Cheap Trick said hello and goodbye at once Wednesday (10/1) when they returned to the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo, the same arena that put them on the rock 'n' roll map nearly half a century ago.
The Rockford, IL legends opened with “Hello There,” closed with “Goodnight,” and filled the set with a hefty amount of hits in between, in an evening that was both a victory lap but also a thank you to the city and venue that catapulted the quartet's career, thanks to the live album that was recorded in the stadium originally built for Olympic judo wrestling.
In what many believe will be their final Japanese concert, part of the band’s ongoing Farewell Tour, Robin Zander, 72, sang and played rhythm guitar with his usual ease; while Rick Nielsen, 77, provided the comedic relief and pick flicking.
Tom Petersson, 75, provided the low end; and Daxx Nielsen, 44, filled in on drums for Bun E. Carlos, the band’s founding drummer, who hasn't toured with the group since 2010.
The 19-song set concluded with their unlikely ballad “The Flame,” and the one-two punch made famous on At Budokan: “I Want You to Want Me,” and “Surrender.”
Built for the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, the 14,000-seat arena has hosted a laundry list of classic rockers from The Beatles’ 1966 Japanese debut to performances by Bob Dylan, Led Zeppelin, and Metallica.
Japanese audiences have been deeply devoted and fascinated by the rockers since the late 1970s. Between songs, Zander thanked the fans for “making this all possible.”
In 2008, the band told Classic Rock Review how it all went down.
“In Japan, CBS/Sony was splitting into two companies,” Carlos explained.
“They decided that every time a band on Epic or Columbia came over they’d record their show and put out a series of Live At Budokan albums. Bob Dylan and Cheap Trick were the first albums they released.”
On October 8, 1979, the album was released, featuring the best moments from the Budokan shows they rocked on April 28 and 30 of that year.
Trimmed down to just 10 songs to make it a single album, the record skyrocketed up the charts, peaking at #4 on the US album chart.
"I Want You To Want Me" made it to #7, and their Fats Domino cover of "Ain't That a Shame" hit #35.
“If it weren’t for At Budokan, it might have been the end for us," Zander admitted. "We were in debt by about a million dollars. That album saved us from probable obscurity.”
After the success of At Budokan, Cheap Trick became one of the staples in arena rock and on your FM dial. 1979's Dream Police Tour, which stretched through 1980 packed classic arenas from Madison Square Garden to the LA Forum and Chicago Stadium with openers like The Romantics and Molly Hatchet.
When they returned to Japan in 1979, they were greeted as heroes, selling out a dozen shows around the nation.
That same year, Dream Police became the band’s highest-charting studio album, reaching #6 on the Billboard 200 and spending more than a year on the chart with the title track peaking at #26.
Cheap Trick have added some new dates to their Farewell Tour including gigs with their friends over the decades: Styx and Heart.
Tickets available on Cheap Trick's website.
Cheap Trick Farewell Tour remaining dates
10/11 Rockin’ In Paradise with Styx + Friends, Miramar Beach, FL
10/12 Oxford Performing Arts Center, Oxford, AL
10/21 The Paramount, Huntington, NY
10/22 Wind Creek Bethlehem, Bethlehem, PA
10/24 Hard Rock Live at Etess Arena, Atlantic City, NJ
10/25 Lynn Memorial Auditorium, Lynn, MA
11/9 The Showroom at Gila River Hotels & Casinos – Wild Horse Pass, Chandler, AZ
11/11 Golden State Theatre, Monterey, CA
11/14 Grand Sierra Resort and Casino, Reno, NV
11/16 Turlock Community Theatre, Turlock, CA
11/18 Heart Royal Flush Tour 2025, Anaheim, CA
11/21 BECU Live at Northern Quest, Airway Heights, WA
11/23 Heart Royal Flush Tour 2025, Seattle, WA
12/2 Heart Royal Flush Tour 2025, Omaha, NE
12/4 Heart Royal Flush Tour 2025, Green Bay, WI
12/5 The Sylvee, Madison, WI
12/7 Vibrant Music Hall, Waukee, IA
