Dokken is back on track after
a 20 year history, now featuring a new line-up with original members Don
Dokken and “Wild” Mick Brown on drums. They are joined by bassist Barry
Sparks who has performed with MSG and Malmsteen among others, and John Norum
of Europe on guitar. Since the on again - off again team of Dokken and
Lynch, the band has seen a few axe slingers, and this is not the first time
they have included Norum in the live line-up, but the absence of original
bassist Jeff Pilson is something that fans will need to adjust to.
On January 11,
the new but worthy line-up tore through an equally worthy set covering the
band’s career. They kicked off the show with “Erase the Slate,” the heavy
hitting guitar, guitar squealing title track from their last LP. Moving on with
other favorites like “It’s Not Love,” “The Hunter,” and “In My Dreams.”
 They kept the packed club
full of pounding fists with songs like “Maddest Hatter” and “Into the Fire,”
and slowed things down with the bluesy improvisation of “Too High To Fly.”
All in all it was a predictable set, but there were a few surprises like
“Heaven Falls Down” and a sneak preview of their upcoming studio album,
which is said to blow away Erase the Slate.
The challenge
of performing songs written for different musicians can be difficult, especially
when those signature riffs need to maintain the same impact, but Norum held his
ground showcasing his great talent during the guitar solos, which he clearly
claimed as his own. And while Sparks may predictably not offer the same energy
as Pilson (there may not be another musician who does), he certainly holds his
own on his instrument and on helped keep alive the harmonious background vocals
that Dokken is known for.
The only disappointment of
the evening was Don's continued struggle with hitting the high notes that
come along with their hits, but unlike say Vince Neil for instance, he has
learned to adjust the music to a key he can hit so that he doesn't miss a
lyric. But, it is disappointing just the same.
The band's new album Long Way
Home (CMC/Sanctuary Records Group) will be hitting the shelves in March. |
