THE DOORS PLAY FOR THE LOS ANGELES RIOTS (FEB. ’67)

 

In November 1966, Los Angeles' famous Sunset Strip boulevard was engulfed in a series of harsh youth protests that resulted in clashes with local police.

The motivation was the imposition of restrictive measures on nightlife, dominated at the time by boys and girls who were experiencing a major cultural shift.

The lively protests were intended to publicly show the growing need for greater freedom in personal and collective behavior on the part of the younger generation.

In the following months, while the situation was still tense from the standpoint of public order, public assemblies were organized in which young people discussed among themselves and tried to draw meaning from what was happening.

One such event was held on February 22 at the Valley Music Theatre in Woodland Hills, California. The goal was to raise awareness and funds for the rioter's cause.

To attract audiences to the event, several California musical groups were called to play, having their performances interspersed with speeches by representatives of the youth groups leading the protests.

Opening the event musically are The Doors, who were relatively famous in California at the time, although still basically unknown in the rest of the United States.

The quartet was trying to make a name for itself commercially, although their first and wonderful LP, released less than two months earlier ("The Doors," January 1967), was still struggling to find widespread public acclaim.

The first recording session of what would shortly thereafter become their second record ("Strange Days"), had taken place in those very days of February '67 (with the recording of the song "My Eyes Have Seen You").

On that February 22^nd, The Doors had the opportunity to take the stage on the same day as groups that were (at that moment) far better known than they were.

One group whose presence should be noted was Buffalo Springfield, also fresh from the release of their debut album ("Buffalo Springfield," December 1966), just two months before the concert in support of the Los Angeles riots we are talking about.

The Buffalo Springfield, who were balancing folk-rock and pop-rock in their music, forged a special bond with The Doors that day.

In fact, a technical problem caused The Doors’ drummer John Densmore to borrow Dewey Martin's (Buffalo Springfield's drummer) drums.

We can see Densmore playing this drum kit in the photo at the end of this article, a photo which comes from The Doors' performance that day.

Also prominent among the bands in attendance that day were the Byrds, who had recently released their fourth LP ("Younger Than Yesterday," February 1967) under the musical banner of psychedelic Pop-Rock and Folk-Rock.

It was in that period that The Doors began to explore the multiple meanings of their music.

In fact, soon after, with the release of the LP "Strange Days", they would give voice to the very cultural and generational changes that the Los Angeles riots loudly anticipated.

The group came to the February 22^nd event in Woodland Hills with the desire to contribute through their music to the change and emancipation taking place in the younger part of American society.

That’s what happened that day and what would happen on a greater scale with their subsequent live performances and their amazing second album: “Strange Days”.

Thanks to mildequator.com for the concert information and historical material.

P.S.: My book "The Doors Through Strange Days"- The most comprehensive journey ever made through The Doors' second LP, is out and available on Amazon.com!

Here’s the link:

Amazon – “The Doors Through Strange Days”