 

[phrozunsun]

but yea. heckler drunks suck. normal drunks are better.

Like I said, I kind of prefer drunk hecklers to sober hecklers. Not the same point, but drunk hecklers are more fun to tool. They often talk themselves into an gag, lob you the pitch, and you can just wind up and grand-slam-out-of-the park it.

heckler or not, the person will most likely bend your cards.
saying im in college and have performed for many a frat party and after partys, i understand when drunk goes too far. show up at the party a little early, before everyone starts hardcore drinking. then you go and start, people will start to gather around (drunk and not) then when the party gets goin, you can stop till later or w/e

This, I agree too. But since I've started doing more card-destroying tricks, I'm starting to buy bikes in bulk and not really care. I perform almost exclusively with blue bikes, so I don't really mind. Mind you, now my deck has a bunch of duplicates because I combine decks that have become light. Of course, that's not really a bad thing....

 

[Guardian452]

Yeah- I wanna go out and perform for people who motor skills have been altered, as well their having their judgement clouded. Fun time to be had there

(this is coming from a kid who has performed for drunks and had a knife pulled on him once)

 

[Wallmott]

I like to get drunk and performe drunk for drunk people.