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Brushwood brings bizarre magic to campus
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Brian Brushwood may have left his “prostitute”- a
female assistant to the illusionist- at home Wednesday night, but
that did not keep him from delivering his bizarre magic show at the
Special Events Center at BSU. The Texas native, who was presented
by the Student Programs Board as part of Bronco Welcome, performed
his first magic show to his family on Christmas morning of 1983.
The home video of this Christmas performance was used to open his
act and to demonstrate that magic did not always come easily to
him. Luckily for the audience, after years of performing for the
military and progressively larger venues, Brushwood’s routine
has come a long way.
Before beginning to attempt any chicanery, the magician made the
audience raise their right hands and vow “not to try this at
home.” Brushwood then added, “Unless it involves a lot
of money.” The magician’s quick-witted remarks kept the
show rolling between a series of unusual magic tricks that included
breaking a 25-35 pound cement brick over his head, eating fire as
the “human candle” and hammering a nail into his nose.
Between laughs and groans of disbelief from the audience, Brushwood
displayed his knowledge of the magic field by giving brief and
interesting backgrounds of famous magicians such as David
Copperfield and Harry Houdini.
Although his act is both entertaining and intriguing,
Brushwood’s show is not recommended for viewers with a weak
stomach. Before deciding whether or not you are ready to sit
through the “Variety Entertainer of the Year’s”
next show, you may want to ask yourself the following
questions:
~How many times must a man insert a nail into his right eye,
shaking like he is having a seizure until the nail comes out his
left eye, before you become queasy?
~ After seeing a man mix a concoction of milk, water, orange juice,
and Coke together and inhale it through his nostrils through a
straw, spit it into a glass, and then drink the concoction from the
glass, would you ever be able to enjoy a Coke again?
~Could you consider a future piercing after watching a man drive a
six inch, steel skewer through his tongue?
If your answers to these questions make you a bit weary of seeing
Brian Brushwood perform in person, perhaps you would be better off
waiting for his next appearance on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
Or maybe you would be better suited for the second half of the
magician’s show when he had audience members help him conduct
ESP experiments and joked about “the lucrative world of
children’s entertainment” with his puppet, Mr. Happy
Pants.
Michaela G. Herlihy
Culture Writer
