"F*ck Street Magic #1" DVD by Todd Diamond
Suggested Retail USD$37.00
Available from your favorite dealer
In a Blink: 8 Out of 10

"F*ck Street Magic #1", assumedly the first in a series of DVDs by Todd Diamond, will put off many simply from the title and more still will be put off by the presentations involved but, if your mind and those of your spectators are nearing the gutter anyway, then this is some killer magic to have in your arsenal.

Of course, I say that after having as a first thought to seeing this DVD being along the lines of "Oh, great. Just what we need, a class-less piece of..." Well, that kind of shows my mind-set, doesn't it?

Come to find out, this material is contains some slick magic. There are three routines and all of them are good stuff. True enough, they've been done before -- two classics and what could be considered a neo-classic -- but Diamond has brought some great visuals and nice handlings to them, making this a worthwhile collection.

With this collection, you'll learn "No F*cking Way", a purportedly gaff-less version of "NFW". Strictly speaking, this is not a version of "NFW"; there is no twisting sequence. In this one, four jokers are shown one at a time and change to the four aces. The neat part here is a flourishy little count Diamond uses and the displays; they look very, very good.

Next up is "Spellbound", which is pretty much what the name says. A silver dollar changes into a faux-Chinese coin (complete with hole in the middle) then back again several times, before revealing that you are using two coins, the Chinese coin and a brass coin -- the silver dollar is nowhere in sight. There are two version taught here: one requires a little bit of prep work, the other requires a lot of prep work. In either case, once done, it's quick, easy, and very clean.

Lastly, there's "Ambitious Birds and Bees". Okay, so this is the "naughty" version of the classic and the reason for the "mature audiences" label on the cover. I won't kid you; this is a little rough. In Diamond's presentation, you see, the top of the deck represents the g-spot and the chosen card the... you know what? Never mind. The routine is at least NC-17, but it's funny without being insulting (unless the spectator supplies the insults which, brother, they certainly will) and completely corny. In other words, I loved it. As to the magic itself, it's ye olde Ambitious Card, with the chosen card appearing on top of the deck a few times, then vanishing and appearing in the performer's pants ("card to zipper" anyone?) and finally vanishing to appear folded between two other cards for a solid applause cue. I thought this would be the routine I'd hate on the disc, but it's actually my favorite. Not because of the theme, though for the right audience with the right spectator it's solid, but because of the routine's structure. Diamond has this one orchestrated very tightly, with more than enough offbeats to pull off the sneaky stuff without thinking twice. This is just damn fine work.

After the three effects, there's a lengthy discussion with James Dimmare. I won't bother telling you this is worth the price of the disc (it is, plus a few bucks more) but I'll point out that, after the effects and Diamond's excellent teaching of them, it's a great way to wind down and think about something else. What better way than to listen to a man of Dimmare's stature? It's a great addition to the disc and one that will be much appreciated.

So I went into this one not expecting much. After seeing Diamond in action, and listening to him explain his reasoning for just about every single thing that he says or does in the routines (now there's an education worth paying for!), I want to see this series continue. I want to see more of Diamond. Shoot, I even want to see more of his "paid assistant", who has the most honest reactions to an effect I've seen in such a setting and is absolutely hysterical during parts of the explanation.

This is one I recommend for the more advanced performer who is looking for something different and won't turn green at the mention of parts of the human anatomy (and the slang thereof). You'll need to have your chops down for the first two routines, and you'll need to know your audience management for the third, so novices should shy away from this one for a while. But if you can handle all of that, and the material sounds good to you, then I don't think you'll be disappointed in Diamond's work here. It's good stuff.

"F*ck Street Magic #1" DVD by Todd Diamond
In a Blink: 8 Out of 10

Material: 10
Get this one for the "Spellbound" -- it's gorgeous. Or for the gaffless "NFW" variation -- it's very slick. Or for the "Ambitious Card" routine, which is nicely done and quite commercial (if you're running ads on Playboy Channel). Or for the interview with James Dimmare, which is interesting and informative. Well, that about covers it for this one. In other words, the material is solid, entertaining stuff, even if the presentations aren't up your alley (back alley, right next to the red light district, just a few inches away from the gutter)..

Practicality: 10
The routines are as practical as they come, with no problematic resets or set-ups. Grab a deck, grab some coins (and a certain gaff or two), and you're good to go here.

Quality of Production: 7
The production is good enough, with little to distract you from learning the material. Not too much on the glitz, this one, and at times the lighting and the cameras need work, but overall you'll have no problems here.

Quality of Instruction: 10
Diamond does his job perfectly here. Confident in his skills, he goes into an incredible amount of detail for what are simple effects. Big thumbs up here.

Presentation: 7
With a title like that, you know things are going to be rough. If you can't handle the censored title, you'll pass out during some of this. Still, if you go blue because your audiences do, nothing Diamond says or does will shock you.

Shane

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