By Deb Rao

Hot off the heels of a very successful West Coast Thanksgiving trek, DOKKEN has commenced their 2010 Winter Tour making a special stop in a sold out performance in Las Vegas at the Santa Fe Casino on February 13th. I spoke with fans who came as far as Washington, DC to attend the event.

From the opening song "Kiss Of Death" to the final two song encore, DOKKEN gave an enthusiastic performance as the band unleashed their classic hits including "Breaking The Chains", "It's Not Love", "Alone Again" and  "This Fire" from their latest studio release," Lightning Strikes Again." 

Front man Don Dokken was in a great mood as he told funny stories about the making of the video "Into the Fire" with all the scantily clad girls in the music video back in the day of the video heyday on MTV. 

Highlights of the set included the sing along to "Alone Again", and the funky jam with Jon Levin guitar solo and also featured bassist Sean McNabb and drummer Mick Brown laying down the heavy rhythm grooves on "Too High To Fly." Dokken ended their set with "In My Dreams" only to be called back to the stage for a second encore and performed "Paris Is Burning."

One thing was for certain Dokken has many hits that have survived the test of time that left many fans taking a walk down memory lane here tonight. The audience enjoyed a great night of music from one of the top bands to emerge out of the 80's genre that never sold their souls to conform with the ever-changing musical trends and remain still a top draw in 2010.

I had the opportunity to discuss the current tour with Dokken front man Don Dokken and future touring plans.

When asked about the Dokken Winter tour in progress and Vegas show Don commented,"We have had two great shows this weekend. Last night we played in New Mexico that was great. Last year when we played in Vegas at the Santa Fe we had 800 people. This year we sold it out. Most of the Dokken fans here tonight are over 40 and have been with us from day one. Las Vegas is one of the hardest hit cities with the economy. It is good to see music still surviving the hard times. Music has always helped me get through hard times."

When asked about a possible Dokken re-union with George Lynch and Jeff Pilson

Don Dokken commented,"It is what the fans want. I will be making an announcement soon about the Re-union tour that will take place next year May 2011." 

Dokken Set List 
Kiss Of Death
The Hunter
Breaking The Chains 
Into The Fire
Dream Warriors
This Fire
Alone Again
Too High Too Fly
It's Not Love
Tooth And Nail
When Heaven Comes Down
In My Dreams 
Paris Is Burning 

Review by RockMusicStar.com contributor Deb Rao

 Oswego,NY-Tonight at the Scriba Town Inn in Oswego, NY, the Summer Concert Series heated up in full gear as legendary rock band DOKKEN took the stage opening with their first hit from back in the 80's,"Breaking The Chains. It has been a long time since Dokken has performed in the area, and many fans that I spoke with this evening took the long drive up from Buffalo to see the show this evening. The Scriba Town Inn in Oswego is in a small town in the Syracuse area that caters to 80's music. The atmosphere is laid back, with a friendly staff.

Tonight's Dokken line-up featured Don Dokken on vocals, Jon Levin on guitar, Sean McNabb from Great White on bass, and drummer Mick Brown. The band has been performing non-stop all summer and even added a few nice surprises to the set with "Dream Warriors", and "When Heaven Comes Down."

Under the Oswego stars, fans gathered to hear the hits of the heyday of Dokken. When I asked the owner how many people were there, he said the venue was sold out. They had to be careful about the outdoor capacity rules. He said Dokken brought in a lot of people in which sparked the business growth for the community and economy in these hard times.

There certainly was no shortage of great music here this evening. Dokken's set was hard and heavy full of guitar solos from Jon Levin. Singer Don Dokken was in a great mood performing all the hits from the MTV video area. The rhythm section was tight. At one point Mick played so hard on the drums, he hit his eye with the drumstick. They don't call him Wild Mick for nothing! Don joked and said,"There is nothing like a little blood at a Dokken concert. Are you Ok Bro?" It was great to see the family bond that the band transpires onstage these days. Gone is the drama, it all all about the music.

Highlight of the set would have to be the audience singalong to "Alone Again". As Don Dokken commented,"You shouldn't be here if you are not going to sing at a Dokken concert. I even managed to snap a quick pic of Don taking pictures of the audience during the impromtu singaling!

Another highlight was the extended guitar jam on "Too High Too Fly." Dokken comes from the era of guitar solos. Don made reference to this onstage tonite, as he attested to the fact that today's bands don't play guitar solos because they don't know how.

