Musical Cherry

This week I experienced an important rite of passage. My first concert. You’ve never been to a concert? I hear you say. Yes, it’s true...well sort of. I have worked at one before but it’s not quite the same. There are various reasons for this, no time, no money but mostly just friends with different tastes in music. Last year I swore I would do it, but who would be my first? It was an important decision, one not to be taken lightly. So I watched the newsletters from event holders and ticket sales websites and in October, there it was.

Bon Jovi.

Now I don’t really care if it makes me uncool but I have loved that group for years. Catchy rock music for blasting out loud and singing along to and a charismatic lead singer – who I swear has a deal with the devil to still look so good. It’s also one of the things my mum and I share so of course she would have to go with me. Whenever we would go on road trips out would come the Bon Jovi cd and we would sing along together. They are part of some really good memories. So I woke up early on the morning they went on sale and I bought the best tickets I could get my hands on without going bankrupt. Back then, June seemed a very long way away.

The nearer the date got the more excited I got. I kept expecting something to go wrong, the concert to be cancelled but the 22^nd arrived and off we went. The one and only concert I’ve experienced I was working with the Red Cross and was actually next to the stage and feet away from Billy Joel and Elton John. You wouldn’t think anything would beat that but not so. That day I was working and wasn’t concentrating on the experience. Being behind the barriers means that you are very separate from the crowd, the atmosphere isn’t the same.

The rain poured down but even that didn’t spoil our anticipation. Our seats were amazing. I chose to be in the seated section which did put us about a hundred yards from the stage but we are both short and if we had stood we wouldn’t have been able to see past the crowd. Slowly the stadium began to fill up until 60,000 people joined us. The atmosphere was electric. I have never been in such a large crowd before and it was amazing to look around and see a sea of faces and the strobe of thousands of camera flashes. Suffice to say that Bon Jovi exceeded all of my expectations. They played for two and a half hours without a break and it was one of the best experiences of my life. There is nothing like being one of thousands of voices singing out anthems that clearly mean as much to them as they do to you. I am proud to say that Bon Jovi took my concert virginity; there will never be another first.

I can now say I am hooked and even if I have to go alone, there will be more concerts in my future. The question now is who will I see next?