Dokken is one of my favorite bands, so I was determined to end up front and center for the show, and I also tried to get a meet and greet with the band through the radio station. The day of the show I made a giant sign that read "Rokken with Dokken". Although the show started at 8:00 and there were 3 bands playing, the hardcore Dokken fans like myself trickled in at about 6:00 and we all settled into our standing positions just feet away from Don's mic in the very front and center. In the two hours before Slaughter hit the stage I got to talk to some very interesting people, and even ran into someone I knew. It was a small world at the Dokken concert, and we even got a dose of heavy rain about an hour before showtime. Things cleared up nicely, though, and Slaughter made their way on stage at about 8:10.
As soon as Slaughter finished, the wait for Dokken began. We were trying to spot Don hanging out behind the stage since we had a perfect view of that area from the front row, but we didn't see him until just a minute before the band took the stage and ripped into "Unchain the Night". Don looks great and his voice sounds better than it has in years thanks to his recent surgery. Of course he came out clad in leather as usual with sunglasses, but this time there was no long leather trenchcoat. It must have been too warm out to continue that particular Don Dokken trademark. Unchain the Night sounded fantastic - the crowd got their fill of Don's melodic vocals and Levin's wailing guitar. There is simply nothing like hearing Don hold those notes like only he can, especially the word "Never" in the middle of Unchain the Night. He can't go as high anymore, but he still belts it out with maximum Dokkitude! The band played "Into the Fire" next, and after a little chat from Don they ripped into the chords of Dokken's latest and greatest classic "Standing on the Outside".
I have to make a special note here. I listened to the Rockline interview last week in which the band played this song, and Don made a slip up with the lyrics. Instead of starting the song with "I knew their'd be consequences", on Rockline he said "I knew their'd be complications". Not a big deal, but I thought it would be funny if he did the same thing again during the show. Right before he went into the lyrics, he pointed right at me and smiled. Sure enough, seconds later he said "complications" instead of "consequences". I have a feeling that he might be doing this intentionally, but I could be wrong. Either way, the song is absolutely awesome live. At the end of the song the guy standing next to me decided it was time to show my sign to Don. I was in the middle of filming the song, but oh well. After the band finished "Dream Warriors" I held it up and sure enough he pointed at me, clasped his hands and bowed. Since I'm such a huge Dokken fan, this was an exciting moment for me.
After some of Don's signature in between song banter complete with jokes about touring after the Revolutionary War and talking to Paul Revere (the trademark "I'm old" jokes), he introduced "Breaking the Chains". Before the show I was talking to an interesting guy right next to me who is a friend of Don and who actually bears a bit of a resemblance to him. We got on the subject of Don's smoking, and he said that Don doesn't smoke anymore, but he will probably come out on stage and make a liar out of him. As soon as the band finished Breaking the Chains, Don came out and lit up and said "I started smoking again." We had a bit of a chuckle and then the band went into "Alone Again" as Don walked around with his cigarette and sang away.
The show was nearing its end as Jon Levin tore into my favorite Dokken song "It's Not Love", but the crowd wanted more. They extended the song to six minutes, and every minute was worth it for this great tune. Don started the next song by letting the audience chose it. He asked if we wanted a "nice, beautiful, tender love ballad" (audience boos) or something "totally metal and in your face" (audience cheers loudly). I grabbed Don's first solo album "Up from the Ashes" and held it up. I didn't expect to hear anything from it of course, but Don seemed amused and gave me the "you're dreaming" look. The band then played "Tooth and Nail" - enough said. "In My Dreams" was the grand finale, and the audience gave a huge cheer for the band. Dokken truly owned the night - they received by far the loudest response from the crowd.
It was such a great time visiting with the other fans, and seeing Dokken as they toured behind their hit album "Lightning Strikes Again". Don Dokken and Jon Levin make the perfect pairing - they can obviously write great songs together as evidenced by the new album and they have a great stage presence. I never experienced Dokken in the 1980s, so to me this is the 1980s all over again. Don is the ultimate front man, and even though he might throw out a few too many explitives for some who were 10 and under right next to me, he knows how to entertain. I didn't get to meet Don just yet, but he did see my sign so I'm a happy Dokken fan for now. Despite the lack of Mick and Barry, the band sounds very tight and I have no doubt that they will wow the crowds during the full tour later this summer.
PICTURE LINK: http://flickr.com/photos/melodicrockconcerts/tags/lastfm%3Aevent%3D615730/
VIDEO LINK: http://youtube.com/profile_videos?user=melodicrockconcerts
Rip - I was so close that I even managed to snap a new Don smiley for you!
I also recorded a lot of Don's in-between-song banter so I'm sure you will get some new quotes. Make sure you watch my video of "Standing on the Outside" - it's a classic, and Don even points at me!
For the best quality, click "watch in high quality". The link for this is below the video on Youtube.
Standing on the Outside: http://youtube.com/watch?v=0G_mHD_5Cxo
