FMX Stars Light Up The Strip
Nov 03 2006 / Las Vegas, NV
|
||||||||||
Ahhhh Vegas! You know how they say that what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas? That’s a bunch of bull, because more than 3000 people showed up Wednesday night from all over the country for the fifth annual Kicker Big Air Bash at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, and they’ll be talking about everything that went down for months to come. There were hot chicks, hot cars and a killer FMX demo from some of the hottest FMX riders in the world.
This was my first Big Air Bash, so I had no idea what to expect when I showed up. But, considering that it’s pretty hard to have a bad time in Vegas, I figured it would be pretty fun. I was amazed to see how many people showed up for an event in the middle of the week, especially in Vegas. I mean, there is so much to do in Vegas that it’s actually pretty difficult to get a lot of people to come to a single event. But, the Kicker guys seemed to have no problem throwing a good party.
Things got rolling around 7 p.m. in the parking lot of the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, and didn’t finish up until nearly midnight. What follows is a rough overview of what went down… to the best of my recollection, anyway. The details got a little fuzzy as the night went on and the booze flowed more readily. That’s one thing about Vegas parties… well, that’s a story for another time.
---------------------------------------------------
7:15 p.m.
Monster Energy Ball of Steel Motorcycle Stunt Riders
OK, so I’m not much into the whole Barnum and Bailey Greatest Show On Earth spectacle, and when I heard that there was going to be a bunch of dudes on mini-motorcycles riding inside one of those circular steel cages at the Kicker Big Air Bash, I wasn’t all that excited. But, it turns out that when you’re standing right next to the big steel ball watching these guys ride around at 30 mph that it’s freakin’ nuts.
They started out with one guy on a motorcycle inside the steel cage. He starts riding around in circles faster and faster until he’s horizontal. Then he went upside down for a couple of revolutions and the crowd got nervous. He came to stop and that was that. Then a second biker got inside with the first guy. The two of them start flying around like mad men on speed zipping past each other at top speed. Then a third motorcycle gets in there and before you know it, these guys are riding around so fast in all directions that it looked like a giant atom with electrons spinning wildly around the center. The grand finale of the show was when they took a hot blond girl from the crowd and placed her in the center of the steel cage while the motorcycles cruised around her at blinding speeds. It was crazy, and as it turns out, pretty cool.
---------------------------------------------------
7:30 p.m.
Mini MotoX Bike Stunt Demo
This was just plain ridiculous. Dudes on mini MotoX bikes going off mini-jumps doing mini-no-footed can cans, heel clickers and superman FMX tricks and having mini-crashes? Let’s just say that I didn’t stick around watching that part of the show for long. Instead, I opted to go check out some of the showcars and trucks decked out with gigantic speakers and more flat screens than a Circuit City Video Department.
---------------------------------------------------
7:45 p.m.
Interview with Travis Pastrana and T.J. Lavin’s Lincoln Continental
I was standing by T.J. Lavin’s convertible Lincoln Continental, an unbelievable showcar. It’s black with lots of beautiful chrome. It’s lowered and has the classic suicide doors that make the old Continentals so bad-ass. Anyway, I was admiring the car and not paying attention to where I was going when I bumped into someone and said ‘sorry.’ He said it was OK, and when I looked up I saw it was Travis Pastrana. Oops. I shook his hand and introduced myself and was about to ask him a few questions when I realized he was being interviewed by one of the Kicker girls, which wouldn’t have been a big deal except that it was being aired live on the big screen at the main stage… Double oops. Needless to say I took a few steps back.
Anyway, apparently T.J. had given Travis the keys to his car to take to the Kicker Big Air Bash. And considering how crazy Travis is on anything that has wheels, I’m not sure it was a good idea. Travis agreed, saying, “T.J. gave me the keys to his car… I think he’s one of the dumbest friends I have!”
---------------------------------------------------
8:00 p.m.
Oakley Rail Jam Wakeboard Demo
Yes, you read that right. A wakeboard rail jam… in the parking lot of the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino… in Vegas… in the middle of the desert. Humans can do anything if they put their minds to it. Now if we could just take that ingenuity to create world peace or something. Anyway, the rail jam was pretty cool. Amber Wing, Philip Soven, and Joey Bradley were there to show off their skills on one of two rails that landed into a 3-foot deep inflatable pool filled with water. At the top of the rails was another pool, about a foot deep that served as the starting platform. The wakeboarders then grabbed on to a rope that was attached to an 8 horsepower engine that pulled them forward alarmingly fast. Crazy stuff. The riders had little space to set up there tricks, so it took them a few tries to get used to the rails. No one got hurt, but Philip pulled off an impressive pool to parking lot transfer when he hit the bottom pool with too much speed to slow down before the pool’s edge.
By the way, Amber was the first female to pull off a 720 behind a boat. She's sick!
---------------------------------------------------
8:15 p.m.
Live Music at the Main Stage: 11 Standing Still
11 Standing Still busted out a 45-minute set of heartland hard rock. They get my vote for worst band ever, but that’s my opinion. I did see a few people in the crowd bobbing their heads to the music and flashing devil horns at the band, so I guess it wasn’t all a loss.
---------------------------------------------------
9:15 p.m.
Interview with Brian Deegan and his Mercedes CLS
I learned from my previous experience with Travis that when looking at showcars you should look up from the car as you walk around it so you don’t bump into any celebrities in the middle of interviews. So, when I went to check out Brian Deegan’s new black Mercedes CLS pimped out by the kind folks at Kicker. This thing is sick. It’s all black with chrome highlights, black tinted windows, 19” black wheels, and has an unreal sound system in it that you can hear for blocks. In other words, it’s a real lady killer. We asked Deegan, one of the biggest names in FMX, how the ladies react to him when he’s driving around in it. He said, “Well, I’m a married man now. I got this car 3 three years too late. The seats recline, but now it’s for the kids and changing diapers.” Things could be worse, I guess.
---------------------------------------------------
9:30 p.m.
FMX Big Air Bash
The Big Air Bash was definitely the biggest, most exciting show of the night. Eight legendary FMX riders took to the big 75-foot ramp in front of the main stage launching all their biggest tricks. Mike Mason, Jeff Tilton, Tommy Clowers, Matt Buyten, Dustin Miller and others showed up to throw down for the Vegas crowd. They launched the big gap doing tricks 30 feet in the air: huge whips, superman seatgrabs and back flips. Mike Mason even pulled off a couple of strippers in honor of performing in sin city. These guys were amazing and put on a killer show. I even saw Cowboy Kenny Bartram in the crowd cheering on his buddies on their bikes. I talked to Kenny for a few minutes and found out that he’s pretty much 100% healed up from his injuries earlier this year. His casts are all off and he’s ready to start riding again. 2007 should be a good year for him.
---------------------------------------------------
10:15 p.m.
Kicker Car Show
Once the FMX show was over, it was time to check out all the sick cars. There must have been 15 or 20 cars – all restored or modified to look incredible. And that’s when the real party began. Overall, I’d say the Kicker Big Air Bash V kicked ass. These guys know how to throw a party. So, if you didn’t make it out to Vegas this year mark your calendar for 2007 when the Kicker Big Air Bash VI will go down. In the meantime, check out this year’s photos here>>
-Steve Lemig
