Random I-Tunes Song of The Moment: Somebody's Out There by Triumph

Somebody's out there (thank you Triumph) earning a living as a busker, and his name is Will Stelfox. Frankly, when I looked at the DVD cover and saw how young Stelfox appears to be, I was pretty confident that he would not have the experience needed to create a DVD of this nature.

I was happily put in my place. Not only does he have the needed experience, but he's extremely well qualified on so many levels to do this DVD. Read the ad copy and watch the trailer. What it says is what you get. Stelfox is a very personable guy, and I have no doubt that every word he spoke came from hard won experience. Oddly, pretty much the entire video was Stelfox standing in front of a camera talking to the camera, explaining the business of busking. You'd think something like that would be boring or hard to watch, but it wasn't.

There were a few periodic cuts to actual performances and some interview footage with Stelfox and Andrew Gerard that kept things moving at a nice pace. Everything was broken down clearly and explained thoroughly. Plus you gotta give the guy credit for knowing what real street magic is . . . busking . . . not shoving cameras in people's faces catching footage of them vomiting when you do a double lift. Thank you for that! Will Stelfox has a bit of a "take" different from what you may be used to on certain aspects of this job.

You may not agree with everything he says - I didn't - but everything he said was worth hearing and thinking about. If you're wondering what it would be like to be a full time street performer, all the pros and cons, all the ins and outs, this is a very worthy choice of study. You also are taught two effects (levitating coin and a really good two card transpo). These effects are the ones he uses to draw in a crowd and then to close his show. The effects, set up and every detail of the effects are taught very well.

Yet this DVD isn't really about the tricks, per se. It's all about the logistics, expenses, revenue, hours, etc. involved in being a full time street performer. He covers everything from where to stand, what kind of set up to use, how to draw in a crowd, how to handle different types of spectators, what times of day to perform . . . and more and more and more and more . . .

Get this DVD and by the time it's over, you'll have everything you need to decide whether or not you want to be a full time street performer.

Final Verdict:
4.5 stars with a Stone Status of Gem