It has been awhile since the band has performed "Dream Warriors" live. But tonite in NY, that was all about to change. Although the vocals were lower than the orginal version, the song still kicks ass live. Actually, I think Don's lower vocal register fits in well with the Dokken sound today. It is not 1989 anymore,and the man still has the passion for singing his heart out onstage in 2009 as he did back in the heyday. Along with the hard driving catchy guitar solos of Jon Levin, the band nowadays is unstoppable.

Dokken performed a 2 hour set and also sneaked in a new song,"This Fire." Dokken capped the eveing with the encore,"In My Dreams". After the performance there was a special meet and greet. I had the opportunity to speak with Don Dokken and guitarist Jon Levin about the current LSA Tour and upcoming Japan date at Loud Park Festival on October 17th.

DON DOKKEN comments "After the East Coast trek is over, we head back home to the studio for two weeks to finish the recording of our Dokken Greatest hits album which will also include renditions of two of our favorite songs from the 60's era. We are aiming for a October release. Dokken is looking forward to heading to Japan on October 16th for six days. We play the Loud Park Festival on October 17th with Judas Priest. I am looking forward to playing new material in Japan. After we get back from Japan; we will add more dates to the LSA tour.

Finally, it was the perfect weather for a concert tonight in New York. The last couple of Dokken shows it was pouring rain. On the current trek, we are playing a lot of the old school classic Dokken hits including "Dream Warriors" brought back by popular demand. Dokken has always been a scizofrenic band. We had a lot of success with commercial hits but he also like play a lot of the heavy shit like Judas Priest. I like the heavy songs. Yeah know, Dokken didn't have to make another studio album. We had already sold over ten million records in our career. But we wanted to show with Lightning Strikes Again, Dokken still had balls and in it for the long haul."

Jon Levin:"The tour has been going very well. We are having a blast onstage. I am looking forward to going to Japan. It has been ten years since the band has performed there. I have never been there. We have been performing "This Fire" off of the new Dokken album, Lightning Strikes Again". The album is doing very well in Japan. I think going to Japan and performing the new material live will help revive the band there. Greece was fun. We went on very early. The hotel and pool was very nice in Greece. Overall, the tour has been going great. I am looking forward to two weeks off. We have been touring non-stop for the new record."

Dokken Set List

Breaking the Chains
Kiss of Death
The Hunter
Into the Fire
Dream Warriors
Just Got Lucky
Alone Again
Too High to Fly
When Heaven Comes Down
Paris is Burning
It's Not Love
This Fire
Tooth and Nail
In My Dreams

Update on Thursday, August 20, 2009 at 11:24AM by [Your Name Here]

Dokken, Michael Schenker, LA Guns, and Bang Tango at Celebrity Theatre Phoenix, AZ

 

 

By RockMusicStar.com contributor-Deb Rao

Phoenix AZ-As temperatures soared to 113 degrees in the shade in Phoenix, the only thing hotter than the raging heat was the Rock Till You Drop Tour featuring 80's platinum rockers DOKKEN, Michael Schenker, LA Guns featuring Tracii Guns and Bang Tango hosted by 93.3 FM KDKB. For one night only at the Celebrity Theatre in Phoenix, the best of the 80's genre gathered to perform a night of pure magic, stellar guitar solos, and outstanding frontman performances.

First of all the Celebrity Theatre is in the round, and has a state of the art sound system. The Theatre also has a downstairs bar, and great rock and roll memorabilia on the wall. Tonight's concert was first come, first served so fans had the opportunity to choose their seating which was cool. The staff was very hospitable and looking forward to the review. Also Glammetal.Com would like to give a special Thank you to Dokken for making this review possible.

Kicking off the night’s festivities at 8 P.M. was Bang Tango featuring Joe Leste and producer Anthony Focx and drummer Troy Patrick Farrell. Joe Leste, who now hails from Phoenix, got the hometown crowd into the mood for a great night of rock and roll. Opening with "Ready To Go", Joe and company unleashed their funky brand of rock to a receptive audience.

Joe Leste always delivers a high-energy performance. He is a working class musician, not into the star scene but there to perform straight ahead rock and roll. His vocals are reminiscent of early AC/DC rocked, as the band ripped into their first hit,’ Someone Like You", and "Dancing On Coals".

