This was a weird show. First, Lynch Mob has not released new music in almost six years, and there are two new members in the band since that last release. That begged the question of what they were going to play. Was it going to be heavy on the old Lynch Mob? They checked that box with five songs from the first album. They also played four from the Dokken era and covered a Rolling Stones song, ending up with a great mix of songs. One of the best parts is that they’ve picked up a vocalist who could handle the new and all the old, including the Dokken material.
One of the wildest things about the show was all the talking. At first, I thought they might be covering for an equipment malfunction or something like that, but I later learned that to be false. They had an issue with George's setup and did not try to cover it, just chatted until it got fixed, which it did. That's when they ripped through "Mr. Scary,"and I went into total fanboy mode. Yeah, I'm an old-school Dokken fan, but I also love many of the projects and solo things George Lynch has taken part in, so I was equally excited to hear "Wicked Sensation"and a couple of new tracks.
As for new tracks, "Time After Time"and "Synner"went over very well, hitting the crowd with some signature Lynch shredding and some undeniably grooves in the rhythms. Meanwhile, there was chatter and talk between a lot of the songs. Funny stories were told, jokes were cracked, and merriment ensued. They sometimes responded to the crowd, giving ad-lib responses to shouted things. It was weird because not many bands interact with the audience that way. I've been to hundreds of shows, and this was pretty unique, making this a different kind of experience.
Having mixed eras of George's experience throughout the show, the final song was one everyone waited to hear. "Wicked Sensation"took about 15 minutes because they fused in other songs, creating a fantastic medley and had some extended guitar soloing. Come on, it's George Lynch, and much as everyone loves the vocal melodies, they also wanted a few minutes alone with the man and his magic fingers, and we got a last fix for that addiction here.
To a person everyone I heard talking about the show walking out was blown away. At 68 years old, George Lynch is still on top of his game and has surrounded himself with musicians capable of keeping pace. I'm really looking forward to Babylon, the new Lynch Mob CD, coming out on October 20.
