Jerx Christmas - Mark Elsdon - 2:45 AM

Well… I thought this night had reached its zenith of weird moments already, but I was wrong.

I heard some noise coming from the basement and who do I see there dressed as one of Santa’s elves?

That’s right. Mark Elsdon.

He’s awoken all the sleeping kids and has them listening to his “new magic lecture.” He might be drunk or just super giddy. These kids are mostly 4-8 years old. He keeps asking them for feedback. It’s bizarre.

I transcribed a couple of the tricks I heard him teaching them. They’re actually pretty good. I don’t know why he’s sharing them with these little kids rather than the wealth of magic minds that are all hanging out upstairs. If you like these tricks, I recommend getting in touch with Mark here. He has a super underground newsletter you might be interested in signing up for called A Metabolic Fig. Just tell him you’re interested in hearing the details about it. Basically, he scans the world of magic and briefly brings you his highlights every week. And seemingly nothing escapes his net. I don’t know how he can consume all that content, but the issues I saw had stuff that had totally flown under my radar.

Anyway… here’s what I transcribed.

“Okay kids, settle down fer chrissakes. This next trick is called…”

AMANDA

A couple of years ago, Rick Lax released ‘Close Call’ based on a number-bluff trick of mine which was in my Penguin Lecture. My trick was in turn based on a stunt that Mike Murray had seen someone do in a pub. 

Other than to a handful of private students I have never released my full routine using this. Here it is. 

I’m with a group of friends and we play ‘The Psychic Number Projection Game’ which I tell them is a “weird, impossible demonstration of reverse mind-reading that I came up with a long time ago”. 

Then we go into the trick. I write down on a piece of paper: ANDY WILL BE NEAREST, HE WILL BE OFF BY JUST 2. The paper is placed on the table, I apparently mentally project the number I am thinking of, a number between 1 and 100, to everyone in the group and they all try to read my mind and then one at a time announce the number that they ‘received’. Whatever number Andy says, I simply announce that mine is one higher or lower than his, recap what everyone said and then confirm verbally that Andy was the closest, just two lower than mine. I then direct someone (NOT Andy) to open the paper and read it. 

Everyone is surprised/amazed. 

I then repeat the whole thing, this time predicting on a separate paper a different person who will be nearest. This time I write: BILL WILL BE EVEN CLOSER! HE WILL BE JUST ONE NUMBER AWAY!  

Then for the finale, I switch things up. I tell everyone that unlike most of the things they have seen me perform (or (I have shown them, or however one prefers to frame/word it), in this instance I remember the exact date that I came up with this ‘Number Projection Game’ – it was the 18th of June 1988. And the reason I remember is that it is the exact same day that I split up from my first ever serious girlfriend, whose name was…

Actually hang, on, let’s try this…

On a third piece of paper I write: CHARLIE WILL GET IT SPOT ON! HER NAME WAS AMANDA!! 

 I now open my phone and say that I’m getting a list of the top 100 girls names from the 1980s, in fact I’m just opening the DFB app. Everyone now names a number, again from 1-100. Charlie names 63, so this is what I remember. The DFB reveal will be a bit different from usual, as I will apparently do not know the number we are looking for, just a name. 

Once everyone has given their number I tell them that my first girlfriend’s name was Amanda. 

I then open the DFB, using 63, and then open the list titled Top100Names.com - 80s Girls, commenting that we need a list of the top 100 girls names from the 1980s. I DON’T specify whether I’m looking at this online or in my Notes. Nevertheless, once it’s open I let several people look through the list with me, looking for the name ‘Amanda’. Sure enough, we find it at number 63 (or whatever number Charlie picked), with several people confirming this. 

I put the phone down and recap all the numbers people said, with Charlie repeating his choice of 63 (if he hasn’t already excitedly told us all!)  

I then direct attention to the paper on the table and have someone other than Charlie open it and read it. Everyone is stunned as this final time the message is so specific.  

