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1. Roadhouse Blues
2. Break On Through / Dead Cats Dead Rats
3. When The Music's Over
4. Love Me Two Times
5. Moonlight Drive / Louie, Louie
6. Wild Child
7. Alabama Song (Whiskey Bar)
8. Back Door Man
9. Five To One
10. The Crystal Ship
11. People Are Strange
12. Acoustic Guitar Solo - Spanish Caravan
13. Maggie M'Gill
14. L.A. Woman
1st Encore
15. Light My Fire
2nd Encore
16. Soul Kitchen
(6/22/03) The Doors are back in the 21st Century! Well, sort of. Ray Manzarek (on keys) and Robby Krieger (guitarist) are on tour as the new Doors with former singer of the Cult Ian Astbury playing the part of Jim Morrison. And I mean that quite literally. Ian Astbury has the Jim Morrison look, he's got a comparable voice, he's got all the moves down, *and* he tries to show some of the attitude of the one and only original singer and poet for the Doors. All in all, it was an exciting show. The aura of the Doors, as well as I can imagine, was captured to a degree. To put it in perspective, just to hear the Doors songs being played live on stage with two of the original members and at least a Jim Morrison impersonator is quite an experience to behold.
The show opened with Roadhouse Blues, and the crowd roared along with the band for the whole evening. Then we heard the classic Break On Through, with a little bit of the early demo Dead Cats Dead Rats thrown in the middle. Following that, the band began their performance of When The Music's Over, which was quite exceptional. Then they played Love Me Two Times, Moonlight Drive, a fan favorite, followed by the powerful riff-driven Wild Child, and the always fun Alabama Song (Whiskey Bar). As Back Door Man started up, the audience was dancing and singing like crazy. Then they played one of my favorites: Five To One, a song with great lyrics, great vocals, and excellent guitar. Ian Astbury did his part, but Robby Krieger really fired it up. It was a great performance!
At that point, the drummer and bassist left the stage as Ray, Robby, and Ian huddled close together and played some softer material. They played The Crystal Ship and People Are Strange, complete with the audience singing along. Robby Krieger entered the spotlight for a beautiful acoustic solo that started Spanish Caravan. That song has never sounded better! The band then rocked out with Maggie M'Gill. Finishing the regular set, the new Doors performed what was my favorite song of the night, L.A. Woman, complete with scenes of the California city herself on the video screen at the back of the stage. Hearing that song live and in person was quite an experience for me. And the entire audience joined in for the Mr. Mojo Risin' chant. But too soon it was over, until the band began their first encore: Light My Fire. Another great classic. After that, the crowd still wasn't satisfied, so the band came back out to do the appropriate Soul Kitchen, and then it was over.
An image of the late Jim Morrison with the words "An American Poet" graced the video screen as the crowd shuffled out of the Pavilion. Feedback was very positive. I don't think I'm the only one to say, I really enjoyed the concert!