The Doors Alive

This tribute act's reputation precedes them, so naturally I'm intrigued to see what all the fuss is about. The show is definitely worth a look, but as for the band they lack the unity of the real thing. Willie Scott, our Jim Morrison for the night, carries the others through a lot of the songs. ‘L.A. Woman’ was particularly disappointing with key guitar parts missing and a rather lacklustre attempt to pay homage to Ray Manzarek’s signature sound. The band’s lack of cohesion prevented them from truly capturing the textured and soulful experience that would have been a true Doors live show.

That being said, my doubts about anyone being capable of matching Jim Morrison were quelled by the third song. At points the similarity was uncanny, Scott's rendition of ‘Back Door Man’ and ‘Five to One’ being arguably their biggest triumphs. Finally looking more comfortable on stage, they manage to transport the avid audience to a place immortalised in the lyrics of ‘Break on Through (To the Other Side)’. The lucky ones have been there before with recorded Doors but at this performance there seem to be a lot of people realising just what was so very special about the ‘Other Side’.

Scott's stage presence is really what brings this show to life and, although it would be impossible to completely capture the essence of Jim Morrison, as he prowls and hops about the stage with compelling arrogance, I am very nearly convinced. In the encore he proceeds, with indifference, to drive the crowd wild for a final time. This is ‘The End’ and what an ending it is; a gracefully executed intermittence of valiant screeches and climatic whispers. 

I couldn’t help but feel cheated, it's true, but of course it's totally unrealistic to expect the quintessential Doors magic from a tribute. When it's impossible to get the real thing, they’re definitely the best substitute around.