Loudness

I've listened to Loudness off and on for the 30 years they've been together. I first saw them in Japan in 1981 while in the Air Force. Loudness is one of the top metal bands to come out of Japan (along with Dead End and EZO). Unfortunately, due to several other bands canceling and another band was added, Loudness did not begin their set until almost midnight. I was standing at the stage in front of Akira Takasaki (see attached photos), and really enjoyed the concert! They played most of their recognizable music, and a couple from their latest CD: "King of Pain." In the smallish venue like Jaxx, I was no more than a foot away from the band members and was able to see them up close and personal. Although their stage show was minimal, they made up for it with their music and audience involvement. After 30 years with Loudness, Akira hasn't lost a step and continues to impress the heck out of me. If you want to see a rocking metal band from Japan, Loudness is a must see!

It was nice to see this band play in America again. Akira Takasaki was amazing! The band played well. However, I was very disappointed with the sound. I was standing pretty close to the stage, but, unfortunately, where I was standing the lead vocals were almost completely inaudible for the entire show, which is a big shame as I could see that Minoru Niihara was trying to give his best. I kept thinking that they might fix it in time but they never did... I occasionally heard his voice coming from behind me (i.e., the back of the hall) when they were playing slow songs, but mostly I was only able to hear the instruments. The vocals sounded fine with the opening band Blue Movie, so I wonder if that was the way they wanted to do the mixing. If so, they made a big mistake. I would like to see them again with a better sound.

Great concert to see - Old and new tunes. Loudness, In the Mirror, Black Wall, Sleepless Nights. Survivor.

It was an awesome show!!!!!! It was also my wife's first heavy metal concert!!!! She loooooved it!!!!! Will return again in the fall when they return!!!!!!!!

This was the second time I saw Loudness at BB Kings. The first show, they played more newer stuff and sprinkled in a couple oldies. This time, it was the opposite! Akira just got hotter as the show went on..he even played Exploder and added in more parts. The rest of the band, including the new drummer were solid as usual. The sound in the place was great. My only two complaints were that the show was too short..20 more minutes would have been perfect, and I still can't stand when Akira tries to do backup vocals...the grunts and squeals just don't work. My fav songs on set were: In the Mirror, Heavy Chains, SDI and Dark Star Oblivion

Loudness was the best show I've seen at Jaxx in Springfield VA yet. Even though Jaxx is a small venu and the crowd was barely half capacity, Loudness played and performed as though it was a packed arena.

Loudness was incredible. Specially Akira Takasaki. I felt that the vocals were not well mixed and it was hard to hear the lyrics.

LOUDNESS was excellent as did mostly old classic and tastefull stuff out of their hits..1 or 2 brand new ones too and overall,,very great performance..still amazing after all these years..

Awesome.. dream come true to watch the legendsin action!

It was pretty exciting. After so many years, they're still good and entertaining on the stage.

The venue was pretty nice, lots of open space and seating for those who wanted to sit. I have a feeling a lot of people there did not even know which band they were seeing though... The opening bands were pretty good, but in the end, they WERE cover bands. So, it's a tie between good songs we knew, in comparison to them being outplayed acts. Loudness was fantastic! The vocals and guitars could have been turned up, but I think it was just because I was right besides the bass monitor. Minoru's voice was still as amazing as on record, and the musical skills were spot on with plenty of energy. They treated the crowd with respect and we got a great show out of it. I had wish the setlist included more of their hits, but overall, it was a good show.