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Hartford
Courant, April 30, 2003
Doors Show Morrison Was Not Only Star
James Cain
There
was the guy in the long, black hair, tie-dyed muscle shirt and the
scrawly little mustache, looking back up at the crowd from the front
row with glassy eyes, staggering just ever so slightly. He looked
right. Then there was the guy who looked like an attorney, gray
hair coifed in the beauty salon, black mock-turtleneck jacket. And
then the girls, near the front row, in short tight black dresses,
waving like sirens on a forgotten island. Then the riff of Love
Me Two Times.
It was a Doors concert again, 30 years after the
legendary New Haven performance, absent the sweet, acrid smell of
pot, or tobacco, or rebellion, or the arrest of the lead singer
for obscenity.
So the concert Monday night at the Oakdale Theatre
in Wallingford was a little flat at times, but the old music works
better than ever, particularly when Robby Krieger takes the helm
and proves that in The End the best artist in the bunch wasn't
the late Jim Morrison, the poet and ladies man, but Krieger the
self-effacing musician.
The band opened with Roadhouse Blues, and
most songs were greatly extended from the little over 2-minute Top-40
versions that pushed the band to the forefront, of first the Los
Angeles band-scene and then the fracturing nation in the early '70s.
It was the long version of Light My Fire that helped ignite
FM radio.
Ian Astbury, from The Cult, filled in as Morrison
and did admirably well in re-creating the oft-screaming poet. His
"Save our City, Save our City" lines seemed full of the
expected anthem-driven angst. His sulking hulk during solos by other
musicians and the windmill, spinning dance were Morrison trademarks.
Astbury did a creditable job with the ballad The Crystal Ship,
a beautiful respite in a mostly flame-broiled show.
Ray Manzarek was still bright on Light My Fire,
and some of the other signature piano and organ solos of the Doors'
early work, but a couple of new songs worked into the mix were just
a little too breezy for the general tenor of a Doors show.
The audience, though fidgety through the new stuff,
was enthusiastic, loud and greeted each new old song (intros were
artfully rearranged so as to keep old heads as fuzzy as possible)
with wild applause. For an older crowd, it stayed on its feet a
long time.
Krieger was the stalwart of the show. His extraordinary
guitar work, playing piano-like chords over lead licks, sparkled,
and he drove L.A. Woman into the night streets with the determination
and horror the song demands.
The last encore? Well, could it be anything other
than Peace Frog, and "Blood in the streets in the town
of New Haven?"
For an old garage band hack, it was a gratifying
experience to see the mostly real Doors do great material, probably
better and tighter than they ever did in the '60s.
The
Republican, May 1, 2003
Doors show goes on despite legal woes
Kevin O'Hare
WALLINGFORD,
Connecticut. – Their reunion is turning into a legal nightmare,
but that hasn't stopped the 21st century version of The Doors from
delivering a show that far exceeded expectations. Blatantly tampering
with rock 'n' roll history, The Doors nevertheless turned in a devastatingly
powerful performance before a delirious crowd of more than 4,000
fans at the Oakdale Theatre Monday night.
The Doors without Jim Morrison?
It's strange and bizarre without a doubt, but
nearly 32 years after the singer's death, original Doors' guitarist
Robby Krieger and keyboardist Ray Manzarek are back on the road.
They've teamed with former Cult singer Ian Astbury, bassist Angelo
Barbera, and drummer Ty Dennis for a series of shows, including
a brief East Coast swing that brought them to the Oakdale.
The decision to reform The Doors has sparked several
lawsuits. According to Billboard Magazine, the group is currently
being sued by former Doors' drummer John Densmore, who is not on
this tour. They're also being sued by former Police drummer Stewart
Copeland, who was initially expected to take over for Densmore on
the tour. As of last week, they're also the subject of lawsuits
filed by the estates of Morrison and his wife, Pam Courson on grounds
that they've "wrongfully misappropriated" the band's name
and logo, among other things.
That sure sounds like plenty of headaches for
Manzarek and Krieger but it didn't seem to faze them on Monday.
Manzarek in particular seemed to get a real kick out of playing
so close to New Haven, the site of Morrison's infamous on-stage
arrest in December of 1967. The singer was arrested during a show
at the New Haven Arena, reportedly for using obscene language on
stage. Those charges were later dropped.
"The last time we were in this area, Jim
got in deep... ," said Manzarek to raucous laughter and howls
from the crowd. "Blood in the streets in the town of New Haven,"
he said, quoting from a Doors' song that referred to the event,
Peace Frog. The current legal action is unfortunate, because
if anything, it seems like the reincarnated Doors are only enhancing
their legacy.
Astbury was the perfect choice to take on Morrison's
role, as he proved frequently during the band's 21-song, two-hour
and 15 minute performance. Wearing sunglasses and a black leather
jacket, he even physically resembled the late singer. But more importantly,
he did a magnificent job with the vocals, starting with the opening
song Roadhouse Blues.
There was no shortage of classics in the set list,
from a wild Break On Through (To The Other Side), and Back
Door Man, to a show-stopping Five to One, and a blazing
L.A. Woman. Astbury's ability to hit the deep notes, as well
as the roaring raspy top end of the rockers, suited the songs amazingly
well.
Yet it was arguably Krieger who stole the show,
thanks to his consistently brilliant guitar playing. Bending notes,
and letting his fingers dance on the frets during When The Music's
Over, he took the song straight over the top, and also turned
in a superb slide solo on Moonlight Drive. Later he showed
off his flamenco guitar artistry on one of the Doors' most underrated
gems, Spanish Caravan.
The band did preview two new songs from an album
they're hoping to release later this year, which will feature their
music along with lyrics by the likes of Jim Carroll, Henry Rollins
and Michael McClure. One of the songs, Cops Talk, was very
good, quite in keeping with the band's style. The other, American
Express, was sung by Manzarek, a voodoo travelogue of sorts,
not bad, but not up their earlier standards.
Other highlights of the concert included an "unplugged"
pairing of The Crystal Ship, and People Are Strange,
and a hypnotic finale of Light My Fire, which found Krieger
shining once again, improvising a solo that played off the original,
while also incorporating musical quotes from Eleanor Rigby,
and My Favorite Things.
The night ended with the double-barreled encore
of the ever-haunting, Riders On The Storm, and the expected
homage to New Haven, Peace Frog.
Set
list: 1. Roadhouse Blues / 2. Break
On Through / 3. When The Music's Over / 4. Love Me Two Times / 5.
Moonlight Drive / Louie Louie / Horse Latitudes / 6. Wild Child
/ 7. Cops Talk / 8. Alabama Song / Back Door Man / Five To One /
9. The Crystal Ship / 10. People Are Strange / 11. Spanish Caravan
/ 12. American Express / 13. Maggie M'Gill / 14. L.A. Woman / Encore:
15. Light My Fire / 16. Riders On The
Storm / 17.
Peace Frog/ 2nd
Encore: 18. Soul Kitchen.
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