By Harrison Christoph<\/p>\n
It\u2019s been fifty years since Robbie Krieger and The Doors first made waves in LA with their debut self titled album, The Doors (1967). The band broke on through with hit after hit, quickly establishing themselves as the kings of the LA rock scene. The house band at The Whisky A Go Go on the Sunset Strip, then quickly taking on the world. Tonight, guitarist and co-founding member Robbie Krieger continues to light fires wherever they go with no signs of slowing down.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ll admit, I wasn\u2019t even born yet when The Doors were around, but I have seen a few incarnations, tributes and solo performances that have all honored the Lizard King and his Riders On The Storm to know what\u2019s good or not. Robbie Krieger\u2019s current solo line up may be the best he\u2019s put together in years.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve seen The Doors of the 21st<\/sup> Century (with Ian Astbury of the Cult on vocals, my personal favorite) and Ray Manzarek and Robbie Krieger both solo. They all are great in their own right and there\u2019s no doubt about it that Krieger\u2019s solo efforts, while his abilities have always been sharp as a whole, have not always been on point. His current 2017 touring line up however, that includes his son on vocals, works. And works very well.<\/p>\n The Robbie Krieger solo band now consists of Krieger on guitars, his son Waylon on vocals, Nathan Wilmarth on keyboards, Ty \u201cStick\u201d Dennis on drums, Phil Chen on bass and a couple extra guest musicians filling in on backing guitars and percussions. All of whom accomplished musicians. Krieger\u2019s backing guitarist was introduced to us. Robbie said, \u201cThis is Forrest (Penner) he is my guitar tech and friend. He knows more about my guitar setup than I do.\u201d He continues, \u201cHe\u2019s been doing this a long time. He\u2019s also from the first Doors tribute band. How long ago was that Forrest?\u201d Penner responds, \u201c1980, a long time ago.\u201d<\/p>\n Krieger\u2019s son, while maybe not the best Jim Morrison substitute, held his ground and made it his own. As well as he should since he\u2019s been listening to these songs all his life. He wasn\u2019t trying to be Morrison which was key. He was giving his representation of a Doors lead singer in tribute. Clad in a black Guinness shirt, black leather jacket, jeans and wrap around shades, he fronted the Morrison tribute well. You could tell he was happy to be there, doing what he was doing. He even said, \u201cIt is fun to be jamming with your dad on stage. How many people can say that?\u201d He was humble, honest and true.<\/p>\n The audience was alive tonight at the City Winery in Chicago. I\u2019ve seen many shows here. This crowd came to party. On most occasions, this is a more reserved group. It\u2019s designed that way. If you haven\u2019t been to a show here before, it\u2019s set up as a dinner theatre more than a concert hall. It\u2019s a small, intimate space with reserved communal style seating butted right up to the stage edge and flows back. It\u2019s low lit and the volume level that of a lounge act. No screaming Marshall stacks here. But tonight, this crowd let the band know they wanted to be heard with shouts of their favorite songs called out, sing-a-longs and even calling out lyrics they knew were coming up. At one point Krieger heard them shout a phrase to the stage of a song that was coming up and said, \u201cYou\u2019re jumping the gun folks, we\u2019re not there yet.\u201d<\/p>\n Krieger himself noticed the limitations of the venue making statements like, \u201cI wish we could bring the lights down, this is what we\u2019re supposed to do\u201d and \u201cThis is one of our most danceable songs (Peace Frog), I wish you all could get up and dance but I see there\u2019s no room for that. They should make a machine that would retract the tables and chairs down into the floor and give you guys some room.\u201d That didn\u2019t stop some fans who made their way to the aisles and halls to get their boogie on.<\/p>\n There was a nice mix of audience banter. Between Robbie and his son, they made jokes, told mini stories and shared Chicago references. One joke Robbie made was, \u201cSince we\u2019re singing about Texas, let\u2019s do a song that mentions Chicago.\u201d At another point Waylon said, \u201cEverybody take a look to your left and a look to your right and hug one of those two people.\u201d (audience laughter followed by group participation) He continued with, \u201cAnd give the other a nice, firm, handshake.\u201d Waylon then went on to say, \u201cAll right, all right, I guess it\u2019s time to just give you all what you want\u2026 but was interrupted by Nathan on keys who said, \u201cUhm, you\u2019re supposed to give me a hug.\u201d Which he did, then immediately walked over to his dad and said, \u201cWell, I guess you get the firm handshake.\u201d<\/p>\n Robbie Krieger knows Chicago. He knows the ties associated with his former band mates and song lyrics. He said, \u201cThis is the home of Ray Manzarek, Chicago, Illinois. He went to St. Rita High School. Anybody here go to St. Rita?\u201d One fan shouted, \u201cRita Yeah WHOOO!\u201d To which Krieger replied, \u201cReally? Huh, OK\u2026 so, speaking of Chicago, we\u2019re going to do a song about Texas.\u201d Then blazed into \u201cTexas Radio\u201d. Another point of reference was during \u201cPeace Frog\u201d. The line that states, Blood on the Street in the town of Chicago<\/em>, was meet with audience cheers. Sadly, not a very pleasant reminder of the current state of unrest in Chi-town.<\/p>\n As for other unique songs, we were treated to a remix version of sorts of \u201cRiders on the Storm\u201d. This version had a country twang to it that featured the main riff from \u201cGhost Riders In The Sky\u201d.<\/p>\n Krieger guitar playing is simply\u00a0amazing. The 71 year old still plays like it\u2019s 1967. Dressed in his trademark multi patterned psychedelic pants, his solos just as sharp. His chops just haven\u2019t aged. He trades off duals with his keyboardist during \u201cLove Me Two Times\u201d like a master. His Gibson\u2019s sound just as clear today as any recording. There\u2019s a reason Rolling Stone named him one of the top 100 guitarist of all time. Don\u2019t let the now white hair fool ya. This man can go head to head with the best of them. Most of them learned it from him and he\u2019s still schooling today.<\/p>\n By the end of the show, the stage grew more and more crowded as Krieger and Co. brought out special guest musicians to play with them. All total, seven on stage by the time LA Woman was played. The house was really rockin\u2019 by this point.<\/p>\n During the encore, we heard the first song Kreiger ever wrote and one of the most popular tracks for The Doors, \u201cLight My Fire\u201d and the transient, oedipus, \u201cThe End\u201d to wrap it all up.<\/p>\n At the end, the audience gave Krieger a standing ovation filled with cheers, clapping and hootin\u2019 and hallerin\u2019. He left them fulfilled for sure. Everyone got their Doors fix.<\/p>\n ===========================================================================================================<\/p>\n For more on Robbie Krieger including current tour, click here<\/a><\/p>\n