Wow.  I've seen Gazzo perform a dozen times over the last nearly 20 years but never had a chance to hear him lecture.  I did so last night in Bridgeport and was in awe.

Gazzo  himself will tell you his tricks are not difficult to perform, but it's Gazzo that's the magic.  He  started off a bit dry, deliberately, and built up for over 2 hours of a handful of tricks, a mass of laughs, and some deep insights into his use of the audience and the fun he clearly has doing what he does.

What really struck me as a lame amateur was  how he handled a couple of  messed up sleights and how he did his cups load so blatantly, boldly, and yet impressed an  audience of magicians.  Now if you had the chance to attend you might suggest that the audience -- average age over 80? -- might miss a few things, but that's not the point.

He reintroduced  me to some classics, like the egg bag, and did a variation on the tossed out desk that inspired me with some ideas.  

My  only  complaint is he didn't have enough stuff to sell!!!!!!

His cups and balls  routine(s) are on youtube  but this one included a simple  shower of balls that was really fantastic...and clearly a crowd pleaser.  I think we,  at least me, sometimes loses sight of the entertainment  value in an effort to perfect the sleights.  Gazzo was a refresher on why we do tricks for real people and not just the fellow staring back in the mirror.  Bravo.

That must have been great to see! Maybe some day...

Tom