The Professional Touch Vol. 2 (Audio CD) – Billy McComb

One of the joys of working with Billy McComb is that he has te total ability to speak on any magical subject at the nod of a head. He does not have to write a script or make notes or do anything whatsoever. As soon as a subject is mentioned, zap – and there eh is giving us the benefit of everything he knows about caberet or close-up or cruises or whatever. On this CD, which lasts for 72 minutes of pure joy, we open with a rare recording of a live performance being given by Billy on a cruise ship. He performs the Colour Changing Silks with the half-dyed finish and then moves on to the Stodare Egg effect (sucker silk to egg) and from the response to his gags and bits and pieces it is very clear that the audience are enjoying every single moment. The rest of the recording takes place at his home in North London. There in the comfort of his magical sitting room Billy treats us to his thought, opinions, gags and ideas of a variety of subjects including on this CD specifically his ideas on caberet work and how to make yourself bookable. He discusses the types of venue you can expect and hecklers and heckler stoppers and then goes on to outline a variety of great opening effects. Next we move on to a very detailed explanation of exactly how he is going to perform his routine for the Himber Ring and this is followed by a live performance of the entire effect. Finally Billy deals with other aspects of performing in caberet and the plus and minsu aspects of silent acts and talking acts. This CD is the second in the series. It has been extracted from the many hours of recordings I have made with Billy McComb and which were released as MagiCassettes. These are now being digitally re-mastered for release on a series of CDs. Several reviews have described the Billy McComb recordings as being a Master Class in magic – and they are right!