Here is my review of last night's event in San Diego ...are you ready?..get your popcorn:
There is no secret that Steve has added a lot to the hunting community and we all should be grateful for that. I am one of those who watched the MetaEater show when it first came out and was hooked. Kudos to him for his success and new business ventures.
With that aside and with all due respect to Steve and his boys (the crew). Last night's MeatEater live was not worth the money, furthermore it was a disappointment.
I have and would pay north of what the MeatEater live tickets were going for, to watch a live show that provides some sort of value entertainment.
I found Steve super engaging and I could listen to him for hours. He is a great storyteller, smart and funny. Unfortunately part of the program apparently was not to let Steve spend more than a few minutes talking. Perhaps he was focusing a little too much on selling his book. I thought Steve would switch gears and talk to the audience about other interesting stuff but that unfortunately did not happen.
I am sorry but, I would not want to drive to downtown SD and pay money to see a group of guys on stage "shooting the shit" sort of speak. They showed pictures of their kid's recently harvested Turkey and told the audience how some of their family members grew up eating wild game. I am sorry but I did not attend the event for that.
The main act was that a couple of members of the audience were invited on stage to cast a jig into a bucket and whoever got close got a prize. It looked like the participants had some well-deserved fun. But again I was like....?????? The other big part of the entertainment was to find someone in the audience who could reproduce the sound of an Owl. That was funny.
Part of the show was also to let the panel on stage guess what percentage of the local audience would agree or disagree with questions like: Would you want Grizzlies in CA? Would you prefer to land a competitive-size mule deer or a catch record large mouth bass? and so on. Not surprisingly 40% of locals said they could fight a mountain lion with their own hands...lol.
One of the questions IMO set the stage for disaster, the question was " How many people thought the CADFG was corrupt?". YUP....seriously that was a question on a large auditorium in downtown San Diego from a panel of out-state outdoorsmen who enjoy some sort of celebrity status. I thought that question was a joke but it wasn't.
I found the question not only inappropriate, but borderline disrespectful to the local CA residents and to our law enforcement. The answer was that less than 40% thought that was the case.
That question shows that no matter what degree you might have attained in school or how well versed some folks are in different topics, you just can't buy simple common sense.
I don't need out-of-state folks that visit our beaches to tell us how shitty we have in CA....last time that happened to me in a parking lot, the guy walked away limping and with a bloody mouth. Let us CA residents bitch about our own problems. Enounedos of political views by visitors is not Welcome.
If you think I am exaggerating you should know that Steve Rinella had no choice but to make a comment with a straight face to the audience about how great the DFWG is and how we all should support them. You see, he knew that whoever ignoramus from his crewt formulated that question fkd up.
If you paid $$$, you got a book with Steve's autograph and if you pay less for your ticket you didn't. I wouldn't be surprised if there were VIP tickets that would probably allow you to mingle with the stars for top dollars. There were 3 style of shirts for sale with the same design somehow one uglier than the other with a the hoodie going for $60. Thanks but no thanks.
Rinella's crew seem to have ZERO clue on what SD is about when it comes down to hunting. They didn't provide any information to keep the attendees engaged about ANYTHING...I laughed for 10 minutes and that was it. We didn't hear cool stories, I don't think we learned anything, no opportunities for selfies for the average joe, no greeting at the door by any of them, not even a sticker...lol.
To summarize, No I would not recommend you spend the money to see the MeatEater Live. There is absolutely nothing of value there unless. Honestly, the guys are ordinary outdoorsmen with more opportunity to hunt than the average weekend worrier could dream but nothing more.
IMO a missed opportunity to retain followers and grow Steve's brand.