Dokken - Diary of an Ardent Fan

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.