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JEFF McBRIDE
Now you see him....Now you don’t.
 And that’s just the way illusionist Jeff McBride likes it. A short stint here, a short stint there before he goes back “underground” ( a.k.a. performing around the globe) is to his liking. But while he’s in town – in this case, in the Trax Theater at Palace Station until Thanksgiving – he has the ability to cause more excitement with the unique things he has up his sleeve than most magic acts around. And even when he leaves Las Vegas, he is a tough act to follow.
Recognized as a foremost innovator in contemporary magic, McBride’s show, “Magic at the Edge,” will keep you on the edge of your seat with its combination of sleight-of-hand, masks, mime, martial arts, weaponry, quick change, dance and audience interaction. For the past 20 years, McBride has traveled to such places as Asia, India, Bali and all over the world studying ancient arts from masters of the craft.
“My magic is very progressive,” he explains. “I’m a high-touch magician. That means I combine ancient and modern sleight-of-hand principles as opposed to relying on scientific and mechanical principles. I don’t do box tricks. It’s all pure sleight of hand. The techniques I use I’ve been working on for over 30 years. I am a multi-dimensional magician and I try to fuse together as many theatrical disciplines as I can. Most magic is fairly shallow, except for those illusionists like Penn and Teller who bring an intellectual cutting edge dimension to their work.”
“My act is peppered with many of the exotic mysteries I’ve collected from around the world as well as many of my own creations,” he continues. “I tell stories with my magic. I realized in my early 20’s that I couldn’t explore the world performing nightly in one place. Variety is the spice of life and my act is very spicy. Technology has opened the way for creating new magic by merging research from the past, which opens up ancient mysteries, with present-day techniques. I’m always seeking to create new illusions and collect stories and tell them in new ways to new audiences. The concept that there are only 12 principles of magic is flawed. Magic, by its very nature, is limitless.”
For the past 20 years, Mc Bride has been educating others in that concept, spending six months out of the year in Las Vegas giving instruction in the magical arts at McBride’s Magic and Mystery School. Calling the school Las Vegas’ best-kept secret,” he notes that it is open to professional magicians, magic enthusiasts and hobbyists and that people come from all over the globe to attend classes. McBride imparts his deep understanding of the psychology, philosophy, history and performance of magic to his students.
Along with that, for the past 11 years, McBride has been working with Vegas Vortex dot com, an artist community here, to create an interactive immersive art experience. It has evolved into a concept called the Wonderland Nightclub, which transforms the Trax Theater on Friday and Saturday nights at 10 p.m., following his regular show, into a magical circus sideshow of sorts.
“It’s a playground of the mind -- Burning Man comes to Las Vegas,” McBride claims. “It’s totally unique and has never been done before here. We did this for many years at the Wonderdome, a secret place off the Las Vegas Strip. We had a private mailing list and it was only open to members. Now we can bring it to the public at Palace Station.
 “There are strolling magicians; psychics reading Tarot cards; artists and sculptors doing performance art; formal sit-down close-up magic sets, and singers and other cabaret acts,” he adds. “I try to nurture a sense of magical community and make it into a playground for magicians (including Vegas Inside Tips’ very own award-wining magician Steve Dacri, who performs there every Friday and Saturday night) and variety artists from all over the world.
There is even a Magicians Only section where they can work on new illusions in front of their peers. It all culminates in a midnight show.”
McBride, who is known as the “Master of Masks” and the “King of Cards” notes that card tricks are by far the most difficult form of magic to perform because they require delicacy, intricacy and subtlety as well as the most patience and practice.
“In many cases, the bigger the trick, the easier it is to pull off,” he acknowledges. “The only one in Vegas doing magic close-up is me.”
Describing himself as a world traveler and a thrill-seeker, McBride is once again preparing to spend another half-year traveling the globe because that’s where he’s comfortable and where he gets his inspiration.
Now you see him.
Soon you won’t.
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