It was the early summer of 1995.

I was 13 years old, and one rock band blew my mind.

In the first semester of my freshman year of junior high school, I was assigned as the “School Broadcaster”. That position was a privilege. I felt like a DJ at a radio station. My role was to bring CDs to school and play some music through the school’s PA system during lunch hour. Also, I was allowed to have my lunch in the broadcasting studio by myself. I was not really sociable then. So it was an excuse to have a quiet lunch break with my “Top 10 songs of the week”. 

As I didn’t have many CDs (Yes, back then music was sold in CD format which you had to buy at record stores – Gosh, I’m living in a time when I need to explain that!), I bought a compilation CD of hit songs. “Someday I’ll Be the Saturday Night” was the first tune of that CD. 

“Chiyo, do you like Bon Jovi?” One of my classmates asked me one day after I came back to the classroom from the broadcasting room. 

“Ah, yeah, I like them. They’re quite cool.” I said.

“Yeah? I love Bon Jovi!” She was very excited.

Her name was Mina. We went to the same primary school so I felt I had known her for a long time. However, we have never been close. Mina was not a very popular girl at school and had been bullied by her mates. I wasn’t one of the bullies, but neither did I help her. Standing up against bullying meant becoming the next target. Obviously, I didn’t want that.

“My elder brother is a big fan of Bon Jovi too. We listen to them all the time. Which Bon Jovi song do you like the best?”

“Uh, I’m not quite sure. I don’t know that many Bon Jovi songs. I just like one or two.”

“Okay. I’ll lend you some CDs then.”

“Oh, thanks.”

The next day, she came to me with a cheerful smile.

“Here, my CDs, these are my favourites.”

“Thank you so much.”

“And I have some great news!” She seemed very excited.

“What?” 

“Bon Jovi is coming to Japan!”

“Really?!”

“Yes, they are coming to Nishinomiya for a charity concert for the Kobe Earthquake.”

(Nishinomiya, our town, has been badly affected by a big earthquake 4 months earlier.)

“Woah! But tickets must be super expensive.”

“Well, that’s the thing. My brother got some free tickets.”

“What?! How?”

“Well, there was a lottery giveaway for the people affected by the earthquake. My brother applied, and got four tickets.”

“Wow! That was really lucky.”

“Yeah. And he will be bringing his friend and me. And… ”

—

It was my very first time going to a proper concert. (My mom has taken me to community concerts, theatre performances and so on, but those were family shows.)

We met up at Nishinomiya-Kitaguchi station. Mina’s brother brought his friend. They were both high schoolers and they were talking about musicians I didn’t know. Mina was talking to me but I was hardly listening to her. I was totally overwhelmed by the atmosphere of a rock concert. 

The Nishinomiya Stadium was filled to the capacity… 40,000 people. I have never seen so many people in one place before. We went up to the top tier, quite far from the stage. 

The show didn’t start on time. We waited and waited. People started to make a Mexican wave. I enjoyed it a couple of times and then got bored. After 45 minutes, I was wondering if the show ever going to start.

The sun was going down yet still shining strong. It was the middle of May. The evening breeze was gentle and refreshing. Something was about to happen, I sensed.

Suddenly 4 men appeared on the stage and a huge roar filled the stadium and struck the sky.

From the first guitar chord, I was blown away. The music united the entire stadium. Thousands of hands waving towards the stage to the rhythm of the drumbeat. The sky changed hue from yellow to orange to pink to purple to dark blue as the sun went down. I thought it was beautiful. Jon Bon Jovi’s voice was so strong. I realized that music is not only for the ears but also for the entire body. The 2-hour show finished with a fireworks display that lit the sky. If there was something called perfect, that was it. 

“Amazing. Wasn’t it?” Mina said to me with great excitement as we left the concert. 

“Yeah.“ I couldn’t digest what I had just experienced. It was like taking a crazy roller-coaster ride for the first time.

“Thank you so much for bringing me along.“ I said to Mina and Mina’s brother.

“You are welcome. It was good that we could share such a great time!” They smiled. 

—

On that particular evening, everything looked perfect. I was feeling on top of the world with a bright future and nothing to be afraid of. I absolutely believed that I could stay friends with Mina forever. Little did I know what was ahead of us.

16 years later I heard Mina has passed away. I don’t want to talk about it now. All I can say is that I regret that once again I wasn’t there for her. 

The Nishinomiya Stadium was knocked down a few years after the concert and replaced by a big shopping mall.

Bon Jovi is still my hero. I love listening to their music every now and then. In fact, I still have their CD even though I don’t have a CD player anymore.

“There ain’t nobody left but us these days…”

That is how I remember my friend who took me to the best concert of my life ever.