Angel: One helluva band on tour in Japan
47 years after their legendary Japan tour of 1977, Angel finally returned to Japan.
Angel and Action at Daikanyama Unit, Tokyo, Japan on 13th July 2024
During the 1980s, Osaka band Action was one of Japan’s more interesting heavy metal bands. This year is the 40th anniversary of the release of Action’s debut full-length album “Hot Rox”. A revamped line-up of Action, consisting of Yoshiro Takahashi on bass and vocals, Kunitaka Watanabe on keyboards and vocals, Eijiro Akita on drums and Kenta Harada on guitar, put on a great half-hour set to warm up the audience ahead of the evening’s headline performance.
Gene Simmons discovered the American rock band Angel. The band was subsequently offered a record deal by Casablanca Records, the record label KISS was on. They released their self-titled debut album in 1975 and quickly won fans in Japan. That later resulted in the band doing a legendary tour of Japan in 1977, including headlining at Budokan in Tokyo.
The current “Once Upon a Time” Japan Tour celebrates the band’s classic 1970s era. It is also a tour that demonstrates that the band is still relevant in 2024. Since original members Punky Meadows on guitar and lead vocalist Frank DiMino reunited a few years back, the band has released two new studio albums, “Risen” (2019) and “Once Upon a Time” (2023). In the current version of the band, they are backed up by newer members Danny Farrow (guitar), Charlie Calv (keyboards), Billy Orrico (drums) and Tommy Caradonna (bass). It is a beyond-solid band that did the old classics justice and performed the newer material equally well. Punky Meadows is now 74 years old but he is still at the top of his game. He is an underrated world-class guitarist. On stage in Tokyo on Saturday night, Punky was on fire. He combined outstanding guitar work with being a showman. He knew he was there to entertain and he did it very well.
Angel performed in the band’s trademark white outfits which were a big part of the band’s image in the 70s. The setlist this evening was heavily focused on the classic Angels songs from the 70s. The band released five great albums during that era – “Angel” (1975), “Helluva Band” (1976), “Earth as It Is in Heaven” (1977), “White Hot” (1978) and “Sinful” (1979).
They opened their second Tokyo show on the tour strong with “On the Rocks” and “Can You Feel It”. Angel reminded us that they always were a band with great songs and great musicians, led from the front by the out-of-this-world guitarist Punky Meadows. The show turned into a terrific rock party with many old favourites performed, including “Wild and Hot”, “Bad Time”, “Cast the First Stone”, “The Fortune”, “Don’t Leave Me Lonely”, “Pressure Point” and “Rock & Rollers”. They also performed “I Ain’t Gonna Eat Out My Heart Anymore”, a The Rascals cover that the band recorded for the “White Hot” album.
On Saturday night we got to hear a couple of the band’s newer songs – “We Were the Wild” (from 2019’s “Risen”) and “It’s Alright” (from 2023’s “Once Upon a Time”). These newer songs proved that Angel can create and perform great new music. They finished an enjoyable evening with an excellent version of “Tower” from their 1975 debut album. This was a great night of celebrating Angel’s classic 70s hard rock. It was proof that this band is still relevant.
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