Next up LA Guns hit the stage featuring Tracii Guns. For some reason, I thought I was going to be reviewing Phil's LA Guns and their new bass player Kenny Kweens. But tonight in Phoenix the line-up featured Jizzy Pearl on Vocals and Tracii Guns. Opening with "Sex Action", tonight's line-up featured the guitar work of Tracii Guns front and center. It has been awhile since I have seen Tracii perform and highlight of the set would have to be "Ballad Of Jayne" and Tracii's guitar work. Tracii has always been one of the 80's top guitarists with his punk rock edge metal flair. Both Bang Tango and LA Guns performed a short 30-minute set.

Tonight's theme was centered around guitar solos as Michael Schenker took the stage with Gary Barden on vocals. Michael’s 60 minute set was blues oriented and featured a set that was purely exhilarating. Highlights of the Michael Schenker were "Rock My Nights Away”,” Ready To Rock", "Rock Bottom", and "Doctor Doctor".

Next up headlining act DOKKEN hit the stage with a vengeance. Hot off the heels of performing in Crete with The Scorpions, Dokken had everyone on their feet for a 90-minute set that spanned their extensive career. Frontman Don Dokken was in a great mood, as he joked,” I stepped off the plane thought I and died and went to hell". Referring to the hot temperatures, but the heat and jetlag didn't slow down the charismatic performer.

Opening with "Breaking The Chains", Dokken unleashed one hit after another including,” The Hunter", "Just Got Lucky", "It's Not Love". The 80's were about having fun and enjoying good music. Dokken's set was entertaining, fun, and power-packed with hits. I have seen the band perform many times this summer, and seeing them perform at the top of the game with their peers was exhilarating.

Bass player Sean McNabb of Great White was filling in for Barry Sparks and drummer Mick Brown were a force to be reckoned with cranking out the hard-hitting beats. Mick Brown who hails from Phoenix proved he is metals top drummer. You couldn't help but notice Mick, who sat behind the neon purple drums that matched my purple dress. After the show Don teased me, and asked if I collaborated with Mick on the color of the drum set. (laughter) Guitarist Jon Levin shined, ripping out solos on "Too High Too Fly", and "It's Not Love", and frontman Don Dokken ruled the stage, prowling the catwalk setting to his full advantage, leading the near capacity crowd into the singalong,"Alone Again".

As promised from an earlier update with Don, Dokken performed new material,” This Fire" from their tenth studio album. Dokken ended the set with the audience singing to "In My Dreams".

Across town fans may have gathered to see new bands at the Mayhem Festival, but tonight the Rock Till You Drop concert line-up proved that the music from the 80's genre is still alive and well.

After the show, I had the opportunity to talk with Dokken frontman Don Dokken about the show, and the longevity of Dokken.

Don Dokken comments," Dokken is proud to be an 80's band. I feel good that I can go to my grave knowing that Dokken has played with some of the greats including Aerosmith, Sammy Hagar and Van Halen, Judas Priest, Metallica and Quiet Riot. Yeah know, we have played with newer bands like Staind. They asked me, "Why does Dokken play so many solos?" I said, "Because we can!"

Dokken started in 1980. We had a dream. Two years later we played with Van Halen at the Whisky-A-Go. Six years later we played with Van Halen on the Monsters of Rock Tour. I think the reason Dokken has survived is because, Dokken never followed any trends. We just played straight ahead Rock and Roll. Twenty years later and we are still here.

It is great to be playing here in Phoenix tonight with Michael Schenker. Michael is a good friend and one of the best guitarists in the world. Our drummer Mick Brown is from Phoenix. I have lost a lot of friends in the past couple of years. We played a song tonight,” Just Got Lucky", Kevin Dubrow of Quiet Riot used to love that song.

We just got back from Greece and played a show with The Scorpions in Crete. Dokken kicked ass. It was great to see Klaus again. Also on the bill that night in Crete was a band from Greece called Firewind. We had a lay over in Paris and almost didn't make it here tonight. But when I look out in the audience and see an eight-year-old singing a song I wrote 20 years ago that is what it is all about. A good song is written from the heart."

Dokken Set List
Breaking The Chains
Kiss of Death
The Hunter
Into The Fire
Just Got Lucky
Too High To Fly
Alone Again
It's Not Love
Tooth and Nail
This Fire
In My Dreams