THE DOORS AT "THE SCENE", NEW YORK JUNE 1967

From June 11, 1967, to July 1, The Doors are on the East Coast of the United States for a series of spectacular concerts.

These twenty days were of great importance to the band, who had temporarily interrupted the recording of their second LP ("Strange Days") in order to play to the New York (and surroundings) audience.

Although they had not yet achieved the fame that would come within a month, this was the fourth time the band had performed on the East Coast of the United States.

On the other three occasions, between October 1966 and April 1967, they had spent relatively long periods (from 10 to 20 days) in a trendy New York City venue: "The Ondine".

On this fourth trip, however, they are hosted in another famous venue in the same city: "The Scene". Some beautiful photos testify to the atmosphere created by the Doors during their stay on this stage.

The reviews explicitly speak of dreamlike and experimental performances that combined theater and rock music in a way that was surprising and unheard at the time.

This highlights a fundamental innovation introduced by the quartet in those months: bringing theatricality and dramatic expression to the stage of modern live music.

The concerts at The Scene thus represent an extremely relevant moment in the way live music would later be interpreted, both by The Doors and everyone else.

Indeed, the band's instrumental improvisations, along with the eerie fascination unleashed by Morrison, forever changed the way we understand a live rock performance.

Although there are no audio recordings of these memorable live performances, it is possible to discern a shift in the spectacle that the Doors offered just a few months earlier.

In fact, by the early summer of 1967, the Doors began to manifest a greater confidence and assurance in their means. This was due in part to a year of almost daily concerts, as well as the shocking emergence of Morrison's creative drive.

Notable among the groups playing the same nights as The Doors were The Free Spirits. In June 1967, they were promoting their first and only album ("Out Of Sight And Sound"), which had been released earlier that year.

Their album belonged to the pop-rock genre, and to get an idea of what it was like, we recommend listening to the song "Cosmic Daddy Dancer".

The record of The Free Spirits is made even more interesting by two elements that characterize its sound: the great instrumental ability of the band members and the jazz nuances that color the tracks of the LP.

Let us close with a curiosity. After The Doors' twenty-day residency on this New York stage, it was the rock underground of the Seeds and the rock-psychedelic vibes of Moby Grape that delighted the audience.

All of this, and especially the music of The Doors, helped make The Scene a historic venue that would continue to make music history in the years to come.