Last week, SWMBO and I were in Las Vegas for a tournament. A friend surprised us with Penn & Teller tickets. I’m an amateur magician of sorts, and I was in total awe of them. They are so damn good, it’s almost scary.
SWMBO was leery at first because they have a rep for some gory stuff, and yes, they didn’t disappoint us. Their version of sawing a woman in half was bloody but funny. At the end, she was a total P&T convert.
And we got to meet them after the show, got our pictures taken with them (on a crappy cellphone camera, but better than nothing). They are just cool guys.
Is the move to the Rio an up or a down? Seems to me they used to be on the Strip. I like to hear (and see) Penn Gillette, unlike his partner who is awfully quiet!
Technically, The Rio is still on The Strip, AFAIK.
At any rate, I saw them last July and it was great. A perfect blend of humor, magic, and showmanship. My favorite part was when Teller was doing very, very good sleight of hand with a cigarette, while Penn narrated exactly what he was doing. Teller then turned around so you could even see exactly what he was doing and nothing was hidden, still while Penn was narrating, and it was still so fucking impossible to follow along and spot when he actually had a real cig, when he was using the fake one, when he really dropped it, etc…because Teller is that fucking good at sleight of hand.
Oh, and the part with the audience member using the video camera…fucking hilarious!!!
That’s the funny thing, whenever he’s not “on,” he talks a lot. It’s weird, because you do expect him to be silent even after the show when they are super awesome and mingle and have pictures taken with guests for free, but he’s all talky talk and it’s a little surprising at first.
I saw their show a few years ago. Got photos and autographs, and even chatted with them a tiny bit afterward. It was a great, great show, and they were really terrific people, judging by my brief interaction with them. Sounds like there’s new stuff from when I went, which I must make mental note of. I kick myself a little still for not figuring out the box trick when the actual prop was right in front of me.
It’s been several years since I saw them and I was not only dazzled by the show, the meet-and-greet after was amazing.
They both were very friendly, amusing and willing to talk and pose for dumb tourist pictures. Teller was great, not to take anything away from Penn, but it was fun just talking with the guy.
While You Were Out redecorated the backstage green room. Penn Jillette helped out a little with painting. The reveal was a little weird because Teller didn’t speak.
I don’t know if they are in the same theater or not. Is Wonderland a name of a theater?
The best thing is that you get to meet and talk to them. They are very generous in that regard.
(And they’ve been at the Rio for years and years. We saw them at Bally’s but that was over 10 years ago.)
My dumbass experience was I was wearing a Sigfried and Roy cap from the Mirage when I met them; Penn said “oh hey, neat hat.” I assumed he was being bitchy and said “Uh Uh, I just bought their hat, but I PAID to see you.” He stared at me blankly for a minute and said “No, I mean it’s a NEAT HAT.” D’oh! (It is a neat hat, with a leopard skin brim. I still have it.)
I was up pretty close when I saw them at the Rio 6 weeks ago, and that was unquestionably the slight-of-hand trick that impressed me the most. One simple premise, two fishbowls, and an absolutely incredible trick. Wow.
I’ve seen that one, too, but I don’t think it was the same show. I seem to remember the PBS show having a more historical/academic/Great Performances vibe. (Although I may be confusing that with another show I remember from the mid/late '90s.) I remember a card trick they did at Times Square on Saturday Night Live, and the Casey at the Bat trick. I’m pretty sure they were from three different occasions, with Looks Simple, Doesn’t It being the first. I saw them at the Rio about a year-and-a-half ago, and I’m glad they still do that. Flash and spectacle are all well and good, but there’s something about a virtuoso solo that can be absolutely riveting.
I have a theory on the goldfish one, but I’m not certain and I wouldn’t want to ruin the trick for anyone in case I’m right.
I later saw them at Bally’s where they opened with the World’s Largest Card Trick (involving fork lifts). Never seen them at the Rio, but I really should. I seem to recall the Rio’s cocktail waitresses having the most amazing outfits.
I wouldn’t say Rio is on The Strip. To me, that means “has an entrance on Las Vegas Blvd” not “has a shuttle bus pickup point on Las Vegas Blvd”. It’s as far away as the Palms or the Hilton.
