For those of you who don’t know, Monster Jam is a bunch of very loud elaborately-themed trucks and cars with oversized wheels tearing around a dirt obstacle course – doing tricks for the crowd’s applause. This is something my wife is not really that enthusiastic about, but I, on the other hand, am. Thus it was decided that it was my turn to speak up, pay my dues and write the review.
After the expected hunt for parking – that’s if you do not wish to take advantage of the Cape Town Stadium shuttle service – we eventually found a spot fairly close to the stadium for our compact yet efficient little Hyundai i10. On our walk to the entrance, I soon realised that we were seriously under gunned. This show was definitely attracting a specific demographic: the 4X4 driver. Every Hilux, Ranger, Discovery had come out of the woods, mountains and parking lots of the country to pay their respects to this ultimate display of literal mudslinging.
As we were running a few minutes late, we heard the start of the show from outside the stadium, did I mention loud? How about a nine-and-a-half litre, supercharged V8 with no silencers loud. A certain type of loudness any petrolhead would go mental for.
The show or contest – as they do actually compete against one another for scores judged by the crowd via smartphone – was what could be expected. As I have already mentioned the main plot of the show, I can only elaborate more: pyro techniques, flips, jumps, doughnuts, dust and methanol! Oh yeah, did I mention loud noises? Earmuffs were available to purchase at the stadium, but it wouldn’t hurt to bring your own if you have sensitive hearing.
Throw in a half-time extreme motocross extravaganza and you have highly entertaining two-and-a-quarter hours – perfect for those of us that have very short attention spans. Spoiler alert: don’t expect any Shakespearian plot twists.
Throughout the show, I couldn’t help but reminisce about the days when my father would take us to watch the V8 sprint car racing at Wembley Raceway on cold Friday nights in Johannesburg. That too was loud and dusty (back then it was a dirt oval track), but it helped instil a passion and love for crazy monster-motored machinery that is still with me today. As I looked around I noticed a multitude of kids that the 4x4s had bussed in getting hooked on their first experiences of that same crazy joy and passion only a true petrolhead could understand.
Monster down
At show-end, more than half of the Monsters lay wounded in the corner of the arena – one on its back like a stuck dung beetle, the others out of commission due to presumably blown motors and gearboxes from simply giving it their all.
We left the stadium amongst excited kids high on their first experiences of Monster Jam madness, joking about their dads being all revved up to and ready to ramp their 4x4s over pavements. (Presumably, the trappings of adulthood prevented this.)
In summary, Monster Jam is an entertaining evening out for the whole family – make that an afternoon-into-evening if you attend the pit party that happens before the main event where you get to meet the Monsters and their highly-skilled drivers.
Explosive, both literally and figuratively, this show is perfect for short attention spans and motor-lovers – but earplugs for sensitive ears are advised.
Monster Jam next heads to the FNB Stadium in Johannesburg on 4 May 2019. Tickets available via Computicket.
Photography by FELD Entertainment | View full gallery
