I saw a different magician, clearly. I saw XM at PHo long ago. Good show, entertaining. Nothing I saw was mind blowing and worthy of such high praise. Better than 99% of your run of the mill magicians, sure, but I’d have to think there are plenty of more compelling magicians without a theater show in Vegas. Some of them wouldn’t want to go through all the obstacles that exist in today’s Vegas entertainment market in order to produce a show like XM’s, no doubt. Kudos to XM for his dogged pursuit of his career, and he has obviously captured the fascination of plenty of people given his social media penetration. I just didn’t find his magic all that unique or mind blowing. Entertaining, yes. And he’s not the only mediocre magician I’ve seen perform on the strip over the years. He’s still better than the clown I saw at Flamingo years ago. I don’t think he’s working Vegas these days. If only I could remember his name.

I actually was. Mime didn’t really become a big thing in America until Shields are Yarnell, in the 1970s.