Watch the fan-captured footage of DOKKEN’s November 17 performance at The Showroom at the Golden Nugget in Las Vegas, Nevada in the video below. Notably, the band’s former guitarist George Lynch, whose longstanding project LYNCH MOB opened for the show, joined frontman Don Dokken and the band for the final numbers of their set.
In a recent interview with Shawn Ratches of Laughingmonkeymusic, Don Dokken delved into the challenges he faces in preserving his voice as he ages and attempting to replicate DOKKEN’s classic repertoire in live performances.
He shared his thoughts, stating, “I’ve had a lot of complaints. I see fans, when I go, ‘The kiss of…’ [in the song ‘Kiss Of Death’] and I hit this B flat above A, this super soprano note, and I wouldn’t hit it, and you see people go, ‘Well, hey, you didn’t hit the note.’ I’m, like, ‘Dude, I’ve done, like, three thousand concerts. It’s like a motor car. It’s getting worn out.'”
Dokken went on to explain the challenges of maintaining his high vocal range, especially as he has aged. Reflecting on his earlier years, he admitted, “When you’re in your twenties, I don’t know if we’re gonna have another record or another hit or anything — I don’t know. So here I am just singing up [in the high register]. I was trying to copy [Rob] Halford [JUDAS PRIEST], or all those bands and Klaus [Meine, SCORPIONS by singing] so high, but you go on the road for a year and a half and do four hundred shows and five albums and then you start — like me, I’m husky today just from talking to everybody. And that’s just the way it is. And you get older. I’m 70, man. And some of these fans go… I’ve had people say, ‘Don needs to give it up. He can’t hit the high notes.’ I’m, like, ‘Let’s see you hit those high notes 24-year-old. Go ahead. Go for it.'”