miamiconcertarticle

The Miami concert dramatically altered The Doors' world, shaking its foundations thoroughly, and changing everything irreversibly thereafter. Records began to sell badly, right-wing groups demonstrated against The Doors, and promoters cancelled an entire tour. A fiasco, a financial catastrophe, an artistic disaster, but curiously enough, largely preconceived and planned by the ever-mischievous Jim Morrison.

On 28th February 1969, the night before the concert, Jim had seen a performance of 'Paradise Now' by the Living Theatre, at the University of Southern California. In fact, he had been to the two previous nights' performances as well. He loved it. In their play this controversial theatre group reflected ideas that Jim had been having himself, and that he had previously lived out on stage. Moreover, many of his pet obsessions concerning dialogue with the audience, provocation, as well as society's criticism, right down to the completely free form of stage presence, were daringly performed in an expanded version by the Living Theatre, and he had lapped it up.

On 1st March 1969 Jim missed his direct flight from Los Angeles to Miami, where The Doors were booked to play at the Dinner Key Auditorium, an old, stuffy hall near the harbour, constructed of corrugated iron. He sat down in a bar at the airport and drank. As there were no more direct flights, he had to change planes in New Orleans around noon, and had to wait several hours for the connecting flight. He passed his time in a restaurant, where he consumed some more drinks, after which he also missed the connecting flight. Further hours of waiting for the next connecting flight to Miami were spent drinking. Eventually he arrived at the Dinner Key Auditorium in Miami, just minutes before the beginning of the concert. He was totally drunk. The atmosphere backstage was already at its lowest point. Against an arrangement that had been made, several thousand extra spectators had been squeezed into the venue. On top of this, the promoter had raised the price of the tickets by one dollar on his own authority. And when Bill Siddons, the new manager of The Doors, voiced a desire to cancel the concert with regard to this, he discovered that the lorry that had picked up the band's equipment from the airport had suddenly and mysteriously disappeared. In the meantime inside the hall, which normally only held 7,000 people, 13,000 fans were sweating. The Dinner Key Auditorium had no air conditioning.

"That, to me, was a perfect example of a mass hallucination, because I was up there on stage with him the whole time, you know, five feet away from him, and I ..., he never did it, man, he never pulled it out, he never took his pants off. But some people swore they saw it. And what they were seeing were the snakes and demons in their own minds that Jim was ... Jim had turned into the snake man, into the 'Lizard King', and they saw the 'Lizard King' pull it out. They didn't see Jim Morrison pull it out, 'cos Jim Morrison didn't. What they think they saw is another story. It was a mass hallucination, man, it was a very, very strange night in Miami, Florida: hot, sweaty, summer night. The place held eight thousand people and they'd packed in about twelve to fifteen thousand. No air conditioning. And Jim was a little drunk that night, and he was really giving a good rap to the audience. And the music was strange. And people just saw demons, saw snakes!"

(Ray Manzarek in an interview with Jimmy Fryer, May 1974)

The surviving Doors' recollections of Miami, always choosing their wordscarefully, and sometimes slightly romanticising the evening, all mask the unalterable fact that in reality the concert was pure chaos. Someone in the audience had recorded the concert. This recording, which played an important, but sadly not a crucial role, in the subsequent court case, largely reflected what had happened that night. With this recording, as well as with numerous photographs and witness accounts, the performance in Miami can virtually be reconstructed.

The Doors come on stage. Before the three musicians are even able to begin a song (backstage they agreed on 'Back Door Man'), Jim walks over to the microphone and starts blowing into a harmonica, taking a deep breath through it and producing incomprehensible sounds.

"YEEEEEAAH!", he shouts into the restless audience. "Now listen here, I ain't talking 'bout no revolution and I'm not talkin' about no demonstrations."

Ray Manzarek plays a few chords on the organ. However, Jim isn't being distracted by this. He continues his rap.

"I'm talking about having a good time, I'm talking about having a good time this summer. And you all come out to L.A., you all get out there, we're gonna lie down there in the sand and rub our toes in the ocean, and we're gonna have a good time, are you ready, are you ready, are you ready, are you ready, are you ready, are you ready, are you ready, are you ready, are-are-are-are-areare-ah-ah-ah-ah..."

Robby Krieger gets in tune with Jim's rhythmic screams and plays the intro riff to 'Back Door Man'. Ray Manzarek and John Densmore react instantly, and join in the song.

"FUCK! LOUDER! C'mon, man, GET IT LOUDER! C'mon, GET IT UP, BABY! LOUDER! YEAH! YEAH!", Jim screams over the riff. Eventually he tunes into the song.

"YEEEAH, I'm a back door man.

YEEEAH, back door man.

Men don't know, little girls understand!

All you people tryin' to sleep,

out there makin' with my midnight creep,

yeah, yeah.

I'm a back door man.

Men don't know but the little girls...

YOU UNDERSTAND, DON'T YOU BABY?!

ALRIGHT, C'MON!"

Robby tears into a solo.

"YEEEEEEEAAAH! YEEEEEEEEEEEEAAH! SUCK ME BABY! YOU GOTTA AAUUUGGGGGHHHHHHH! AAUUGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH FUCK! YEEEEEAAH! RIGHT, YEAH!"

Jim screams and groans into the restless audience. The music becomes restrained. Jim reacts.

"Urgh. Hey, hey, hey. Play softer, babe, get it way down, softer, sweetheart, get it way down low. Soft, soft, soft, soft, soft, sock it to me, c'mon softer."

John beats powerfully on his drums a few times, which normally signals the intro to 'Five To One', but Robby and Ray don't take the bait.

