Effect: Spectators are shown two different bottle caps. They are told that through the power of
suggestion the magician can hypnotize them into thinking that they are looking at a different cap.
To prove the point the magician places one cap in one spectators hand (say Budweiser) and another
cap in another spectators hand (say Guinness). Both spectators squeeze their hands so no one can
tamper with the caps. The magician counts back from three, snaps his fingers; the spectators open
their hands to reveal that the caps have changed places.
Overall thoughts: This is a very
refreshing take on a classic transposition. It is also gives you something to do with a bottle cap
besides penetrate a bottle. The second I saw the demo video for this I knew I would want it. How
often do we see demo videos with a full performance and no camera cuts? Saying I was not
disappointed with this effect was an understatement. I was thrilled!
What you get: 8
gimmicks, two of each for the following brands, Guinness, Budweiser, St. Paulie Girl, and Sam Adams.
A carrying case that can hold up to 4 gimmicked bottle caps at one time. One fold out pamphlet with
instructions on care, handling, two routines, and a description for one more routine idea.
Teaching: The teaching on this one is old school. No DVD, no download, just a fold out pamphlet
with all the basics you will need to perform this trick. Other than the usual necessity for good
presentation CAPtivated is all about the gimmicks so detailed instructions were not really needed.
There is a total of 12 full color, thumbnail sized photos, to help with a few visual references for
critical steps and techniques. The pamphlet covers the following topics.
Preparation: What
you will need to do with you gimmicks and bottle caps before performance.
Gaffs: How to use your
gaffs.
The Switch: A description of how to do the basic effect described above.
Three Cap
Monte: A description of how to do a Monte routine using bottle caps.
Tips on Care: Self
explanatory
As I said earlier, once you see the gimmicks you will know what to do with
them. The teaching was what it needed to be. Nothing to brag about but it was clearly written so no
complaints either. I would recommend reading the whole pamphlet even though it might seem
unnecessary. He adds a few tips here and there that will make this trick go a little smoother.
Specific Effects:
The Switch: Same effect as described above. Two different caps are
placed in the hands of two different spectators. After some presentation the spectators open their
hands to show that the caps have changed places. This is the basic switch effect using the
CAPtivated gimmicks. It is fairly easy to do and very clean looking. The pamphlet offers a hypnotist
style patter but if you watch the promo video he uses a pickpocket style patter. Those are both
great ways to present this effect but if you let your imagination flow I am sure you could think of
more.
Three Cap Monte: The magician shows three different bottle caps but tells the
spectator to follow the one in the middle (lets say its the Guinness). After mixing up the caps
the spectator is unable to find the cap. The magician then points out the two odd caps (lets say the
Bud and Sam Adams) and says, Dont worry about these two look for the Guinness. After some more
mixing the spectator fails to find the Guinness again. This time the magician unveils all three caps
showing that all three have changed into St. Paulie Girl caps. This is another nice application for
these gimmicks. The handling he describes is a bit trickier that the basic switch but still
relatively easy with a bit of practice.
Unnamed Trick Idea: A spectator holds onto a cap
(well say Budweiser). Another spectator picks a card from a deck that has many different alcohol
brands written on the backs. The card selected says Mikes Hard Lemonade. The spectator with the
card waves the card over the hand of the spectator holding the cap. The hand is opened up to reveal
that it is now a Mikes Hard Lemonade cap. Lourido doesnt give much in the way of handling
instructions for this effect. That said, a basic knowledge of card magic and CAPtivated will make
this effect self evident. I really like the idea and it could be used with either blank faced cards
or even business cards. Though it is a neat idea I am not much for carrying around a deck of cards
that I can only use for a single effect. The best part of including this is to give you a thought
springboard that may help some to come up with other ideas on the use of these gimmicks.
Quality of Gimmick: Fantastic! These are great. The CAPtivated gimmicks are bases on a principle
that I have thought about on and off for the last few years. I have to hand it to Alex Lourido for
coming up with an effect that is perfect for this. The gimmicks are well made and should last a
while if well cared for. The design of the gimmicks makes them very easy to handle. This is not a
trick that will require lots of practice to master. This leaves you free to work on your
presentation. The only problem with the gimmicks is that you will only be able to use them for four
different brands of beer. The US version has Budweiser, Guinness, St. Paulie Girl, and Sam Adams. I
dont have the Euro version but I believe it keeps the Budweiser and adds Stella Artois, Kingfisher,
and London Pride. If anyone has the Euro version please chime in with either a confirmation or a
correction.
Quality of Carrying Case: The carrying case is basically a small mint tin. It
is just big enough to carry 4 cap gimmicks which should be plenty for a night out performing this.
It does its job and it is always nice to have something to help organize and protect your gimmicks.
