My daughter explained to me that Nuclear Cowboyz is a jukebox musical, a string of existing songs held together by a thin plot. The thin plot here: A cyborg army is taking over the earth and enslaving all of humanity, represented by two motorcycle gangs who have to "fight" back—apparently by doing stunts on their bikes, which, I guess, repels cyborg armies?

Silly story aside, there is certainly plenty of glitz. The bikers have snazzy costumes, there are scantily-clad women shaking their glittery booties, explosions, bursts of flame and lasers in plentiful supply. In one part, bikers come out with their backs on fire and fly through the air aflame. That was really cool.

My kids spent most of the show with their mouths agape watching guys doing jumps on their motorbikes, flying gracefully through the air with a ton of steel, striking a pose midair and then landing perfectly. It's an impressive trick and the kids didn't seem to care that it was basically the same stunt repeated for two hours.

In my opinion, if you took the whole show and condensed the best parts into 15 minutes, maybe half an hour at the outside, it would be a pretty impressive act. But what I think doesn't really matter. Here's what my kids thought:

Dogs love trucks. Kids love motocross. And even a Jane Austin-loving nerd like me can see why.

Things to Know Before You Go

Bring ear protection. We've already established that I'm an old fuddy-duddy, but even the folks that looked like they'd come straight from hunting had big ear protection on their younguns. For me, a pair of foam earplugs set the music and explosions at a comfortable volume. You'll still be able to hear the announcer quite clearly with ear plugs in so you won't miss a word of the story. (And you know I wouldn't want to miss a word).

Dress warmly. The arena is kept chilly because they have to ventilate all the exhaust (don't think about that for too long). Most people kept their coats on, but a sweater would probably be sufficient (preferably hand-knit, from Ireland).

If you want to meet the bikers, they have a meet and greet and sign autographs right after the show. They will stay until the last poster is signed, but the line can be a mile long, so get there quickly.

Nuclear Cowboyz invades the Izod Center in East Rutherford, NJ Friday, March 2-Saturday, March 3 at 7:30pm. Tickets are $45 for adults, $15 for children ages 2-12.

For inexpensive transportation from Manhattan, visit the Izod Center website, which has info about bus service from the Port Authority. The ride is only 20 minutes and you save the hassle of tolls and parking.

Read about other seasonal activities in our Winter Fun Guide.