I am not sure what the four people who reviewed this first liked about this lecture???
John
Riggs may be the greatest mentalism thinker of all time, but he didn't show it in this lecture.
Things I learned from this lecture:
-John Riggs has a Criss Angel size ego
-He has a ton
of degrees
-Everything he invented is better than all the people who have ripped off all his
ideas
-a few tricks that my six year old will like
Things I didn't learn:
-New or
Useful magic
I am all for simple magic. I actually love it being that I am not over
skilled. I don't need the methods to look like a Shin Lim routine. However these methods were all
dated and insanely simple. The first time I watched a penguin lecture and I knew how the trick was
done before he even did the trick.
Oh and btw his personality was bland and condescending.
If you want to constantly poke fun at people you have to be likable or funny. John Riggs is neither
Could not agree more on all points. I didn't quite know how to review the routine because I am not quite used to see a bad lecture from Penguin. When I saw the first few good reviews, I thought it was just me. Glad to see I wasn't.
What did I learn from this lecture? Nothing. I don't get the hype either.
Nick Einhorn's was amazing, this one on the other end of the spectrum.
reviews for a lecture from Anonymous people with quotes like : -John Riggs has a Criss Angel size ego start to look like non professional mentalist or magician , this is not magic cafe where you can downgrade an act ,a product or an artist comparing attitudes or your opinion of another magician that probably does more gig or presentation than anonymous people .Focus on the lecture hate it or love it .Mentioning popular magicians like Criss Angel to compare big egos in magicians shows the lack of knowledge of the history magic and all the magicians that came before angel with big attitudes . My opinion on the lecture its not the best of all compared to other mentalism lectures of penguin to date ,it might seem very basic to those on the know who study mentalism ,for sure you will get something good out of it i give it a 7.5 out of 10 .
reviews for a lecture from Anonymous people with quotes like : -John Riggs has a Criss Angel size ego start to look like non professional mentalist or magician , this is not magic cafe where you can downgrade an act ,a product or an artist comparing attitudes or your opinion of another magician that probably does more gig or presentation than anonymous people .Focus on the lecture hate it or love it .Mentioning popular magicians like Criss Angel to compare big egos in magicians shows the lack of knowledge of the history magic and all the magicians that came before angel with big attitudes . My opinion on the lecture its not the best of all compared to other mentalism lectures of penguin to date ,it might seem very basic to those on the know who study mentalism ,for sure you will get something good out of it i give it a 7.5 out of 10 .
reviews for a lecture from Anonymous people with quotes like : -John Riggs has a Criss Angel size ego start to look like non professional mentalist or magician , this is not magic cafe where you can downgrade an act ,a product or an artist comparing attitudes or your opinion of another magician that probably does more gig or presentation than anonymous people .Focus on the lecture hate it or love it .Mentioning popular magicians like Criss Angel to compare big egos in magicians shows the lack of knowledge of the history magic and all the magicians that came before angel with big attitudes . My opinion on the lecture its not the best of all compared to other mentalism lectures of penguin to date ,it might seem very basic to those on the know who study mentalism ,for sure you will get something good out of it i give it a 7.5 out of 10 .
reviews for a lecture from Anonymous people with quotes like : -John Riggs has a Criss Angel size ego start to look like non professional mentalist or magician , this is not magic cafe where you can downgrade an act ,a product or an artist comparing attitudes or your opinion of another magician that probably does more gig or presentation than anonymous people .Focus on the lecture hate it or love it .Mentioning popular magicians like Criss Angel to compare big egos in magicians shows the lack of knowledge of the history magic and all the magicians that came before angel with big attitudes . My opinion on the lecture its not the best of all compared to other mentalism lectures of penguin to date ,it might seem very basic to those on the know who study mentalism ,for sure you will get something good out of it i give it a 7.5 out of 10 .
reviews for a lecture from Anonymous people with quotes like : -John Riggs has a Criss Angel size ego start to look like non professional mentalist or magician , this is not magic cafe where you can downgrade an act ,a product or an artist comparing attitudes or your opinion of another magician that probably does more gig or presentation than anonymous people .Focus on the lecture hate it or love it .Mentioning popular magicians like Criss Angel to compare big egos in magicians shows the lack of knowledge of the history magic and all the magicians that came before angel with big attitudes . My opinion on the lecture its not the best of all compared to other mentalism lectures of penguin to date ,it might seem very basic to those on the know who study mentalism ,for sure you will get something good out of it i give it a 7.5 out of 10 .
I also understand the disappointment some people do feel about the material. Quite often, and John Riggs is not alone in this field, the lecture doesn't seem polished. Stuff is not well organized or just forgotten, things do go wrong (like in the Max Maven lecture)or the host or hosts talk too much so the lecture gets a bad taste and disappoints. Some lectures have put on a very high standard that some lectures could not reach.
