Hot Wheels Monster Trucks Live, an Oppositelock review

"shop-teacher" (shop-teacher) 02/20/2020 at 15:13 • Filed to: Spend your money elsewhere

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A quick little explainer on the state of Monster Truck “racing.” Those of us IndyCar fans remember not fondly “The Split,” when the owner of Indianapolis Motor Speedway created his own series, The Indy Racing League. This pushed out the stars of the CART, later Champ Car, series. The split decimated American open wheel racing, a fate which it has yet to (and frankly probably never will) fully recover from.

Well, there is a new split these days. After some bad blood between Hot Wheels and Monster Jam about toy licensing, Hot Wheels decided to make its own Monster Truck series. How bad is the split? Well, the two series that ostensibly are promoting the same product, to the same group, are visiting the same market only two weeks apart. We saw the Hot Wheels Monster Trucks on February 16th at the Sears Center. Monster Jam will be visiting the Allstate Arena, which is only a several minute drive away, !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! .

Another aspect of the split, is the star trucks. If you ask anybody to name two monster trucks, odds are pretty good that the first name anybody spits out will be Bigfoot. That will likely be closely followed by Grave Digger. Monster Jam apparently bought the rights to Grave Digger some years ago, so they of course have that truck. It seems there is no love lost between the Monster Jam folks and the Bigfoot team, so Bigfoot runs in the Hot Wheels series.

My kids, especially the older one, have been asking to see a monster truck show for a while now. I was going to take them to the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! show when they were in town last year, but it was like -30 wind chills outside that weekend, so we stayed inside and played with Lego instead.

Both series being in town so close together, I was on the fence about which one to see. The weather was pretty nice this weekend, so I decided to pull the trigger on taking them to the Hot Wheels show. I piled the girls in the truck, picked up my father-in-law on the way, and got to the arena early so we could see the trucks up close before the show. Well, when we got our tickets and got inside, we were told that the “pre-party” admittance had been cut off. We were over an hour early, but not early enough. I later found the cut off time buried in tiny print on the ticketing site, but needless to say it was not well advertised.

We dropped our stuff off at our seats up top, and then walked down to the edge of the lower seats so the girls could get as close of a look at the trucks as was still possible. I was really happy to see a vintage body on Bigfoot. I was also puzzled to see a bare concrete floor. They hadn’t bothered to bring any dirt in.

So we went back up front to get a toy truck. You can’t take a kid to a monster truck show and not buy them a toy monster truck. I’m pretty sure that’s part of the Uniform Commercial Code. Now, one would assume that the HOT WHEELS monster truck show … you know the one owned and promoted by the most famous line of toy cars in the world … would be dripping with toy monster trucks. Well, my friend, that assumption was very wrong. There were six monster trucks at this event. They only had toys for three of them, and only one of them was in the form of the truck at the show. Thankfully both of my girls wanted a Bone Shaker, as that was the only one they had that matched the ones we were about to see perform. They had lots of copies of the truck V8 Bomber, a 67-72 Chevy K10, but it was in an entirely different paint scheme. They also had a few Bigfoots on hand, but none with the vintage body that it was wearing at the show. That’s it. No other toys. I was very not impressed. I felt really bad for the three year old boy and his mom who came in behind us wanting a toy Tiger Shark truck, as there were none to be had.

We went back to our seats and killed a half hour eating peanuts from the shell and playing with the toy trucks. Finally the show was about to start. The lights came down and the crappy music started blaring loud enough that both my girls donned their ear muffs. We were then introduced to the two hype men, Freddie and Kenny I believe. We suffered through their long rambling super hype BS intro explainer thing, and finally … FINALLY … we were about to see some action.

The first competition was a wheelie competition. This amounted to each truck making two runs, one run in each direction, across a line of cars. Total run time for each truck was something like 45 seconds, including turning around to go back the other direction. After which each truck was assigned a score out of 30.

Then came the donut competition, something like 30 second runs each, another score out of 30. Wait a damn minute though … Bigfoot did not participate. They just pretended all the trucks had run, and moved onto the long jump competition. Which is exactly what it sounds like. I missed most of that taking the little one to the bathroom, which took a total of maybe five minutes. Again, no Bigfoot.

Next it was time for intermission. They set up a couple of ramps, and brought out a few motocross guys to do some tricks, which was pretty cool. After that came a drag race. This time, not only did Bigfoot not participate for the third event in a row, but neither did another truck, Demo Derby. All this time, no mention is made of the trucks not running events, they’re just pretending all the trucks have run, and moving on.

Next it was time for Truckasaurus   Megasaurus. Megasaurus is on cat tracks, it unfolded, spit fire, and chewed a car in half. All to the soundtrack of the most generic “heavy metal” song you can imagine. I’ll just describe it for you. It’s about a 45 second guitar riff, then the one word of the song gets sung, which is simply “Megasaurus.” Then repeat that same sequence over and over and over…

After Megasaurus, it was time for the freestyle competition. I was pretty excited about this competition. I hadn’t been to a monster truck show in about 20 years, and I know things have evolved quite a bit since then. The interwebs are chock full of footage of monster trucks doing backflips and stoppies and all kinds of crazy stuff. Good news: Bigfoot finally participated again. Bad news: Demo Derby sat this one out as well. Worse news: the “Freestyle” event was literally 60 seconds of running back and forth across the cars and some donuts.

