Taking The Good With The Bad...

.:Umm... Whut?:.

Lemme talk about my show last Friday, which was simply one of the craziest shows I ever had. I took a show for a friend, and needless to say, I was genuinely surprised with how things turned out... heh.

So anyways... my initial evaluation of the event was that it was my worst show ever. Then again, when I thought about it a bit, it was one of my most awesome shows ever, if only for the sheer bizarreness of the whole night.

It opened a bit annoyingly, truth be told. The company's owner was a veritable heckler, and he didn't like that he couldn't figure out how the magic was done. Needless to say, his antagonism of all things magical but undecodable would set the mood for the rest of the night, as I was wowing the audience with my hybrid stage/table hopping show, and he was loudly complaining that he doesn't like that I'm using “small props”.

Let's back up a moment here, because I have to point out something... I was booked to do table magic, not stage magic. Despite that, when I was asked to improvise, I still managed to do so, because really, that's what professionals do. All the while, he was complaining loudly, and it was obvious everyone else did not share his opinion.

So anyways, despite the infuriating turn of events, I still did my show well, and the appreciative audiences made it clear that night. Soon enough, the owner was asked to make a speech, and it was a doozy! Every forty-five seconds, he practically demanded applause! Here are some snippets from his amazing 30-minute long (drunken) monologue...

It's going to be Christmas, and you'd get a bonus soon. Pero yun lang ba yon? Bonus lang? Palakpakan niyo naman ako!

You eat my food, drink my drinks, as I welcome you to this... merrymaking. Yun lang ba yon? Merrymaking lang? Palakpakan niyo naman ako!

It's so hard to speak here in front of you. Sana naman, lend me your hears. At palakpakan niyo naman ang inyong leader.

I am the great (NAME OMITTED)! I have the blood of martyrs. Martyrs like Jose Rizal and Andres Bonifacio. Isang letter lang baguhin mo sa pangalan ko, martir na ako! What about you? Do you have the blood of a martyr? Please do.

What word can you form from “Merry”? Diba, you can form my name? What about “Christmas”? Hiram ka lang ng “N” sa “New Year”, pwede mo na rin gawin ang family name ko! Therefore, I AM MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Can anyone here replace me? Of course not! Bakit pa? Para saan pa? Eh I am the best president this company ever had! Palakpakan naman yang best na iyan!!!

Did I mention that he was the guy who started the company? It's easy to be the best president of the company when you've been its only president...

This was bizarre and hilarious, but I certainly would hope to never have to go through it again... heh.

.:In Contrast...:.

… I had an awesome show last Tuesday for a very intimate gathering of family and friends somewhere in Quezon City.

While I guaranteed a performance of about an hour, the very receptive crowd ended up getting treated to a full extra hour of non-stop magic, comedy, and even mentalism. It was, without a doubt, one of my best close-up shows to date, and it definitely got great reactions all around. Needless to say, the people got more than their money's worth because I was just hitting my stride and all.

Ah, well. Here's hoping for more of these awesome close-up shows in the near future. :)