I am a girl of simple tastes: I like Earl Grey with my Star Trek, Evans with my Marvel, and a solid Philip K. Dick story any day of the week. But there is one thing on my bucket list I have yet to cross off: MONSTER JAM!!
It’s true. I am a Monster Jam virgin. My eardrums are still intact and my eyes not yet blinded by pyrotechnics. I feel somewhat… denied.
It’s really strange, especially since I grew up around a lot of different transport vehicles. My dad was a driver for Army Transport. I have watched him in motorbike stunts (read: “safety displays”), had rides in tanks, and been taken to school in the back of convoy trucks (literally – it was after a kangaroo jumped on the school bus… another story).
Monster Trucks, however, are not your standard military vehicle. Pity.
But then I received The Email. “Hey EG Mum, did you hear Monster Jam is coming to Australia this year?”
Well, tank me up and LET’S GO!!
Of course, I did check for tips and advice from my fellow GeekDad / GeekMom crew:
Tony advised me to pick up ear plugs. I consider it an added bonus we all can communicate with sign language.
Jamie warned me about the temperature in the venue – there needs to be sufficient ventilation, so the venue needs to stay open at one end for the duration. October in Australia isn’t too bad, but worthy of noting.
And if I have the opportunity to join the Party in the Pits, I am to grab the wheel with both hands and just GO!
However, no-one warned me of the ongoing excitement in the house … someone yelling “MONNNSTERRRR JAAAAAMMMMMMM!!!!” every day or so. Seriously, though, these Monsters are… well, they are ginormous. Gargantuan. Humongous. They are the dai kaiju of monster trucks.
These things stand nearly four metres tall and four metres wide! Each and every one of them is custom-designed to bring out the driver (and the vehicles) individual personality. Even this Monster Truck newbie has heard of ‘Grave Digger’ and ‘Monster Mutt Dalmatian’. Though, after checking out the photos, I’m kind of partial to Pirates Curse.
When I say partial, I mean I can imagine driving that baby in Mario Kart 8 and smashing EG Dad’s little blue Yoshi. In real life, I’m looking forward to watching the professionals show off their flying stunts, launching 5,500kg of pure grunt across the stadium sky in a blaze of glory.
I am now watching our 2yo daughter, Zaltu, as she considers what stunts SHE can try while we patiently wait for October. She’s starting small with the Tonka Trucks, but it’s only a matter of time before all three spawnlings start eyeing off the distance from the table to the sandpit…
Monster Jam is coming back to Australia in October 2016. This time, there are seven shows across five cities; Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney, Perth, and for the first time, Adelaide! Tickets are on sale now, through TicketMaster and Ticketek.
If you have been to a Monster Jam before, give me all your tips and advice in the comments below!
I’m sure it’s completely unintentional, but your use of the term jipped in this piece can be taken as pretty offensive to some. I grew up using this term, and only recently learned that this is a slur against Roma people. Most often spelled gypped, it is by definition racist as it means being ripped off by a gypsy.
Whoa. Thank you very much for the education – I had no idea of that particular interpretation. In Australia, it is a colloquial term for being ripped off or disappointed in not receiving the same as others, but never used against a particular culture (such as the Roma People). Again, thanks for pointing out.
The country was without enough gold available to
acquire the weapons it required or give the soldiers for the service these folks were
to execute because of their nation. In case of sore throat that often accompanies a cold
or cough, honey is an ideal lubricant for that throat.
When they do swarm, the hive splits off into distinct colonies and new queens take a portion of the workers to new colonies using the old queen utilizing the majority.
After I initially commented I appear to have clicked the -Notify
me when new comments are added- checkbox and now each time a comment is added I recieve four emails with the same comment.
Is there a way you can remove me from that service? Many thanks!