Crowds seemed excited as they entered the Rabobank Arena Jan. 25 to watch the second night of The Monster X Tour this year.
The event was a two-night show that took place in Bakersfield’s Rabobank Arena and was scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. and ended at approximately 9 p.m.
Tickets started at around $10 for adults, $5 for kids, and although not recommended for children under the age of two years old, they were allowed to enter for free as it is a company policy.
Earmuffs were also sold at the event due to its loud nature. Although a lot of parents did seem to have been forewarned as they brought their own earmuffs and ear protectors, other parents were seen cuffing their children’s ears each time the trucks revved their engines.
The night attracted many families with small children, as popcorn stand worker Zachary, 22, observed.
There were also several monster truck show newbies that night like Scott, 29, who took his girlfriend’s 14-year-old son, Nathan, to the show for the first time.
“We’re just excited to see the show and I thought this would also be a good bonding experience for us,” said Scott. “And I just want to see stuff crash,” was Nathan’s response.
Noel, 24, is a monster show veteran, but brought along her fiancé to the event to try to get him more involved with her family’s interests.
“We’re also here with my parents and my cousins,” she said. “You can say it’s a family thing.”
When asked what brings them back each year, Noel responded, “[For] the adrenaline rush and the thrill of it.”
Payton Cross, 13, is another monster truck veteran that attended and said that the most exciting part was just, “Seeing them hit.” His grandfather added that he most excited to see the drivers that would be featured that night.
Amongst the participants were Bigfoot 18, Megamerc, Nasty Boy, California King, Rockstar, and Un-named and Untamed.
Crowd favorites for the night appeared to be California Kid, the newer of the drivers and participants, Rockstar which was consisted of a couple that toured together deemed the “Godfather” and “Godmother” of monster truck shows and Bigfoot 18, a monster truck veteran and driver, well known for being aggressive and reckless. All three of these monster trucks were also featured in last year’s show.
Two audience members, who chose to remain anonymous, testified to the trucks’ appearances in last year’s show, but added that they were still glad to have come back.
In a comment to the sport, they also said, “It’s just about to get dirty and have fun really.”
California Kid was the only truck to flip over that night, which was enough to satisfy Lenea Rivera, 16, who said “I was hoping that somebody flipped!”
Megamerc, a newbie to Bakersfield grounds, was the only monster to suffer a big enough malfunction that stalled it from competing until the last half-hour of the night. After his first run a safety brake was released and refused to disengage which brought on heavy booing from the crowd.
An audience member added that he felt last year’s show was better because the monsters didn’t break down as much and were able to compete more.
Bigfoot 18 on the other hand, received much of the crowd’s approval after landing a high jump that caused the right side of its external body to fall off.
The promoter was quick to add that the body was new.
After the incident, Bigfoot 18 said to the audience that, as dangerous as it is, he loves it. He also encourages others to join.
“I was one of you kids up in the stands watching Bigfoot live in the stands and now I get do drive her. So dreams come true, guys, put your nose to the grindstone, I know that you can do it,” he said