Nuclear Cowboyz enthralls audiences in San Jose

Spring break has arrived, and boy did we start it with a bang!  We saw Feld Entertainment's amazing freestyle motorcross stunt show, Nuclear Cowboyz, over the weekend.  The Pea gave her ticket up to spend the day with a friend, so 3Po and Jammy invited a friend, and all 3 boys loved the whole show.  Actually, I should say all 4 boys, because Alfie enjoyed it as much as the boys did! It's chock-full of high-flying stunts and tricks that left us gasping and yelping in disbelief.  We were literally on the edge of our seats!

The excitement and energy levels were high even before the show started.  Vendors were selling cotton candy with a special Nuclear Cowboyz beanie, mohawk headbands, and some really cool Nuclear Cowboyz shirts.  There was a section roped off for autograph signing after the show.  When we peeped into the show area, we were amazed by the height of the ramps and runways!  Most were taller than a one-story house, and they must have been spaced at least 50 feet apart.  Some were connected by narrow catwalks or smaller ramps.  The whole setup looked unbelievably scary.

Once the show started, we realized that what these motorcycle riders were doing was even scarier than we had thought!  They zoom up, launch themselves off the ramps, do some kind of crazy trick while flying through the air -- somersaults, handstands, twists, turns, lying down, and my favorite, completely letting go of the bike in mid-air and spreading their arms like they could fly forever -- and landing safely on the other end. Other times, they were pulling wheelies (riding on the back wheel), stoppies (riding on the front wheel), and jumping up and down levels like they were just pedal bikes instead of motorcycles.  I tried to take photos, but I ended up with blurry images because the lights were so low and they were moving so quickly:

The best way to appreciate their tricks is to watch a video of them in action. Don't worry, this video isn't very long, just 4 seconds... but it's 4 seconds of awesomeness:


One of the best tricks of the night was so spectacular, I didn't even have time to take a photo of it.  One of stuntmen was riding around with his back on fire.  Yes, the dude was On. Fire.  Both literally and figuratively. It was the only time during the whole show that anyone had performed a trick like that, as opposed to all the other tricks, which were repeated quite a few times over the course of the show.  That made the Flaming Dude  even more of a moment to treasure.

Two things that made the show more than just a motorcycle stunt show:

1)  In between motorcycle stunts, the Shaolin Kung Fu warriors kept everyone enthralled by their kung fu performances; my favorite parts were when one of the warriors broke a pole over another warrior's head, and when another warrior balanced himself on the tip of a spear (he ended up horizontal, with the only the tip of the spear touching his stomach.  How he escaped impalement is beyong me.

Here's a brief (and blurry, sorry about that!) clip of the Shaolin Kung Fu Warriors in action:


2)  The special effects were pretty amazing, and they entertained me throughout the show!  There were laser beams going forming all kinds of intricate patterns, from lightning to death rays to teleportation rays and more.

There were columns of flame shooting up so high that we could feel the heat all the way from our seats.

There were also fireworks going off every now and then, to punctuate a particularly cool stunt.

A word of warning: the noise level was loud at its quietest moments and deafening at its loudest, and you never knew when the fireworks were going to explode, so I found myself jumping in my seat more than once.  If you're planning to attend the show with young kids, make sure you bring ear plugs!  If you forget your ear plugs, you can roll up a wad of tissue paper and stuff it in your child's ear.

Oh, yeah: there's actually a story that ties the whole show together (spoiler alert!).  The Nuclear Cowboyz, the good guys (a group of motorcycle riders and kung fu warriors) have been captured by an evil queen and forced to compete against her army -- the Shadow Army, also consisting of motorcycle riders and kung fu warriors -- in the ultimate showdown of good versus evil.  The Nuclear Cowboyz win, of course, and in her anger and humiliation, the evil queen prepares to kill her Shadow Army commander.  But the Nuclear Cowboyz commander saves the Shadow Army commander, and in gratitude, the Shadow Army joins forces with the Nuclear Cowboyz to destroy the evil queen once and for all.  

Yes, I did warn you that this was a spoiler alert, but the story doesn't really make a huge impact on the show; you don't need to know the story in order to enjoy the show.  In fact, I'll bet that almost all the little kids and probably half of the adults weren't really aware that there was a show.  The roar of the bikes and the rock music and the fireworks were so loud, the narrator's voice over was kind of lost in the cacophony!


Disclosure: I am a Feld Family Ambassador, and in exchange for my time and efforts in attending shows and reporting my opinion within this blog, as well as keeping you advised of the latest discount offers, Feld Entertainment has provided me with complimentary tickets to Feld shows and opportunities to attend private Feld pre‐Show events. Show information and trivia (in italics) were provided by Feld Entertainment. The views and opinions expressed here are my own. The views and opinions expressed here are my own.
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