Now, my kids had fun, so externally I stifled myself, but I was pretty rip - shit pissed at this point. The trucks had maybe five minutes of run time in the nearly two hour show, the only real star truck, Bigfoot, had sat out three of the five events. Another truck had sat out two of the five events. And the big grand finally was a total dud.

This was clearly a show made to a tight budget, rather than one made to excite. Hot Wheels put out the absolute bare minimum of work and action, in exchange for extracting the maximum amount of money from the wallets of families. With the lack of toys, they didn’t even do a good job of the money extracting part. There was ten times as much Freddie and Kenny running their mouths, than there was actual action.  No dirt, hardly any toys, and barely any run time.

I’ll try Monster Jam next year, but I definitely won’t be going back to a Hot Wheels show. It was thoroughly lame, and a waste of one and a half c-notes. Honestly, and I say this as an adult who has literally brought thousands of Hot Wheels, it has soured me on the Hot Wheels brand as a whole.

TLDR: Hot Wheels Monster Trucks Live is pretty lame.

Nothing > shop-teacher 02/20/2020 at 15:25

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They didn’t even put dirt down? Sheesh. Considering that Monster Jam events are eventually shown on NBCSN, they have to be noticeably better. At least the one I went to a couple of years ago was really entertaining.

CTSenVy > shop-teacher 02/20/2020 at 15:30

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“Hardly any toys”

That one blows my mind, with the Hot Wheels name on it the concourse should have had every toy they make available for sale.  It’s an audience looking to spend money, give them a bunch of options and you will be rewarded for it.

XJDano > shop-teacher 02/20/2020 at 15:31

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Sorry I didn’t tell you earlier. We did same. I bought into the HW hype for Black Friday kids tickets $1 each plus fees. So 4 of us was about $100. And after I really wanted to see monster jam for a real show. But I couldn’t justify another $200. My daughter did get asked who was her favorite.... and she almost said gravedigger, but blurred out Bigfoot thank goodness.

One of the trucks broke something on the doughnut run, and they didn’t mention it and parked it the rest of the show. 2/10 not again. 

foghat1981 > shop-teacher 02/20/2020 at 15:33

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That’s too bad to hear. We did Monster Jam ~3 years ago and it was fine. The arena shows are always a bit tight, but I felt like there was a decent value. Lame hype people still, but they had motorcross races, dune buggys, and i think something else in addition to trucks. So there was a fair bit of action at least.

I remain diehard CART/ChampCar, so FTG and FIRL.  He destroyed the best series on the planet. 

Thisismydisplayname > shop-teacher 02/20/2020 at 15:35

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Wow! That’s a shitty deal.  At least the kiddos had a good time.  Thank you for the play by play.  Now no need to waste money on their show.  

shop-teacher > XJDano 02/20/2020 at 15:42

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It seems to be consistent.  Some friends of ours went to see a show Saturday.  They aren’t car people at all, had never been to any show, and they were also disappointed.

XJDano > Nothing 02/20/2020 at 15:43

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Monster jam owns the dirt they bring in. They truck it in and truck it back out to a lot where it’ll sit the rest of the year until they come back. It was in a documentary or a behind the scenes I watched a while ago.

It’s how they know how the dirt will react and how much grip the tires will have. 

i86hotdogs > shop-teacher 02/20/2020 at 15:45

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I’ve been curious to how the Hot wheels “league” or “series” would fare. I went to Monster Jam in Cleveland last weekend, and it was ho hum. I think a major issue is the venue. Any of these smaller venues really cut down on the ability of these drivers. Comparing last weekend to when I saw them at Ford Field in Detroit last year, the football and baseball stadiums are so much more entertaining. Don’t get me wrong, a handful of adult beverages can make any of these fun. It also was a hair under two hours long, which surprised me. 

i86hotdogs > shop-teacher 02/20/2020 at 15:48

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I grew up in the town next to Allstate Arena. Seen so many shows and events there. There’s a sad history of that building when it was being erected.

https://chicagoist.com/2012/08/13/one_for_the_road_82.php

Under_Score > XJDano 02/20/2020 at 15:54

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I’m getting older when a Dodge Avenger is already a car used as a prop for a monster truck show.

shop-teacher > Thisismydisplayname 02/20/2020 at 16:30

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Keeping other Oppos from wasting money on it, was my primary objective with this review.

shop-teacher > Nothing 02/20/2020 at 16:31

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They’ve clearly invested in it to keep it exciting.  The Hot Wheels show was a lame knock-off.

