dods gigs + other things

THE DOORS ARE BY FAR MY MOST FAVOURITE BAND..EVER SINCE I WAS A YOUNG PUNK.. I,VE ALWAYS BEEN INTO THE DOORS + JIM MORRISON..WHO I THINK WAS PROBABLY THE ORIGINAL REBEL..

The Doors is an American rock band that formed in 1965 in Los Angeles. The Doors' music included socially, psychologically, and politically influenced lyrics mostly written by 'The Lizard King', Jim Morrison. The precise drumming of John Densmore, the organ and bass organ of Ray Manzarek, and Robby Krieger's innovative guitar style, which showed the influence of flamenco, jazz, Indian, the blues and classical music, combined with Morrison's vocals to form a distinctive sound...

they released 6 great albums before..

In 1971, following the recording of L.A. Woman, Morrison decided to take some time off and moved to Paris with girlfriend, Pamela Courson, in March. He had visited the previous summer and, for a time, seemed contented to write and explore the city. But by June he was again drinking heavily and fell from a second story window in May. On June 16 the last known recording of Morrison was made when he befriended two street musicians at a bar and invited them to a recording studio. The results were later released in 1994 on a bootleg CD titled The Lost Paris Tapes.

Morrison died under mysterious circumstances on 3 July 1971; his body was found in the bathtub of his apartment. It was concluded that he died of a heart attack, although it was later revealed that no autopsy had been performed before Morrison's body was buried at the Père-Lachaise Cemetery on July 7.

    me at jims grave 2004...

In 2002 Manzarek and Krieger reunited and created a new version of The Doors, called "The Doors of the 21st Century." The new lineup was fronted by Astbury with Angelo Barbera from Krieger's band on bass. At their first concert the group announced that drummer John Densmore would not perform, and it was later reported that he was unable to play because he suffered from tinnitus. Densmore was initially replaced by Stewart Copeland, formerly of The Police, but after Copeland broke his arm falling off a bicycle, the arrangement ended in mutual lawsuits, and he was replaced by Ty Dennis, drummer with Krieger's band.Densmore subsequently claimed that he had in fact not been invited to take part in the reunion. In February 2003 he filed an injunction against his former bandmates hoping to prevent them from using the name "The Doors of the 21st Century."

THE DOORS OF THE 21ST CENTURY LIVE WEMBLY ARENA 11-12-03

With much anticipation and trepidation, I set off from Aberdeen to London  to the THE DOORS 21ST CENTURY concert. What was it going to be like? The Doors without Jim surely would be weird.

We waited for the show to start--the atmosphere was electric and the fans were of all ages. There was a big screen on the stage. Jim’s face appeared on it to the music of “Carmina Burana.” Then The Doors were there, straight into “Roadhouse Blues” then “Break On Through.” It was time to gather my thoughts as Ray started talking about how it was legal to sell magic mushrooms here (?).

Ian’s voice is amazing (he cannot replace Jim) but he is a more than adequate replacement. Then they played “When The Music’s Over.” Ray did the introductions and by this time the whole of Wembley was on its feet and lifting the roof off the Arena. Ian genuinely said that this was the best crowd of the entire tour. The “Whiskey”/ “Backdoor Man”/ “Five To One” medley followed. Then my favourite part of the evening: Ian and Robby and accompanied by Ray did an almost acoustic version of “Crystal Ship.” This was followed by “People Are Strange.” Robby did a solo (Ray claims Robby is one of the best guitarists in the world and who’s to argue?) which eventually became “Spanish Caravan.”

Then it was dedication-to-Jim time, as they never had the chance to perform most of the “LA Woman” songs with Jim. They performed them here: “The Changeling,” “Love Her Madly,” “Been Down So Long,” “Riders On The Storm,” “The Wasp,” “Crawling King Snake” and “LA Woman.”

Earlier, one of the security guards had informed me that the band would be off stage by 10:45pm and definitely no later, I knew the night was drawing to an end. As they walked off stage I thought “Light My Fire” would be the encore. After a lot of shouting by the crowd they came back on and did “Not To Touch The Earth” and “Light My Fire” which finished at exactly 10:45. So the house lights came on and everyone walked to the exits, but in true Doors style Ray came back on stage and said, “Where the f**k are you going?” and then the rest of the band returned which meant everyone rushed back to the Arena (I had made it from the back to the front of the stage by this time). Then the 21st Century Doors did the most wonderful version of “Soul Kitchen” that I have ever heard. It was truly the end.

Summary: YOU HAVE SEEN THE REST NOW SEE THE BEST. (I have seen many, many bands) and nothing compares to this!