“Lightening Strikes Again” at Club Madrid inside Sunset Station, Sat. April 5th, when veteran L.A. rockers Dokken hit the stage all guns blazing.
Dokken is Don Dokken (vocals), Jon Levin (Guitar), Barry Sparks (Bass), although Barry was in Japan at the time supporting The Bees, I was totally looking forward to seeing him, he’s absolutely one of my favorite bass players to watch live, but was replaced by bassist Greg Smith and then “Wild” Mick Brown (drums).
The band came to Las Vegas and performed a sold out show, which is always good to see. They hit the stage with “Unchain the night”, and it seemed as though there were some issues with the sound, or the mic, but whatever the problem, it got resolved and the show went on. Next the band went into “Hunter” from the “Under Lock and Key” album, playing one hit after another, with "Dream Warriors", "Kiss of Death", “Just Got Lucky”, “Into the Fire” and “Breaking the Chains” one of my favorite Dokken songs. Dokken continued to rock the house with their classic ballad “Alone Again” which had the fans singing along. 
There's nothing really better to hear than the entire venue singing along, with their hands raised in the air to one of your songs. Don clearly loved it, and the banter between Mick and Don was priceless, I've always loved those two together. They then went into “Paris is Burning”, “Too High Too Fly” in which Don told the audience that he was performing clean and sober and how great that feeling was. Way to go, Don! They ended the set with the classic “It’s Not Love” and “Tooth and Nail”. The band sounded and looked phenomenal. Jon’s guitar playing never ceases to amaze me. I've seen him with the band several times, the last time being out at Rocklahoma and I just stood there in awe. Being a bass player I tend to gravitate towards the bass player's side of the stage. This time I kept trying to go over to Jon's side, but it being a sold out show, I kept getting caught in the middle of the crowd, so I went up on the side of the stage and caught him from there.
After a brief period of darkness, the band came back to the stage to end the night with the song “Heaven Comes Down” and finally the song everyone had been waiting for their classic tune "In My Dreams". The energy and chemistry was obvious between the band and the audience. 
It was a very fun show, as always. Don did a meet n greet afterwards outside the venue for fans, signing autographs, taking pictures and promoting his new solo album that was for sale at the show.
Once again, “Dokken nailed it!”
Dokken’s 10th studio album “Lightening Strikes Again” will hit stores on May 13th on Rhino records and will follow with a major tour, which has yet to be announced, although I DO have a suspicion it’s with Poison, from checking on their website and looking at tour dates, hmmmm… they’re playing the same night as them here in Las Vegas, we’ll see!
Lightening Strikes Again, the name taken from a track on the bands 1985 classic “Under Lock and Key” will contain 14 tracks, including the breakout tracks, "Standing On The Outside," "Oasis," and "Heart To Stone." The album captures the signature mix of barbed-wire riffs and razor-sharp melodies that made Dokken one of the most dominant creative and commercial forces in the world of melodic hard rock.
Since the band re-formed in 1995 to record Dysfunctional, the quartet has released several albums including Erase The Slate (1999), Long Way Home (2002) and Hell To Pay (2004). 
Lightening Strikes Again marks a definitive return to Dokken’s classic sound.
Don has also been supporting his solo album, entitled “Solitary” and is available for purchase at the shows as well as major retail outlets.
Club Madrid has been putting together 80’s hard rock shows for fans that has included Great White, Skid Row, Vince Neil and Slaughter, among others. With plans to continue the theme, upcoming shows include: Firehouse, May 12th and L.A. Guns, June 7th. For more information or to purchase tickets online, please visit www.sunsetstation.com/entertainment.
For more information on Dokken, upcoming tour dates, album release and everything Dokken, please visit www.dokken.net
