George Lynch rejoined DOKKEN on stage last night (Friday, March 6) at the Hard Rock Live in Biloxi, Mississippi to perform three of the band's classic songs: "Kiss Of Death" , "When Heaven Comes Down" and "Tooth And Nail" . The reunion was the first of several DOKKEN live appearances this year which include what is being billed as a "special encore performance" featuring Lynch and Don Dokken .
Fan-filmed video footage of the Biloxi concert can be seen below.
Last night's gig marked Don Dokken 's first full live performance since he underwent neck and spine surgery in November, leaving him unable to play guitar.
Longtime DOKKEN guitarist Jon Levin introduced Lynch by stating: "It's such an honor to play for everybody here. For all of you, you know I never speak — I probably have never spoken once at a DOKKEN show — but it's a special honor for me to be able to do this tonight, because one of my all-time favorite effin' guitar players is here tonight. And it's such a privilege for me to be able to play and introduce him. So please give it up for George Lynch . You know who he is. Let's fucking hear it."
Dokken then addressed his recent medical issues, telling the crowd: "I'm sure you all know from the Internet that I had a bit of a problem; I had surgery. I woke up and I fucking couldn't walk; I was paralyzed. And that's the way it fucking goes. And the doctor said, 'Well, you might be able to go on a walk.' And I said, 'You know what? Fuck you. I'm gonna go back on tour. I'm gonna fucking sing. Fuck you, doctors. We're going on tour and we're gonna kick some motherfuckin' ass. And George called me and he said, 'Are you all right?' 'Mmm, I'm hangin’ in there.’ So, here we are."
Following the release of DOKKEN 's latest album, 2012's "Broken Bones" , Don was ruthlessly criticized by fans after radiation treatments from a bout with stomach cancer and eventual vocal-cord surgery hurt his performances.
DOKKEN 's classic lineup — Dokken , Lynch , bassist Jeff Pilson and drummer "Wild" Mick Brown — reunited for a short Japanese tour in the fall of 2016. The trek marked the first time in 21 years the four musicians had hit the road together.
A DOKKEN concert DVD focusing on the band's reunion tour, "Return To The East Live (2016)" , was made available in 2018.
Since completing the Japanese reunion dates, DOKKEN has continued to perform with the group's current lineup — including bassist Chris McCarvill and Levin .
DOKKEN is currently working on material on a new studio album, tentatively due later in the year via Silver Lining Music , the label owned by Thomas Jensen , one of the founders of Germany's Wacken Open Air festival. It will mark the group's first disc since 2012's "Broken Bones" .
Over the past three years, Lynch — one-fourth of the classic DOKKEN lineup — has appeared on recordings by THE END MACHINE , KXM , ULTRAPHONIX and SWEET & LYNCH .
