Standing on the floor inside of The Fillmore waiting for the show to start, I was feeling like a bit of a badass. Here I was with my shaved head, goatee and Motörhead shirt, standing in a sea of mullets, receding hairlines, 40-something-year-old women in spandex, and some dude wearing a Tesla t-shirt tucked into a pair of Dockers. I felt like I was sticking out like a sore thumb, and I was loving every minute of it. As I drank my beer and watched these people I became amazed that they refused to let go of what I'm sure they thought was their "glory days" during the hair-metal 80s. I laughed to myself while at the same time hoping that the bands I was about to see were not going to reflect the fashion of the evening. And then Don Dokken walked onto the stage.
Walking out with his only bandmate for this all-acoustic set (guitarist Kelly Keeling), the first thing I noticed about Don Dokken was head, which was appeared to be full of fake hair. I think it was at about this point that I decided I needed to stop being so cynical, or else I was going to be in for a very long evening. After a quick run to the bar for another beer I returned to the floor just in time to hear Don and Kelly start their set with "Into The Fire," off the Tooth and Nail record. Now I was never really a Dokken fan, but I always thought this song was kind of catchy. What caught my ear about it tonight however, was the guitar work of Kelly Keeling. Having previous played with Alice Cooper, The Michael Schenker Group, and The Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Kelly was playing a 12-string tonight, and he was pretty damn incredible. I was really amazed at how fast his fingers were moving up and down the fretboard, and he really added a new sound to the entire set. Don was also playing guitar (six-string) and although he was playing primarily the rhythm, he was really holding his own up there. I had no idea he was a guitar player as well. Dokken and Keeling worked very well together, and complimented each other quite nicely.
What also caught me off guard about me about Donny Dokken was his voice, which was still able to deliver the hooks and harmony of the Dokken sound. Running through approximately ten Dokken classics, including "Breaking the Chains," "Dream Warriors," "Just Got Lucky," "Alone Again" and "In My Dreams," Dokken had the elderly hair-metal crowd lapping it all up, and I think I even saw someone’s dentures fly out of their mouth while they were head banging to an acoustic version of "It's not Love." Don could do no wrong as far as the crowd was concerned, and they were all laughing hysterically at all his inane jokes and observations about Bret Michaels, and how people in San Francisco smoke so much pot. (I'm sorry Don, but the hippie / Grateful Dead references are beyond played out) As for me, I will say that I think Don Dokken is a talented musician and a very good songwriter, but his music was never my thing, nor was his set tonight. Dokken never was and never will be metal.
Luckly tonight there was some entertainment between bands. During this tour Queensryche has been holding a contest to find local vocalists to sing on their next record. So between bands they brought out a couple of local winners do to their best rendition of Black Sabbath's "Neon Knights," which they have recorded and released on their latest album Take Cover, which as you may have guessed is an album of cover songs. Brandon Raye, who fronts both an Iron Maiden and Judas Priest tribute band was up first and delivered a fucking smoking version of the song and, although he barley beat out the other guy (whose name I can't remember) blew him of the stage as far as I'm concerned. Raye would return later in the evening to sing “Neon Knights” again, this time with Queensryche themselves.
As I was waiting for Queensryche to hit the stage I decided to walk upstairs to grab another beer and say hello to a friend who was DJing the show and while doing so I started to notice a few more "Denim and Leather" types that I'm accustomed to see at shows, and I took it as a good sign. The lights then dimmed and the crowd roared, so I quickly made my way back downstairs.
Opening the set with "Burning Man" off of Q2K album, Geoff Tate and company were all about energy tonight, and it was obvious tonight's set was going to be action packed. With some additional floor-mounted lighting rigs and their logo on the backdrop, Queensryche kept the stage set-up somewhat simple and concentrated on the music. Although it appeared that Mr. Tate had packed on a few pounds since the last time I saw them, which was at the Cow Palace opening for Metallica on the …And Justice For All tour back around Feb of 89 or so, he was still moving around and was swinging his mic stand around like the old days, almost hitting the photographer whose pictures you see with this review. Guitarists Mike Stone (who stood out from the rest of the band with his construction helmet and ear protection) and Michael Wilton traded the stage-left and stage-right positions a bit and were meeting up at the middle of the stage every so often for some blistering guitar work. The rhythm section of bassist Eddie Jackson and drummer Scott Rockenfield keep things tight, and the chains draped around Rockenfield's kit brought back memories of when I was really into Queensryche, which was so long ago that I actually had hair. Speaking of the old days, it was nice to hear a rocking version of "NM 156" from The Warning and "The Killing Words" and "Gonna Get Close To You," both of off Rage For Order. The 'Ryche seemed to be spanning their entire career tonight, and hearing these old tunes I couldn't help but think of my High School days when I use to listen to them. Mixed in with the older stuff was newer material like "I'm American," "Hostage" and "Bridge." Although Tate did get a bit too preachy with his dialog between these songs, the crowd seemed agree with his opinion on the current state of the country, and cheered his every word.
After a pretty cool version of Pink Floyd's "Welcome To The Machine," complete with Tate on saxophone, (a perfect song for them to cover in my opinion), the 'Ryche delivered a few more classics including "Another Rainy Night” and "Jet City Woman," "Eyes Of A Stranger" and "Last Time In Paris." Brandon Raye then returned to the stage and once again he and the band tore threw Sabbath's "Neon Knights." Raye was owning the stage up there, and it was very cool of Tate to stand at the back of the stage and let Raye do his thing, even if it meant that he was stealing a bit of the band’s thunder. After the song Raye seemed to linger on stage, ready to sing another song, and although I was really hoping he would stay, Tate wasn't having it, and kindly gestured for him to leave the stage. A killer version of "The Lady Wore Black" from their first EP(!) followed, and had the pumped-up crowd headbanging and playing air guitar like there was no tomorrow. The show was then brought to a close with the epic "Empire."
Although I have never really been a fan of Dokken and haven't listened to Queensryche in well over twenty years, I was pretty glad I was able to check this show out. Don Dokken was pure comedy, while Queensryche was up there doing their thing and sounded great, while at the same time making their fans happy. For that I say, "Kudos to Them."
More on Queensryche, including more tour dates, here: www.queensryche.com
More on Don Dokken here: www.dokken.net
