THE DOORS DON'T GO TO MONTEREY: JUNE 16-18, 1967

From June 16 to 18, 1967, the Monterey International Pop Festival was held near the California town of the same name. It was one of the first major collective music events.

What were The Doors doing during those days of fantastic music and extensive use of LSD?

At that time the band was recording its second album, "Strange Days", which would be released shortly after the summer (September 25^th). Moreover, they were on a near-constant concert schedule.

It may seem strange that they, a California based group, were not invited to this festival. However, the quartet did not participate in this great musical and social event.

There are three main reasons for the Doors' absence from Monterey.

The first reason is that in May-June 1967, the band was not yet famous and was known only within the borders of the state of California. Was it too little to be on the same stage with already established artists?

This motivation alone would not be enough; in fact, other invited bands were not much more famous than The Doors, yet they also appeared on the Monterey stage.

The second reason was the type of music The Doors played. It was too dark and mysterious, too experimental and aggressive, their lyrics were too controversial and profound.

All of this contrasted with the "Summer of Love" that was taking place at the time, which stood under the banner of peace, joyful love and carelessness. Monterey was emblematic of this relaxed climate, while The Doors’s music maybe would have been out of tune in this context.

The final reason for the group’s absence from the festival is that they had other commitments they could not cancel.

At least these were the main reasons that some members of the band gave in interviews several years later.

But what were The Doors doing instead of being on the famous Monterey stage? All three nights of the festival they were on the East Coast, on the other side of the country.

On the 16th and 17th of June they played two problematic shows near New York City, where Morrison was so drunk he could hardly sing.

A rare and emblematic photo from the 16th show, captures him while taking off his shirt on stage. 

The second show was given up altogether due to the singer's catastrophic condition and inability to stand on stage and sing. The abuse of alcohol (and possibly LSD) was the reason for these mishaps, which already started to build the legend that still shines around the frontman today.

On the third night of the Monterey Festival, June 18, The Doors were in Philadelphia, where things went better than the previous nights and the concert was completed. It must have been an unforgettable concert.

On this occasion, The Nazz opened for The Doors. The Nazz were guitarist Todd Rundgren's first band. They played Pop-Rock and Rock and would release their first (of three) LP the following year.

 

Thanks to mildequator.com for the photo and more.