Difficulty: This is an easy trick. Any one with even the most basic coin sleight skills
should be able to perform this with no trouble. The best part about the ease of this effect is that
its an effect that centers around BEER! It is nice to have a trick that you can safely perform
while tanked.
Applications: This is an obvious trick if you work in bars. It is also a
great trick for people who party at bars, BBQs, Weddings, camping trips, Baby showers
err
well just
anyplace you might want to drink beer. One of the best parts of this trick is all the prepatory work
you will have to do before you can perform it. He recommends having the following bottle caps, 3 St.
Paulie Girls, 1 Budweiser, 1 Samuel Adams, 1 Rolling Rock, and 1 Mikes Hard Lemonade. If you take
care of that all in one night lets just say that you will never have more fun practicing a new magic
trick. For additional practice I recommend 1 Guinness, 1 Budweiser, and a shot of Laphroaig single
malt Islay with a splash of cool water.
.
Disadvantages: If you are underage
dont bother. It would just raise to many eyebrows watching a 14 year old do this. In all
seriousness the biggest complaint I have heard about this is the limited numbers of gaffs available.
Right now this is a trick that works well in the US and England. The Euro Version is not really
Euro. Even for US customers in the west (the land of micro brews) there are some limits. St. Paulie
Girl and Sam Adams, while available, just arent that common in the mountain west. Sierra Nevada is
a much more popular beer in that area. Ive traveled quite a bit and can confirm two of his choices
as perfect. Budweiser and Guinness are common around the world. The next most common brands world
wide would likely be Corona and Heineken. Heineken would be problematic but Corona would have been
an obvious choice over Sam Adams and St. Paulie Girl. Another minor problem is that Budweiser has a
slightly different cap when sold abroad. It is still red but it says Bud, not Budweiser. I doubt
spectators will notice this during performance but it is a possibility.
There are a few
things that can help to offset these disadvantages. One of which is something Alex Lourido has
already done. Listen to customers! Whoa
Cool! It was requests from people in England which basically
prompted the Euro version of this. In time, if this trick is successful, I hope he continues to
produce versions tailored to different parts of the world.
The other thing that could help
minimize the disadvantages is to make homemade gaffs. Once you get this trick and know the method it
shouldnt be to difficult to recreate these. Indeed I made my own gaffs for two common Korean brands
to replace the St. Paulie Girl and the Sam Adams. The quality is certainly no where near the
commercially made gaffs they work well enough for the task.
Overall Rating:
I
absolutely love this trick. I would recommend it to anyone who drinks beer and does magic. I bought
this here at Penguin for $26.00 and felt it was well worth the price. If I had paid the full
list price, $35.00, it might be a different story. I think, considering the previously mentioned
limitations and the fact that those limitations apply directly to me living abroad, that I might
have been mildly satisfied with my purchase. If I was still living stateside $35.00 would be a
reasonable price. Fortunately we have Penguin to thank for the low price and if you are living in an
area where all four brands are common dont hesitate to snatch this up while supplies last.
10/10 for customers in US, Canada, UK
7/10 for customers in areas that sell Guinness and Bud
5/10 for pimpled faced teenagers whose voices still crack uncontrollably.
4 of 4 magicians found this helpful.
Unfortunately, where I live in Australia, the bottle caps are different from those that are
available in the USA. For example, the Budweiser cap reads "Bud" not "Budweiser"; the only Sam
Adams beer here is a Boston Lager so the cap reads "Samuel Adams Boston Lager" (the latter in white
on a bright red background)plus the cap has a red circle around the edge inside a white circle; and
the Guinness comes with the extra words "Estd 1759" and "Twist off only". Naturally, there is no
such beer as St Pauli Girl for sale here. So unless anyone has a supply of the correct caps they
could sell me, I can't see a way to use this trick here.
1 of 1 magicians found this helpful.
Very clever idea. The props are well-made and will stand up to scrutiny. Despite the simplicity of
the handling, the impact of the effects you can pull off are killer. This is the sort of prop a
layperson won't anticipate, so their attempts to deconstruct the effects will lead them far down the
wrong path.
Obviously these are great routines for a bar or restaurant, since bottlecaps
are part of the environment... and these pack so small and are so easy to carry-around, you can
always have these on you when heading for a night out. Highly recommended.
1 of 1 magicians found this helpful.
I like the idea of the effect but I'm not sure that this method (and more importantly these
gimmicks) are the best way to achieve the effect. I love Alex's tricks but the problem with most of
them is that the gimmicks just aren't good enough and unfortunately thats the case here. That all
said though the effect is pretty good and you probably could just about get away with it but you'd
need some guts to perform this.
0 of 1 magicians found this helpful.