shop-teacher > CTSenVy 02/20/2020 at 16:32

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I was stunned by the lack of toys.  It was such a gigantic fail and missed opportunity.

shop-teacher > i86hotdogs 02/20/2020 at 16:34

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I think I need to wait until the Monster Jam series is at a bigger venue.

shop-teacher > i86hotdogs 02/20/2020 at 16:36

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I forgot about the history of the construction. I grew up in the general area too, and I honestly still call it the Rosemont Horizon.

i86hotdogs > shop-teacher 02/20/2020 at 16:43

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The theatrics are significantly different. For example, your Hot Wheels show was on pavement and only had a couple rows of crushed cars. Sears Centre is about the same size as Cleveland’s Rocket Mortgage/Quicken Loans arena (maybe slightly smaller). Monster Jam was a circular dirt pile with dif ferent grade jumps on it. No cars. The bigger venues have everything: cars, buses, storage containers, jumps of all sorts. Unfortunately, I think the nearest one to Chicago would be in Indy. I have never seen them perform at Soldier Field, and I doubt they ever will. 

i86hotdogs > shop-teacher 02/20/2020 at 16:44

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I was young when they changed it to Allstate so the name change wasn’t as pivotal as Comiskey or Sear Tower. 

XJDano > Under_Score 02/20/2020 at 16:50

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I thought same.... and then I thought, who do I know that would buy a used one.... no one I know. 

3point8isgreat > shop-teacher 02/20/2020 at 16:58

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Thanks for this.  Reminded me that we’ve got Monster Jam in town this weekend.  I’ve been wanting to go at least once for a while.

Under_Score > XJDano 02/20/2020 at 20:12

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There are a million BHPH lots with no websites around here that definitely have them. One of them has a Borrego.

Thanks for the local exploring idea. Attempting to visit every BHPH lot near me.

shop-teacher > i86hotdogs 02/20/2020 at 21:21

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I’m sure Soldier Field is too expensive for them to be worth renting. Indy is doable though.

shop-teacher > 3point8isgreat 02/20/2020 at 21:25

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Cool! Let us know how the show is, because this one left me wanting more.

Damon Atherton > shop-teacher 02/21/2020 at 00:24

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A friend of mine owns V8 Bomber and Demo Derby. I went by the shop this past Monday, after the Chicago show, and he recounted what he broke on Demo Derby . Breakage is why he, and likely Bigfoot, sat out said competitions. As massive (and expensive) as these trucks are, often times a small part will keep them sidelined.

I took my son (2 1/2) to Monster Jam last month, and while he had a great time, I felt the show was rushed and not a great experience compared to past MJ events I'd attended.

shop-teacher > Damon Atherton 02/21/2020 at 07:09

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Thanks for the insight. I had assumed there were mechanical issues, but they should announce that. Instead they just pretended all the trucks had ran and moved on, which is insulting to the crowd.

i86hotdogs > shop-teacher 02/21/2020 at 11:25

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The issue with soldier field is that it’s already notoriously bad grass. Indy is turf field so they just dump dirt everywhere. Soldier field gets destroyed when they host concerts.

Dakratfink > shop-teacher 02/21/2020 at 17:51

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Last month Monster Jam was in Fargo and the Hot Wheels Tour in Bismarck a few weeks later. I live about 4 hours from Fargo and about 2 from Bismarck. I only learned about the Monster Jam event the evening before and my wife’s schedule would not allow us to make a 4 hour ( one way ) trip on such notice. When I learned the Hot Wheels TPIR was coming to a much closer venue I was temped, especially since I have been curious about what kind of product they put out. I was more than a little disappointed to see tix for the HotWheels event (in a smaller arena show venue ) were significantly pricier than what the Monster Jam tickets for the event we were missing out on were.

I’m glad your review mentioned the IRL/ CART split. I had been hopeful the HotWheels Tour would provide competition for FELD Motorsports ( Monster Jam ) and sort of inspire a boom for the industry/sport sort of like the “Monday Night Wars” Era of late 90s Pro Wrestling. Instead, it looks like it is diluting the product like the IRL/ CART debacle did to American Open wheel racing.

I’ve been to disappointing small time monster truck shows, but I would expect more from Hot Wheels.

As a Wrestling and Monster Truck fan since my childhood in the 80s I see a lot of parallels between both forms of entertainment. And, as a life long HotWheels fan I was hoping for great things from a tour they put their name on.

Thank you for the honest and objective review. You’ve made me not regret passing on the hot wheels show.  Here’s hoping HW picks up their game instead of continuing to put their name on sub par shows.

shop-teacher > Dakratfink 02/21/2020 at 18:40

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“Thank you for the honest and objective review. You’ve made me not regret passing on the hot wheels show. Here’s hoping HW picks up their game instead of continuing to put their name on sub par shows.”

You’re welcome. I would have been livid if I had made a two hour drive to see that show. I hope HW picks up their game as well. I sent them my opinion about their show through their contact link on their website, in hopes that hearing this feedback will ultimately lead to an improved product/show.