Angel Descends on Vamp’d One Last Time… With The Far Worst!

Angel played Count’s Vamp’d on Friday, June 6, 2025, with support act The Far Worst.

The end of an era draws ever nearer at Count’s Vamp’d. Las Vegas’ premier house of rock will soon be closing its doors after 16 years, and it’s definitely a forthcoming blow to Sin City’s music scene. But that hasn’t stopped Danny and Korie Koker from putting on some great shows as the time draws to a close. Last Friday, classic 70s rockers Angel returned to the Vamp’d stage, with The Far Worst kicking off the festivities.

Over the past year or so, The Far Worst has become one of my favorite bands here in Vegas. Fronted by Bree Elizabeth, the band also includes guitarist Andy Ingraham, drummer Brian Scott, and as of a few months ago, former Noize Complaint frontman Jake Bruen on bass. This quartet always delivers a blistering live show, with great moments and original material throughout. With cover bands a dime a dozen in this city, seeing a group of talented performers dishing out original material is always a plus. The band even premiered a new track, “Sweet Addiction,” which is now available for streaming. Here’s hoping The Far Worst will find a new house of rock to perform regularly following Vamp’d closing. They deserve to be at the forefront of Vegas’ rock scene.

The Far Worst Gallery.

Angel came on the scene in the 1970s with an unusual all-white androgynous appearance that combined harder and heavier sounds with more keyboard-laden ones, almost serving as something of a predecessor to the hard and heavy glam rock bands of the 80s. Signed to Casablanca, the same record label as KISS, the group never could escape the shadows of their more demonic brethren, but managed to record some excellent music. The band disbanded in the early 1980s, with keyboardist Gregg Giuffria finding moderate success in his subsequent bands, Giuffria and House of Lords.

Two Angel members, vocalist Frank DiMino (himself a Vegas resident these days) and guitarist Punky Meadows (long absent from the music world) recorded solo albums several years back; these served as a catalyst for Angel reforming. The current incarnation of Angel has recorded two albums. This lineup, which also incudes second guitarist Danny Farrow, does not feature any original members outside of DiMino and Meadows, but has proven to have a great chemistry, both on stage and in the studio.

I’ve seen Frank DiMino sing with many cover bands here in Vegas, but Mr. DiMino is always best performing his own material, which was one of the many reasons I was looking forward to this gig. Following The Far Worst’s performance, the old-school classical film music that used to introduce the band back in the 70s began playing. Before long, the band members, all clad in white, were front and center doing what they do best. The band’s sound is as strong as ever, with this newer incarnation having a surprisingly powerful stage presence.

What impresses me most about these shows from the newer incarnation of Angel is that they’re able to perfectly blend the old and new songs, and everything flows seamlessly. If you didn’t know better (or from DiMino’s between-song speeches) you’d have no idea some of these tunes were written and recorded nearly 50 years apart. Keyboards are a big part of what helped give Angel their signature sound back in the day, and that remains a defining element of the group’s sound, even all these years later.

The setlist was quite strong as well, pulling from old and new albums alike. It also was not a carbon copy of the one they played during their last show at the venue, which would’ve been about two years ago. Tracks like “Can You Feel It,” “Rock and Rollers,” “Don’t Leave Me Lonely,” and closer “The Tower” sounded as strong as ever, but again, the newer songs were a highlight as well. To be fair, there were a few omitted songs I would’ve liked to hear, including “It’s Alright,” “Bad Time,” and some of the cuts from the DiMino and Meadows solo albums, but this was a minor complaint. The band tore it up from start to finish.

Angel is criminally underrated, but has a sound all their own. This was true in the 70s, and it’s true today. I’m always looking forward to seeing what Meadows, DiMino, and all the rest have in store for us as an audience, and I know we’ll be seeing many more performances on other stages. If you have a chance to check out Angel live, they’re a band that never fails to please when they take the stage. Don’t pass up an opportunity to go!