Loudness at Evenementenhal, Leeuwarden, The Netherlands 29th April 1984.
What more can you say and write, about a band when you are a great fan. For me, and my fellow reporter Donald Wever this was the case, and this was the band we were waiting for. Not surprisingly, we weren’t the only ones. Loudness had achieved great success and popularity in Europe, and was a “must see” band. All eyes were on axe-man guitarist Akira Takasaki, his style of playing was marked with a different approach which left a unique benchmark on the groups sound. Back stage we saw in a separate hall, drummer Munetaka Higuchi adjusting his drum sound for the gig. Playing different rhythms and new ideas for hours to perfect his sound. We were amazed and impressed by such dedication. Also, a camera crew was brought in to capture the band’s entire European tour. In short, it was very busy backstage. But later also front stage, for about 75 minutes we were able to enjoy the musical performances of the group. Akira performed his solo highlight on “Exploder”, and left many spectators speechless with his flashy technique. Despite the language barrier, singer Minoru Niihara turned out to be a very good front man who knew how to entertain the crowd. And if you hear the phrase “Thunder from the east”….then you know this saying refers unmistakably to Loudness. Later in the evening when everyone had gone home, we played a game of football with the band members, with beer cans as the ball. However, this was ended abruptly by the interpreter who summoned the group to return to their hotel.
© Deze gallery bevat beeldmateriaal van Marko van Haren. Hij heeft alle rechten op het beeldmateriaal. Het ongevraagd gebruiken van de beelden valt onder auteursrecht en rechten zoals creatief eigendom. © This gallery contains images from Marko van Haren. He has all rights to the image material. Unsolicited use of the images falls under copyright and rights such as creative property.