House Of Blues (Jim Ladd's Living Room), Hollywood, California
September 3, 2002 - 5:15 pm This afternoon, The Doors performed live for a special live
taping of Jim Ladd's Living Room. The band performed at the House of Blues in Los Angeles.
At the show, it was announced that Door's drummer, John Densmore, would not be performing
with the doors and the Doors new Drummer, Stewart Copeland, formally of the Police, was
introduced to the crowd. The radio broadcast will be tomorrow night, Sept. 4th at 10:00pm
on radio station KLOS 95.5 in Los Angeles.
www.robbiekrieger.com
The House of blues was nearly full on the ground level and the atmosphere was great.
Jim Ladd introduced the band and thoughout the set came onstage to ask various questions.
Ian Astbury did a get job, he did have the words on a music stand but i think this was just
for comfort as he rarely if ever looked at them. He said that it was difficult for him to
be up here with these guys and that he knew the daggers would be out for him but it was a
dream come true opportunity, and he did a great job. Ray stated that this isn't a tribute
band, they intended to play old music, add new ideas to it and play and record new material.
Stuart Copeland on drums was awesome, added that jazzy/rock densmore touch that few drummers
can ever hope to do. Ray said that it was a forgone conclusion that John will not be drumming
with the Doors (and it sounded like he meant ever again) but John had given his blessing and
it was only his ear problems that prevented him from being up with them. Ashley (don't know
his full name) did great bass and it really filled out the sound. Ray said this was The Doors
for the 21st century. I know it's not Jim and John, and i am sure there are sceptics, but to
see Ray and Robbies eyes meet and then those sparks of majic they added to songs that have
been banished to the radio or records for 30 years felt great. We are in for a real treat on
Friday. Today the ashes were stoked and the fire relighted, on Friday the phoenix will rise
and fly.
c33 (Doors Message Board)
THE DOORS PRIVATE REHEARSAL SHOW
House of Blues, Hollywood September 3, 2002
FINALLY, the long-awaited and highly anticipated private rehearsal show was held today at the
House of Blues on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, with a show-time of 1:00 p.m.
Admittance to this elite event was by being on a guest list, or by winning tickets of radio
station KLOS 95.5
I arrived in line by 11:30 a.m.; there was only one other person in line already. We learned
that we would be waiting for the guest lists to be brought out, and then wristbands would be
issued.
About noon they began to let us inside ... thank goodness, because it was brutally hot outside.
It didn't seem to be much cooler inside, though. Maybe we were just over-excited with
anticipation.
I met up with the delightful Bal, who has been collaborating with Ray on a joint project
called RayBal which will be released in a few months.
My friends and I took our position at the barrier right in front of the stage, positioned
between Robby and Ian.
At 1:10 Jim Ladd strolled onstage and began his introduction to the show. Jim has always been
such a huge Doors fan and supporter, this was the perfect deejay and radio show tie-in for this
monumental event. At the conclusion of his intro, he went into the "Is Everybody In" ... and
out came Ray, Ian Astbury, Stewart Copeland, Angelo Barbera, and Robby ... to thunderous
applause.
Ray was wearing a light knit shirt with a flag on the front and dark pants, and took his place
at the keyboards at stage left. Stewart was wearing a black t-shirt. Ian was also in a black
t-shirt and blue jeans. Angelo was all in black, and Robby was wearing camouflage pants and
black t-shirt with a two-sided design I didn't recognize.
They kicked off with a rousing rendition of Roadhouse Blues. There was a music stand by
Ian's mike stand, which partially obscured him to me when he was standing at the mike.
Fortunately, he moved around enough that I got some good photo opportunities.
The second song was Strange Days; Ray explained that this was a new arrangement of the
song to make it "updated". He said they wanted it to have wider appeal, even to people in the
Middle East. This new arrangement was really cool; the intro is very different.
Jim Ladd returned to the stage again and spoke with Ray, then went over and spoke with Robby.
Jim asked Robby to talk a little about the next song, since Robby had written it. Robby
explained that what he had in mind was servicemen leaving for duty, and "love me two times"
before they left. And with that, they launched into that song.
Jim Ladd was onstage again, moving from musician to musician interviewing each of them. Ian spoke
of his younger days in England as a Doors fan, and the opportunity he had to be part of the
Stoned Immaculate tribute CD.
Stewart and Jim Ladd must be good friends, as there was some especially friendly banter going on
between them. Stewart spoke of John Densmore being an idol of his, and of wanting to be able to
play like John!
John's absence was explained, in that he has tinnitus which prevents him from being able to play
rock and roll. (Tinnitus is a constant ringing sensation in the ears).
Robby said that he spoke to John just yesterday, that John is totally cool with the rest of the
band playing without him, and that he gives them his blessing.
Stewart spoke of his own band history and compared being in a 3-piece band to being in a 4-piece
or 5-piece band. (In a 3-piece band, decisions can come down to 2 against 1, and you move on. In
a 4-piece band, it can be split 2 & 2 and not be so good. In a 5-piece band, it can be hard to
get decisions made).
Jim spoke to Angelo about how he feels playing the part of Ray's left hand! Angelo was asked how
he came to be involved; he replied that he has been playing with Robby for about two years, and
was also a part of the band for the VH-1 Storytellers ... so they must like him!
The fourth and final song was a terrific When The Music's Over ... and then the show was over at
2:00, after 50 minutes of musical bliss.
One of the points posed by Jim Ladd during the various interviews onstage was about the spontaneity
that The Doors used to have onstage ... Ray said it'll come, it's getting there. There was mention
made of the new music that Ray and Robby have been creating, and that they are working with Ian
on songs. Ray also mentioned poetry by Jim Carroll.
