Diary of an Ardent Fan

Many people may not even read this post, but here it goes:

I know this person is polarizing and controversial to many, but regardless of that (and I don’t disagree with those words I just said), I am a fan of Ted Nugent’s music and have been for many years.

He has made many albums. In the 1960s, he was guitarist of The Amboy Dukes and ultimately transitioned into being their leader/singer in the 1970s (they released quite a few albums and even had a hit with “Journey To The Center of the Mind).

He then transitioned into being a solo artist in the mid 1970s, making several albums to this day. He became known for such songs as Stranglehold, Hey Baby, Free For All, Cat Scratch Fever, and many more. Many of these are still radio staples today.

During this time, he also was the lead guitarist of the band Damn Yankees, who made two very good albums in the 1980s and 1990s, scoring hits with the songs “High Enough”, “Coming of Age”, and “Where You Goin’ Now”.

And let me preface what else I’m going to say with this: I’ve always been a music fan. However, when I became a teenager, I became a bigger music fan, and got into so many bands/artists and their discographies. Even started going to see them, which I never thought of doing before.

During this time, Ted Nugent was one of the artists I became aware of and I really liked his music and his over the top personality.

Now was I aware that some of the things he said/says and believed/believes were/are controversial and offensive to some or even many? Yes.

But did that stop me from liking his music? No.

I may not agree with everything he says, but you know what? I don’t agree with everything anyone says. No one agrees with everyone on everything. That’s just life.

So having said all of that, I saw Ted Nugent in concert last night for the first time in many years (I’d seen him in 2000 and 2001) with opening band Hillbilly Vegas in support.

Hillbilly Vegas are a rock and roll band from Oklahoma that I honestly had never heard of until recently. But, they were pretty good. Just fun rock and roll, which I love. They played for 30 minutes.

Then, 30 minutes after they were done, Uncle Ted (his nickname by fans) arrived and really rocked the house for about an hour and 35 or 40 minutes.

Ted I believe has always been a great performer, always has a great band, and for me, the music is what always counts.

Again, I don’t agree with everything he says, but it doesn’t stop me from buying his albums and liking his music.

Yes, I did not go see him for many years, but it was mainly because I was seeing sooooo many other bands/artists that I didn’t have the time. It wasn’t because I didn’t want to see him on other tours.

OK this is definitely one of my longest posts and I feel as if people are going to hate me because I like this man’s music or say something negative.

I’m sorry if I offend anyone by saying that I love Ted’s music, but that’s the way it is.

I don’t want this blog to be negative, political, or anything bad in general.

I want this to be fun, and I’m just reporting my experiences about the things I love.

But in short, I had a great time at the show.

Ted always rocks and I’ll always be a fan.

No apologies for that.

Ted Nugent Band Members:

Ted Nugent Set List:

Star Spangled Banner (played on guitar)
Gonzo
Stormtroopin’
Paralyzed
Motor City Madhouse
Free-For-All
Snakeskin Cowboys
Wang Dang Sweet Poontang
Hey Baby
I Can’t Take It
Good Friends and a Bottle of Wine (featuring snippets of his instrumentals Homebound, Free Flight, Sunrize, Earthtones, Winterspring Summerfall)
Fred Bear
Cat Scratch Fever
Stranglehold
Encore: Great White Buffalo (with some of Spirit of the Wild)

Photo Gallery (click on thumbnail to view larger image)

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Video Gallery (click on thumbnail to play video)

I FINALLY got to see Dokken members Don Dokken (vocals) and George Lynch (guitar) together!!!!

It wasn’t until the end of the show, but it was worth it.

Their respective bands Dokken and Lynch Mob have been doing shows together for the past few years and this was one of them.

I saw them in Michigan.

Opening band was a twin brother duo called Kamenar. One is the singer/guitarist (he has the bass playing from a pedal), and the other is the drummer. They’re from Tampa, Florida. All original songs, except for two covers (one of which was a song from Aerosmith’s last album, which I was impressed they did). Pretty good rock band.

Then, the night really started rocking even more when Lynch Mob took the stage.

George has had many lineups over the years, but currently, his band includes singer Gabriel Colon (phenomenal singer), bassist Jaron Gulino, and drummer Jimmy D’Anda.

George is one of my favorite guitarists of all time, and he is still ripping it up. He’s got a great band and I look forward to their new album, which comes out in October, according to the singer. It’s called Babylon.

In fact, one new song they played went over so well that George was so blown away that he asked the crowd if they wanted to hear another new song. They did, and so the band played another new song. I love that. I’m a fan that wants to hear and buy new music. Yeah the old stuff is great, but to me, bands are supposed to make music, not just rely on the hits. Great to see.

They were very loud and kicked some serious butt.

Then later on, Dokken took the stage and rocked even harder and louder. My ears actually hurt at one point, but I wouldn’t want it any other way.

Founder/lead singer/namesake Don Dokken has a phenomenal band that includes guitarist Jon Levin, bassist Chris McCarvill, and drummer BJ Zampa.

They played roughly an hour and 45 minutes and even though they did not play any new music, Don did talk about their upcoming album, Heaven Comes Down, which will be out in a few months.

They really kicked butt too, and for hardcore Dokken fans like myself, as great and fun as the show was by then, the best was saved for last when George (who played guitar for Dokken for many years) came back on and played the last three songs with the band.

As much as I wanted to see everyone, that was what I wanted to see the most.

I’ve been hoping to see a classic Dokken reunion (it’s happened a few times but I never got to see it) and at this point, this was as close as I’m going to get (former bassist Jeff Pilson is in the band Foreigner and drummer “Wild” Mick Brown is retired).

But that’s ok because I at least saw Don and George together and I have seen Jeff with Foreigner and saw Mick when he was still in Dokken.

Don told lots of stories and he and the band seemed to have a great time. And the fans loved every second it seemed.

It was what a rock show is supposed to be.

Another great one for me.

More shows coming.