On Wednesday evening Sam and I went to to see the Mythbusters ‘Behind the Myths’ gig. I introduced Sam to Mythbusters a few years back and it has been his favourite ever since, checking the TV guide each night to see if its on – and if its not then watching recorded episodes. There are many worse things a kid could be into and those guys are a lot of fun!

Sam is a dedicated fan and science nut, so when I heard they were coming to Perth it was virtually a case of ‘cost is no object’…We were going… And Sam was excited…. Very excited.

So Wednesday evening we headed into the Arena to be part of the event with 6500 other people. And while we had been anticipating this for months the actual event itself was probably a 6/10. If you like Mythbusters you probably like them for the way they blow stuff up and do crazy, zany experiments that mum would never let you try at home… and nor will Perth Arena… and therein lay the problem.

If you were a fan then perhaps just seeing the faces of Adam and Jamie was enough, but if you were curious as to how they might put on a show then you were likely going to be disappointed. They announced at the start that they weren’t allowed to blow anything up, but they were going to ‘blow our minds’, which is a big call and one they ultimately didn’t follow through on.

The rest of the evening consisted of a blend of practical science lesson and talk show with the odd moment of adrenalin pulsing. They showed some of their big explosions on the screen, but it felt a bit second rate when I think many had hoped they would do some ‘magic’ in person.

I thought maybe it was just me until I spoke with a mate who also found it a little underpowered. A review I read elsewhere said they sounded ‘like a talented band talking about how much they enjoyed performing music’, and it definitely did have that vibe to it. There was a bit too much talk time and story telling from people who have made a reputation for action. I guess if you went seeking that then it is all ok, but I’m guessing plenty didn’t.

When I asked Sam for the highlight he said it was ‘the humour’ and in that I thought he was spot on. Adam and Jamie are a good combination and Adam can spit our some pretty good one liners off the cuff. The Q & A was probably the low point for me, listening to some fairly inane questions and other people asking if they ‘could have a selfie?’ just seemed kind of a waste of time (and to his credit Adam called it that!)

As we left I felt that if they returned I might be prepared to spend $30-40 to attend another performance, (but I’d just as soon stay home) rather than $140, but Sam was beaming and ecstatic. He spoke about it all the way home – and I mean ALL the way to Yanchep… It was like he’d been to heaven and back and in that it was worth every cent – a bullseye.

So while the show itself didn’t raise my pulse, for Sam it was an evening to remember and those things are priceless hey?…