Mr. Big
Raw Like Sushi II

Tokyo. 1992. I've been standing for eight hours, it's freezing, and luckily at 5 PM the arena gates open. I elbow my way, elbow my way, elbow my way until I get to the third row, about 5 meters from the stage.. surrounded by drunken Americans reeking of beer and ultra-sexy Japanese girls in mini skirts, bangs, and belly button piercings.. the view alone is worth the price of the ticket.

With my basic English, I get to know the biggest flirt nearby, and after about half an hour, we're already smoking a cigarette skillfully stuffed with plants not exactly legal in Japan.. oh, how beautiful the '90s are! They're essentially the '80s celebrating themselves: distorted guitars, evil riffs but with strategic melody, sprawling guitar solos, leather jackets, and hairstyles like a metalhead crossed with "Brandon" from Beverly Hills; basically, a big mess! As for me, I already know I'll regret these moments, but who cares, for now, might as well enjoy them.

I'm here in Tokyo, not just to try to hook up with yet another Asian girl (I'm obsessed, I know), but to attend my first concert of the band I've been worshiping for two years: Mr. Big, a phenomenon of rare beauty in this otherwise drifting musical universe: hard rock with the sugary melody that never hurts, which earns them quite a bit of acclaim from the female audience. I have to say their latest work "Lean into It" is really remarkable; will they be able to achieve such a powerful, frenetic, and precise impact live? I’m a bit skeptical but hopeful..

At 8:30 PM I'm bored, at 9:00 PM I smoke another joint, at 9:30 PM I exchange hotel addresses with a girl from Osaka I just met (heh heh..), at 10:15 PM the lights go out, amazing, it begins... you can hear from afar the roar of the spaceship that Gilbert makes on the mobile bridge of his Ibanez, a slow crescendo of adrenaline that rises, rises, rises and... BAM! "Daddy Brother Lover Little Boy" kicks in, one of the most energetic songs ever written: Martin lets out an otherworldly scream (in falsetto, of course!) and everyone follows behind, Billy rides his bass like I've never seen anyone else do and Pat is, as usual, very precise and powerful behind the drums. In a moment, we're already all sweaty, but the best is yet to come: after the first part of the solo, Gilbert and Sheehan grab a Makita drill and rub it on the strings at a supersonic speed, almost like a real electric drill!! But just after the song ends, there's room for an improvisation by Martin accompanied by the blues sound of 'Pablo Gilgerto', where he spills magical words from the depths of New Orleans, oozing esoteric and violent, with a sexual charge that only the Mississippi Delta can give.. all this introduces the funk-hard rock masterpiece "Voodoo Kiss", where our vocalist dressed as an elf/pirate gets into the role of a voodoo witch doctor on a quest for mercenary love: spectacular, even the instrumental break in the middle of the song only elevates the adrenaline to a higher level!

Then it's time for a blues moment, introduced by the usual guitar vs bass duel, "Little Too Loose", where Sheehan sings in the intro with such a deep voice that the crowd grants him another round of applause. With "Road to Ruin", we're back to rock'n'roll: Eric's voice is impeccable and incredibly versatile in improvising.

Break: PG's guitar solo, and I go grab a drink, because sometimes he makes them too long.. but they're beautiful and original, especially when he uses the drill again at the end.

"CDFF - Lucky This Time" continues the show at slightly below-average levels but is appreciated (especially by the Japanese girls), then Billy unleashes in a solo of his own, which leads into yet another duel, transitioning into the fast-paced "Shyboy", a cover I still haven't quite figured out who originally wrote, given that everyone covers it..

It’s the end of the CD recording: Woman from Tokyo closes this live performance (which smells a bit promotional), pauses halfway, changes direction, and launches into the superb "Baba O' Riley" by the Who, lasting a full 8 minutes, the last of which we're clapping wildly, dancing, singing, sweating and drinking like overheated mules for this short, yet sparing nothing, performance...

..And when the elf says "see you again, Tokyo," I feel he will somehow be right..