21st Century Doors

[Guest JAxlMorrison]

All the reviews I have read so far have been totally hype "If you close you eyes it's like being in 1967" blah blah blah. But we'll see, it will still be cool to hear those songs in a live setting, and maybe Astbury can pull it off. I'll let you guys know how it went later on tonight.

[Guest kingkamala]

I've heard 21st Century Doors is like a good Doors cover band but nothing out of this world. Who's opening btw?

[Paul Stanley 0]

Doors 21st Century are amazing .live I made a bootleg live CD off their soundboards.

[Guest JAxlMorrison]

I don't think anyone is opening, as far as I know.

[Guest snuffbox]

Shit like the '21st century doors' makes me sick.

[Guest JAxlMorrison]

Well, it was a pretty excellent show. The ticket said 8:00 start time, but they decided not to come out til around 8:50, apparently trying to keep some of the old mystique alive.

Ian Astbury did one hell of a job on vocals. His voice has some of the same qualities as Jim's did, but he was still out there doing his own thing. I am glad they tapped him to front the band, and not someone like Scott Stapp or another Morrison Lite.

Ray Manzarek and Robby Krieger have not lost anything in the past 3 decades. Their solos were scortching, and I was glad to be a part of the show just because I felt some of the joy I knew they were feeling. Some may say they're out there for the money, and that's a relevant argument, but let me tell you, and no bullshit here, that concert was almost a religious experience.

Versions of "LA Woman", "FIve To One", "Maggie M'Gill", "Roadhouse Blues" and also a 20 minute plus version of "Light My Fire" were the highlights of the show. Also, a song from the forthcoming album "Cops Talk" sounded very impressive. I may actually buy the album now just based off of it, very smooth, jazzy song kind of reminiscent of "Riders" which they also performed in one of the 3 encores.

The only lowlights were the $6.75 I had to pay per beer or mixed drink (I was on whiskey and coke.....the soda), the fact that Jim Morrison was only mentioned or seen twice (he got the biggest pop of the night when he was shown in a video montage during LA Woman) and Ray Manzarek's anti-Bush speech.....I mean I enjoyed it for the entertainment value, but I also saw a few people get up and leave.

Either way, very enjoyable show both for the nostalgia involved, and for a new way to hear songs that I am sure most of us have enjoyed for years. If they come around your area, be sure to check em out.

[Paul Stanley 0]

How was the attendance?

[Guest JAxlMorrison]

Well they were at the Tower Theatre just outside of Philly, and I think that place holds around 3,000, maybe more.....it was sold out.

[Guest Lethargic]

I was flipping through the channels one night and caught them on Leno. I truly thought it was a comedy skit. It wasn't bad, I just wasn't expected to see the friggin Doors seeing as how..you know...Morrison is DEAD and all. But yet, there he was. At first I thought it was a skit because I thought it was Billy Bob Thornton singing. haha

 

Really, I remember hearing they were doing this. But I had NO idea that Ian would actually DRESS and cut his hair like Morrison. That took it from being a interesting idea to being even dumber than Elvis impersonators. This is a guy that already established his OWN name. For him to dress up like a clown like that and become a cheap imitation of a legend just to satisfy the ego of two original members who don't feel like they've gotten enough credit for the band's success makes me sick quite frankly. Hope they enjoy the fairground circuit.

 

Morrison's family just filed suit so hopefully this will be stopped soon.

[Guest JAxlMorrison]

I don't understand why people get so bitter. When The Who continued touring, despite having two members deceased, where was the bitching? When Led Zeppelin tours this summer, will everyone cry cause Bonzo isn't there? When Axl took the GNR name and actually improved the band musically, all anyone said was "Where's Slash?" People always look for a reason to complain, and I can't understand why people won't just sit back and enjoy the music. You can either have Doors fronted by Astbury or no Doors at all.

Besides, from what I saw Ian was not attempting to imitate Jim, not at all, he seemed to jus tbe doing his own thing. And it's not just a tour for money, they are recording new music, and will be trying (probably unsuccessfully) to form their own identity as a band. I only wish them luck for providing me with so much great music, I don't sit back and scoff at their efforts.

[Guest Lethargic]

This is NOTHING like Guns, or Led Zep or any of those others. Zeppelin was all about Plant and Page. Take nothing away from the others, but they weren't the main draws. The Who was about Townsend and Daltrey. The Doors were always about Jim. That's it. It was Jim's band whether those other guys want to admit it or not. Nobody paid money to see Manzarek or Krieger, they paid money to see Morrison. He was the heart and soul of the band. You can't replace that with a lookalike or a soundalike. I don't know what Ian looked like when you saw them but when I saw them he had his hair cut exactly like Jim's, he wore the same pants, same belt, same shirt. I have NO problem with the new Guns and Roses. I think they're great. But if Axl had hired a guiter player and then forced him to grow his hair out, perm it and wear Slash's tophat, I'd be saying the same thing. This is like if the Rolling Stones went on tour without Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. Or if Ringo Starr decided that he didn't need those other guys and he put the Beatles back together. Or if the Jimi Hendrix Experience went on tour with Lenny Kravitz instead of Jimi. Jim Morrison can't be replaced. It's not about the music. It's about egos and money. If it was about the music they'd just leave it alone. I'll listen to the Doors' CDs and I'll watch their concert DVDs and I'll hear the music. I don't need to hear glossy 2003 versions with a different singer that could never recapture the brilliance of the original band.

[Guest JAxlMorrison]

But have you even given the music a chance? Cause as someone who has listened to the Doors for years and have read any material on Jim I can get my hands off, I think the music stands up to the originals quite well. I can understand why you question their motives, cause I'm not the biggest Ray Manzarek fan in the world. He is the one who put the myth that Jim might still be alive all over the place in hopes of selling more records, and he succeeded. At least that's my opinion. But I don't think you should be so negative towards the band as a whole, I mean Robby is a pretty good songwriter, and a great goddamn guitar player. I am not very familiar with Astbury, but he did a hell of a job the other night, and once again the band is performing new material as well. I'm just saying give it a chance, and don't bury it before it's had a chance to bloom.

[Paul Stanley 0]

Pimp slap him, JAxl Morrison!

[Guest Lethargic]

But have you even given the music a chance? Cause as someone who has listened to the Doors for years and have read any material on Jim I can get my hands off, I think the music stands up to the originals quite well. I can understand why you question their motives, cause I'm not the biggest Ray Manzarek fan in the world. He is the one who put the myth that Jim might still be alive all over the place in hopes of selling more records, and he succeeded. At least that's my opinion. But I don't think you should be so negative towards the band as a whole, I mean Robby is a pretty good songwriter, and a great goddamn guitar player. I am not very familiar with Astbury, but he did a hell of a job the other night, and once again the band is performing new material as well. I'm just saying give it a chance, and don't bury it before it's had a chance to bloom.

I don't think I have to bury them. I'm sure the the three lawsuits against them will bury them.

 

I thought of a better comparison. What if Chris Novoselic and Dave Grohl took that dude from the Vines and started calling themselves Nirvana again? That's exactly what this is. You can't do that. It's just not right. Nirvana WAS Kurt Cobain. The Doors WAS Jim Morrison. These guys are raping Jim Morrison's corpse by doing this. If they wanna be in a new band, do new material, throw in some of their classic songs...go for it. But don't try to act like you're the Doors, cause you're not. The Doors are dead. I never said the band wasn't good. They sounded like the Doors to me. Ian is a hell of singer. The new material could be great. They could be great live. But as long as they call themselves the Doors it will never be taken seriously by the majority of the band's fans.