In rock music, the word “intimate” tends to apply to small acoustic shows, usually performed in cafes by relatively unknown singer-songwriters. Rarely can one describe a hard rock/heavy metal concert as being intimate, but, well, this writer can’t think of any better way to describe Dokken’s show at Braun’s on Friday, Sept. 21.
Around 9 p.m., the 80s’ glam metal group took the stage before the small, torch-lit venue behind Braun’s Bar in Akron. They began the night with the monster riffs and gang shouts of their mid-80s hits “You Just Got Lucky” and “The Hunter.”
Later into the night, frontman and founding member Don Dokken allowed more and more time for crowd interaction, offering up self-deprecating jokes, criticism of modern rock music and culture, and the stories behind many of the band’s best-known hits.
After the screeching guitars of “The Kiss of Death,” Dokken paused to tell a story about playing a show in Bulgaria and after the show, seeing a statue of Ronnie James Dio in a Bulgarian park. In between songs, he also offered some humorous criticism of Lady Gaga, admitted his world was stuck in the year 1987, and joked that he’d end the concert early and would be in the parking lot later for his beating.
Other memorable banter from Dokken included his stories behind the songs “Breaking the Chains” and “Too High to Fly.” Dokken said he wrote the band’s debut single, “Breaking the Chains,” while touring in Germany with the Scorpions. In return for his work, he got to use a studio there, and over a period of several days he wrote the crazy song about his rock ‘n’ roll life.
“Too High to Fly” had a longer story behind it, as Dokken used the “drug song” to tell us about his own substance abuse experiences (he admitted he was a very avid user in the past, but is now clean). The song, he said, was written about a friend of his who’d ingested too much one night. Following the story, Dokken and his touring band launched into a version of “Too High to Fly” that was so extended, Dokken actually bantered during the song. The song finally came to an end after a long and screeching Van Halen-esque solo by guitarist John Levin.
Near the end of the night, Dokken told the audience he was changing the setlist to include “Dream Warriors,” a menacing metal cut that was written for the ’87 slasher flick ‘Nightmare on Elm Street 3.’ Dokken warned beforehand that he was too old to hit the high notes, and he asked for the audience’s help or else he would “f*** it up.”
Though Dokken expressed a die-hard reluctance to end the show throughout the night, he admitted that the band’s time was almost up after “Dream Warriors.” Dokken ended the show with the driving, resonating power ballad “In My Dreams.” The chorus line “in my dreams it’s still the same . . . just the way it used to be” seemed a perfect way to end the show. The times might have changed, and Dokken’s career along with it, but frontman Don Dokken’s honest rockstar persona seemed to show that his love for the music hasn’t diminished one bit since 1979.
Setlist:
Just got Lucky
The Hunter
Kiss of Death
This Fire
Into the Fire
Breaking the Chains
Alone Again
Too High to Fly
Tooth and Nail
Dream Warriors
In My Dreams
All Photos by BackstageAxxess.com Correspondent Michael Mietlicki.
We would like to thank Ross Catalino from Back 2 Back Entertainment for allowing BackstageAxxess to review the show.