If, on the other side, people do not like the style or the material itself, it is a matter of taste. If (for example) you're a fan of the Peter Turner style of mentalism, you will be disappointed with "old hats".
If you're looking for stuff that works for paying audiences under any working circumstances, you are able to get some good advice and routines from John Riggs.
Well, the ego thing with Riggs or some other performers is a point which can get on your nerves. But on the other side, if you are a creator or brought something back to life, like pocket writing, you can be very proud of it.
guys who measure other guys ego size... measured ball size and came up short... just saying
I really don't have a big ego. Just confidence in myself. This comes with age and experience and thousands of performances.
I knew lecturing for Penguin's audience was an experiment. I was advised against it, especially so soon after a major surgery. But i agreed to do it, so i followed through. My material isn't for magicians. I had planned two other lectures, one of which consisted of close-up magic. I'm now convinced this is not a good idea. I'll stick to my niche market and established customer base. My thanks and gratitude to everyone for their honesty.
John Riggs
Jon is a master in the field of Mentalism and he has shared many gems here. The gems he shares have little to do with a magic method. If you are looking for tricks then don't buy a mentalism lecture. Seems the audience is getting spoiled. There is so much good material here for such a small price. He said himself during the scrabble tile piece that he was once payed 5k for the knowledge. It's not his ego you are seeing, he is a humble man with a sense of humour who has many years experience performing mentalism. Presenting mentalism in the context of a lecture for magicians is a difficult task as good mentalism is character driven, and most magicians just want to get to the trick. Notice that Jon is a character.
If you're gong to leave such a scathing review, be brave enough to put your name to it.
"John Riggs has a Criss Angel size ego" - Wow !!! Whats? it's possible to measure the "size ego" of someone just watching a lecture?
(anymore comparing 2 unknow people? do you know personally both?)
"-a few tricks that my six year old will like" - I personally do not like a few tricks (like ghost handkerchief or "ghost" tricks), BUT don't underestimate these tricks! I have seen ADULTS are delighted with this! (there is audience for all!)
"Everything he invented is better than all the people who have ripped off all his ideas" - He said that?
with due diligence, care, proficiency and a "pinch of personal touch" you have a GEM in hand.
God bless u
Eduardo Neves
Brazil
only complementing...
I'm no personal friend of John Riggs, I don't even know personally (I'm Brazilian), but I follow his work a long time. it's only my personal humble opinion.
I hope I have not hurt anyone
Eduardo Neves
Eduardo mentioned in response to the "that my kid will like" comment
something about the ghost hankerchief effect.
That ghost hankerchief effect was performed on Daved Letterman by Banachek (to the original poster... Like Riggs, Banachek is one of the great thinkers in mentalism and happens to be one of the brains behind Criss 'The Vanilla Ice of Magic' Angel's TV Mindfreak series. Look Banachek up.). Banachek could've chose any one of hundreds of mentalism pieces to perform on national TV. He chose that "trick my 6 year old will like."
Here's why (IMO): 1. It's visual mentalism, which is fairly rare. 2. It appeals to adults and children, for different reasons. 3. It is versatile, being both funny and eerie, and depending on your audience you can play up the sexual undertones or not.
As far as John Riggs goes, he has got to be the funniest performer/teacher I've ever witnessed. In my opinion, the funniest, most enjoyable magicians I've seen are David Williamson, Amazing Johnathan, Kevin King. The funniest mentalists I've seen are Marc Spelmann, Derren Brown, and John Riggs.
You've got to see his Gods with Feet of Clay videos (I think there are 5). I've never noticed any big ego in Riggs--maybe you're not getting his humor.
He also wrote Heavy Mental and Fat Free Mentalism, which are regarded by many to be classics of mentalism.
Disclaimer: I can't speak for this mentalism lecture because I have not watched it. I'm just familiar with his books and Gods with Feet of Clay videos. Oh, and I also purchased his Brown Hornet impression device and instructional DVD on using impression pads. If you ask 10 professional mentalists which is their favorite imp device, the majority will say John Riggs' Brown Hornet or some other of his imp pads (I forget all the names).
John Riggs is one of the true thinkers/workers/craftsmen in the mentalism community. I HATE coming across insulting, negative, comments about the man personally. His writings are brilliant. And, he sets the bar for quality in his devices. I think he's a direct, honest, man. Maybe being less than PC these days is arrogant lol.
For many working Mentalists, Mr. Riggs is close to being canonized :)
I love John Riggs writings. Definitely not an ego driven man. Humor that's edgy and dry, sure, but just cos it's not always funny to me doesn't mean it's ego driven.
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I don't get it!?!?!?!?!?
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