Ray Manzarek and Robby Krieger, 2 of the most important musicians in rock played a sold-out show at the Congress Theater last night. It has been 40 years since the death of Jim Morrison, however Manzarek and Krieger have kept his spirit alive through playing all the classic Doors hits live with a newer band consisting of Dave Brock- Vocals, Phil Chen- Bass, and Ty Dennis- Drums. Manzarek-Krieger opened with Roadhouse Blues, and continued with a medley of Break On Through/She Get High/Dead Cats, Dead Rats, and followed “Strange Days”, Ray’s brother Rick Manzarek came out and played guitar on “Backdoor Man.” Before the encore, they played “L.A. Woman” The encore was none other than their biggest hit “Light My Fire”, which was written by Robbie Krieger. 2 of the highlights of the show were Krieger and Chen doing the “duckwalk” and each musician taking a solo during “Light My Fire” I was surprised to see that most of the fans up front were the younger audience members. For those like myself who are too young to have seen the Doors, this is the closest you’ll get to the real thing. Krieger and Manzarek are not only 2 of the original members of the Doors, but 2 of the greatest musicians in rock. At 71 and 65 respectively, Manzarek and Krieger’s playing has not aged, they are as fine of musicians as they were 40 years ago. It was very special to get to hear the psychedelic keyboard playing of Ray Manzarek and the unique mixture of blues-rock guitar playing of Robbie Krieger. Although singer Dave Brock has only been with the band for a year, he fits in very well, and is a great frontman. Dennis and Chen have been with Krieger/Manzarek for nearly a decade and are great assets to the band. Phil Chen can be heard on recordings by Rod Stewart, Pete Townshend, Eric, Clapton, Ray Charles and many more greats. Ty Dennis was a temporary replacement for Stewart Copeland of the Police when Manzarek was called The Doors of the 21st Century, and has been a permanent member since. The only dates left are at the House Of Blues tomorrow in Houston and on the 16th in Dallas. If you missed out this tour be sure to catch them next time.
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