The Doors 21st Century

Orpheum Theater, Boston, Massachusetts

April 25, 2003

reviewed by The Patriot Ledger, April 29, 2003

THE DOORS:  MORE THAN AN IMITATION

by Ellen Slingsby

Anyone with the perception that The Doors just can't pull it off without Jim Morrison would be mistaken.

The Doors, fronted by The Cult's Ian Astbury, performed Friday night at the Orpheum in Boston.  While this isn't The Doors you grew up with, consisting of only two of the original four members - Ray Manzarek on keyboards and Robby Krieger on guitar - the band sounded much as it did in the '60's.   Astbury had it down.  Call him Jim reincarnate.  The hair, the moves and most definitely the sound.  Only once did we hear Astbury's native British accent.  The rest of the time, during spoken parts of several songs as well as addressing the audience, he spoke in a voice resembling Morrison's, making the experience that much more authentic.

With no opening act, The Doors kicked off the show, an hour late, with a rousing "Roadhouse Blues."  Unfortunately for those down front, it was accompanied by quite a bit of feedback.  But, by the third song, "When The Music's Over," the band seemed to have worked out the acoustical kinks.

Krieger and Manzarek played off each other in long jams spotlighting the two original members during "Love Me Two Times" and again later in the show during "Light My Fire," proving that decades after the band's demise, they've still got what it takes.

Things cooled down for a bit, starting with "Moonlight Drive," leaving much of the audience quiet, though still on their feet.  It was a few songs before the audience - the straight, sober members, anyway - was brought back into the show.

Manzarek, taking the lead during much of the concert, was often difficult to understand but he assured the audience that Jim was still with us.

A video, often psychedelic splashes of swirls and bright colors with occasional shots of sheep, loomed in the background.  It turned violent, showing images of Hitler, Saddam Hussein, Vietnam protesters, bodies and more during "Five To One," the most political statement of the evening.  The video switched to clips of Los Angeles, scantily clad women and Morrison during "L.A. Woman," the only time Morrison's image appeared, save for the opening of the show when a picture of Morrison and the dates 1943-1971 were displayed on screen.

The first encore was a 15-minute jam of "Riders On The Storm" followed by a rocking "Peace Frog," one of the band's most quickly paced songs.  A second encore of "Soul Kitchen" brought the show to its end, little more than two hours after the band took the stage.

While Manzarek was sure to introduce drummer Ty Dennis and bassist Angelo Barbera, the show focused on the two original members and Astbury, and rightfully so.  Astbury did Jim proud.  Talking to a few concertgoers, I learned that I wasn't the only one who was pleasantly surprised.  Most were optimistic, but still came away saying this version of The Doors was much better than they expected.

This incarnation, including Astbury, Dennis and Barbera will release a CD later this year from which they played the title cut, "Cops Talk."  The CD will feature a handful of other artists incuding Henry Rollins.