While we cheered for an encore, Tom Vitorino came onstage to announce that if we wanted to hear
more, we'd have to go to the Harley-Davidson show on Friday evening in Fontana. (p.s.: Happy
Birthday, Tom).
Marco: thank you!!
There was a brief but nasty battle over Stewart's drumsticks, as they were being handed to someone
in the audience near me.
Besides trumpeter Bal, other Doors associates spotted in the audience were Danny Sugerman, Kira
Matlow, Rick Schmidlin, and Robby's outstanding keyboard player Steve Bach and his wife, Marlena.
I think Robby's parents were there, we spotted them after the show (but did NOT bother them!)
The club was decorated with posters for this Friday's Harley-Davidson event . I managed to snag
several after the show was over.
Robby's WebMaster has already uploaded several dozen photos from today's event, both backstage photos
and performance shots. Be sure to check those out in the Photo Gallery at
http://robbykrieger.com/news.html
If I get any good shots, and figure out how to use my scanner, I'll add some of my own from
stage-front by the weekend.
Today's show will be broadcast in its entirely on LA's KLOS 95.5 FM on Wednesday evening, September
4th beginning at 10:00 p.m. on Jim Ladd's 'Living Room' show at http://www.955klos.com I don't
believe this can be heard on-line, according to a statement on their site.
It was a thrill and an honor to be at the House of Blues and be a part of their audience! The West
Is The Best.
You want to honor the past, to respect the history of rock 'n' roll and all that, you really do. But
sometimes it gets so damn hard, especially when the history of rock 'n' roll willfully refuses to
respect itself.
There's the Levi's/KROQ Inland Invasion 2, for starters. The show, as you've no doubt heard, features
"25 years of punk" -- from the Sex Pistols and X and TSOL to Bad Religion and the Offspring to New
Found Glory and co-headliners Blink-182 -- all on one megafestival bill next weekend at the Blockbuster
Pavilion. Which means, clearly, that punk rock is now officially the frat-rock for the new millennium.
Never mind the Steve Miller Band, brah, here's the Sex Pistols! To recap: Sex Pistols and Blink-182.
Sponsored by Levi's. Booked by Clear Channel. Tickets 35 bucks -- plus Ticketmaster charges. Show held
at Blockbuster- fucking- Pavilion. Dude! How punk is that?
And then there's this: The Doors are getting back together.
Yeah, those Doors. Well, some of them. This weekend.
Let's be plain: The Doors were a seminal band, Jim Morrison's pretentious streak notwithstanding. But
Morrison, for those without VH1, has spent the last 31 years at Pere-Lachaise cemetery in Paris.
Which, you know, ought to make a Doors reunion a tough prospect.
But not that tough, apparently. Seems the band has tapped Ian Astbury of the Cult to sing lead vocals
at this weekend's Harley-Davidson 100th Anniversary Open Road festival out at the California Motor
Speedway, and they're calling the affair the return of the Doors. Never mind that there's a Cult
figure where the cult figure once was, standing in front of Ray Manzarek on keys, Robby Krieger on
guitar and John Densmore on drums...
"No, John Densmore can't play," says Manzarek.
Say again?
"John Densmore can't play. His ears have gone bad. He has tinitis. He can't play rock 'n' roll. The
cymbals are too loud."
OK then. So Astbury will front a Doors lineup of Manzarek and Krieger (I checked, Krieger's definitely
on board) and, it turns out, Stewart Copeland of the Police on drums. Which means that not only is
the show two pieces away from an actual Doors reunion, it's also two pieces away from a Police reunion,
though they're not billing it as such.
Here's the way they are billing it, per Manzarek: "It's the Doors for the 21st century. Or, as we like
to say, the Doors have retooled for the 21st century."
So there you have it -- the Doors, refined and retooled for the...
"No, not refined. Re-tooled for the 21st century. So put that in the article. "Doors Retool for the
21st Century.'"
Uh, all right then. Doors. Re. Tool. But the question you're asking -- and it's a fine question -- is,
well, why?
"The stars were in proper alignment for the Doors to get back together again," says Manzarek, doing his
level best to fritter away any and all respect he earned as possibly his old band's biggest talent and
the producer of X's best work. "We've entered the 21st century and the new age is approaching, and we
badly need a glimpse of the new age."
Um...
"Just put it down like that -- you know, the new age is approaching and we need a glimpse of the new
age very badly in this age of darkness and war and destruction of the environment."
All right, let's rephrase the question. Exactly how many Doors have to be absent before they become a
Doors tribute band, albeit a really convincing Doors tribute band?
"The Doors are not a Doors tribute band," says Manzarek. "If you want to see a Jim Morrison imitation,
go see Wild Child. If you want to see the Doors, the new Doors" -- say it with him -- "retooled for
the 21st century, come and see the Doors. Ian Astbury is singing Doors songs as Ian Astbury. He's not
doing a Jim Morrison imitation. He is Ian Astbury, with all the power that he has."
But why Astbury, if not because he can do a hell of a Jim Morrison? "Ian is a great singer, has a
shamanistic quality to him, has Buddhist sensibilities, and is an advocate of Native American rights."
So... "So he shares the same sensibilities as Jim Morrison."
Uh, right. But he's not Jim Morrison. And without Jim (and, oh yeah, John, uh, Densmore), it's not
really the Doors, is it? I mean, the only place they're going to hold a real Doors reunion is at
Pere-Lachaise, right?
"Well, that's fine, then don't come," says Manzarek. "All I can say is don't come. If you don't want
to hear us play "Light My Fire.' "Riders on the Storm.' And "Roadhouse Blues.' Don't come!"
Hey, he said it, not me.
Los Angeles Times (Sep 5, 2002)
Setlist
Roadhouse Blues
Strange Days
Interview
Love Me Two Times
Interview
When The Music's Over