 Obviously the strength here is the switch up at the end, with the final ‘prediction’ (although I never call them that) not mentioning numbers at all, but rather focusing on the name. This serves to reframe everything they have seen.  

 And at the end, no one ever wants to check the phone, even though I leave the list open, but several people always want to check the paper and see exactly what I wrote. I should also mention that both the first two prediction papers are pocketed as we move onto the next phase each time, so that the final Amanda paper is the only one in play at the end.

Okay, now this next trick I call…

Today’s THE Day! 

This is an adaption of Gary Jones’ ‘Not Chosen’ trick (which comes from this book) with the ‘Locked and Loaded’ app. This is all about the surreal premise (which is perhaps a little manic ) and the script which links the two tricks. Gary has given permission to openly discuss his trick.

App: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/locked-loaded/id1481103163 

A trick for when I meet someone for the first time, but a friend of a friend maybe. There needs to be a connection to that person, not just a random stranger. Designed for casual performance with a group of friends and acquaintances, not a gig. So most of the people present have seen me perform before.

So, I meet this new person and say: 

“Ah, it’s you! At last! I’ve been waiting for you. I’ve waited a loooooooong time for this. You see I didn’t know who, but I did know when. I knew it was today, I’ve always known. But that’s all I knew. Until today - until now. Because now I also know that it’s you.” 

“Sorry, I should explain what the hell I’m talking about! I’ve been doing card tricks for 17 years, well actually 17 years, 8 months and almost 3 weeks. 6469 days in total. In all the time I’ve been doing card tricks there is one single playing card that no one has ever chosen. And of course I know what that card is, I’ve known for years, But I also knew it was going to be today, AND now I know that it’s you who will choose it.

So name ANY card, but consider carefully, it has to the THE ONE!” 

 They name the Four of Clubs and I let out a small laugh and say, “Brilliant! Finally! The Four of Clubs! I knew it was you. Of course, all my friends know that I’ve been waiting for today, they know that the Four of Clubs has never been picked, and that I’ve been obsessed with it. In fact it’s even the lock screen on my phone…” 

Depending on the person and the situation, I may act a little giddy here, almost unable to contain my excitement. If just depends what kind of mood I’m in. (By the way this would make for a great blog post as it is something that is never discussed in magic – how the experience of the participants varies depending on the mood of the performer. And I don’t mean a good or bad mood. Always good – but sometimes mischievous, sometimes more serious, sometimes a little bit melancholy perhaps.) 

Back to the trick. Here I use the Locked & Loaded app to show the Four of Clubs is indeed my lock screen. Then continue: 

“Even though that has been my lock screen for the last 6 or 7 years, I know that people can be a little suspicious of technology, so last night, knowing that I would be meeting you, well not specifically YOU, but yes ACTUALLY you today, I decided to go old school.”  

 And now I go into Gary Jones’ trick, introducing the deck and showing that I’ve written ‘BEEN CHOSEN’ on the backs of 51 cards, and ‘NOT BEEN CHOSEN’ on the back of just one card – the card that they inevitable had to name. As per Gary's handling, at the conclusion of the trick I explain that 'NOT BEEN CHOSEN' is actually not correct anymore, since the card has now been chosen, and then show that the message on the back has changed to 'BEEN CHOSEN'.

I then take my Sharpie and write the word ‘FINALLY’ on the back of the Four of Clubs above the word ‘BEEN’ so that the message now reads ‘FINALLY BEEN CHOSEN’ and I get the participant to hold the card up and have someone use my phone take a photo of myself and the participant holding the card. I then set that as my new Lock Screen. 

At the conclusion of the trick I make sure to shake the participant’s hand and in a somewhat formal and OTT manner say to them, “I can quite honestly tell you that is has been an honour and a pleasure to meet you today and that you naming the Four of Clubs has simultaneously been the least surprising and yet nevertheless the most surprising thing that has happened to me in a long time. Thank you.” 

This is all said with a twinkle in your eye and a pleasant smile. This is the only piece of magic they will see me do so I want the whole experience to feel surreal, impossible and utterly memorable.