For decades, George Lynch has been hailed as a guitar hero. From his early playing to his most famous stint as the lead guitar player in Dokken, his longtime project, Lynch Mob, and throw in an offer to replace Warren DeMartini in RATT, he has become rightfully known as a titan in Heavy Metal.
Lynch Mob – The Final Ride
Jergel’s Rhythm Grille, Warrendale – 1 February 2024
Words And Photography: Jim Balentine
2024 will be The Final Ride for Lynch Mob, as the 70-year-old Lynch has decided to end touring while still on top of his game. He began the second part of the final tour at Jergel’s in Warrendale, Pa.
To say that Lynch is on top of his game is an understatement. Since his first riffs with Dokken in 1983, Lynch, like fine wine, gets better with age as his guitar playing skills are as good as ever. In a soon-to-be-aired interview with Jeff Pilson, we discover that Lynch is in the best form of his life on the new album from The End Machine. 
Tonight Jergel’s were treated to a spectacular Lynch using his talented fingers to play the familiar solos that we all grew up to love. A great Sstlist, mixing in Dokken and Lynch Mob classics, kept us in awe for over one and a half hours.
The band has been a revolving door of musicians, and Lynch is the first to admit that. But the group he has now sounds like they have been playing together for years. Bassist Jaron Gulino from Tantric and Heaven’s Edge, drummer Jimmy D’Anda, who began with the Bulletboys in the ’80s, and new lead singer Gabriel Colon put new life into all the classics played. In this writer’s opinion, they sound better with this group than they do from the current Dokken lineup.
Lynch Mob opened up with one of the first Dokken songs, Paris Is Burning, before rolling into two Lynch Mob classics, Dancing Of The Dogs and River Of Love.
My all-time favourite Dokken song, The Hunter, followed, and George played it to perfection. Time After Time, For A Million Years, When Lightning Strikes Again, 21st Century Man, When Heaven Comes Down, and Rain would provide the 500-plus faithful with a musical trip down memory lane. This was a crowd that sang along to every word.
The Dokken classics Mr. Scary, including a great George Lynch solo and It’s Not Love, ended the set to rapturous applause and fans screaming for more. The band would come out for the encore with Wicked Sensation from the first Lynch Mob album.
As the last notes died, George had a great big smile and thanked the town of Pittsburgh for all of the wonderful memories we gave him over the past few decades. 
You would never know that this was the end of the road for Lynch Mob, as the band was energetic the whole entire evening. George Lynch proved he is unsurpassed as a guitarist.
I wish it weren’t the last tour. I would love to see the band play again.
The band will hit Australia in mid-February and will return to Florida and California in March. Be sure to catch them in a town near you before it’s all over.
Big respect to Truckstop from West Virginia, who received a very warm reception from Jergel’s and Blood Union from Johnstown, PA, who had the crowd chanting and fist-pumping through their set as well.
Updated 8 February 08:38 – Clarification of the RATT position
George Lynch never played for RATT. He was asked to replace Warren DeMartini, but this was post Dokken, much later than the 80’s.