"Hey listen, I'm lonely! I need some love, you all. C'mon. I need some good time lovin', sweetheart, love me, c'mon. I can't... I can't take it without no good love, love. I want some love, lova'lova'lova'lova'-love! Love me sweet, c'mon. Ain't nobody gonna love my ass? C'mon."

The audience laughs. Jim continues in an ironic tone.

"I need ya! There's so many of you out there. Nobody's gonna love me sweetheart, c'mon! I need it, I need it, I need it, I need ya, I need ya, need ya, need ya, need ya, need ya, hah! AAALRIGHT! Hey, there's a bunch of people way back there that I didn't even notice! Hey, how about about 50 or 60 of you people come up here and love my ass, c'mon, yeeahhh, I love ya. C'mon!"

There is growing unrest amongst the audience. The musicians are still trying to play the intro to 'Five To One', but Jim's rap doesn't leave them any space.

"Yeeeeeeeeahhh, la-la-la-la. Yeeeeeeeeahhhh, la-la-la-la. Heeeeeeeeyyyeeeaah, la-la-la-la. Yeeeeeeeeeeaahhhhhhhh, la-la-la-la. Nobody gonna come up here and love me, huh? C'mon!"

John beats an accent on his drums again. Finally, Robby and Ray tune in and play the intro riff of 'Five To One'. A girl climbs on stage.

"Alright for you, baby!"

Jim wants to grab the girl, but the security guards are holding her and carry her away. Jim clings to the microphone and comments on the incident.

"That's too bad. I'll get somebody else! YEAH!"

He pauses. The volume of the intro riff of FIVE TO ONE increases. Jim messily and distortedly sings the first verse.

"Five to one, baby,

one in five,

no one here gets out alive, now,

you get yours, I'll get mine,

gonna make it baby if we try, yeah.

Come on!"

Krieger's solo follows. He plays awkwardly, can't seem to concentrate. Jim's voice rises both in volume and power.

"The old get old and the young get stronger,

may take a week and it may take longer,

they got the guns but we got the numbers,

gonna win, yeah, we're takin' over, c'mon!

Let's take over, yeah!"

Robby's main solo follows. Flowing, screeching loud notes tear over John's heavy drum beats. After the solo Jim lets out a shrill animal scream.

"AAAAAAUUUUUGGGGHHH!"

The Doors musically introduce the 'ballroom' phase of the song, but Jim suddenly starts swearing at the audience, something that will have penetrating consequences.

"YOU'RE ALL A BUNCH OF FUCKING IDIOTS!"

People are shouting, whistling and shouting back. An incredible noise arises.

"LETTIN' PEOPLE TELL YOU WHAT YOU'RE GONNA DO! LETTIN' PEOPLE PUSH YOU AROUND! HOW LONG DO YOU THINK IT'S GONNA LAST? HOW LONG ARE YOU GONNA LET IT GO ON? HOW LONG ARE YOU GONNA LET 'EM PUSH YOU AROUND? HOW LONG? MAYBE YOU LIKE IT! MAYBE YOU LIKE BEING PUSHED AROUND! MAYBE YOU LOVE IT! MAYBE YOU LOVE GETTING YOUR FACE STUCK IN THE SHIT, COME ON! "

John's drum beats become heavier. Unwaveringly he plays on. Robby pauses, Ray plays his bass line. The audience goes wild. Some people scream, others laugh. Jim reacts instantly.

"MAYBE YOU LOVE GETTING PUSHED AROUND! YOU LOVE IT, DON'T YOU?! YOU LOVE IT! YOU'RE ALL A BUNCH OF SLAVES! BUNCH OF SLAVES! YOU'RE ALL A BUNCH OF SLAVES! LETTIN' EVERYBODY PUSH YOU AROUND. WHAT ARE YOU GONNA DO ABOUT IT?! WHAT ARE YOU GONNA DO ABOUT IT?! WHAT ARE YOU GONNA DO ABOUT IT?! WHAT ARE YOU GONNA DO ABOUT IT?! WHAT ARE YOU GONNA DO ABOUT IT?! WHAT ARE YOU GONNA DO?! WHAT ARE YOU GONNA DO?! WHAT ARE YOU GONNA DO?!"

Several girls in the audience seem to be screeching in fear. It's noticable that people are totally distraught and frightened. Jim starts with the vocals again.

"Your ballroom days are over, baby,

night is drawing near.

Shadows of the evening

crawl across the year.

You walk across the floor,

flower in your hand,

tryin' to tell me no one understands,

trade in your hours for a handful of dimes,

gonna make it baby in our prime.

Get together one more time!

Get together one more time! Yeeeeah!"

Robby begins an uninspired solo. He is searching for the right notes on his instrument, making mistakes. In the background Jim screams and shouts like an injured animal.

"AAAAAHHHHHH! YYYYYEEEEEEAAHHHH! AAAHHHHHYYEEEAHHHHH! IIIIIIIIAAYYEEEAH! AAAAAAAAIIIIIIIEEEAAAAHH!"

The band pauses. Feedback from the guitar screams out of the amplifier. Robby hits the lower strings.

"Now, come on honey, now you go along home and wait for me sweetheart. I'll be there in just a little while! You see, I gotta go out in this car with these people, ... and get ... FUCKED UP!"

The heavy, archaic rhythm starts again.

"Get together one more time!

Get together one more time!

Get together one more time! Yeeeah!"

The group play on for several seconds, looking for the end of the song, then abruptly stop. Jim uses this split second to continue with his rap.

"HEY, I'M NOT TALKIN' ABOUT NO REVOLUTION!

I'M NOT TALKIN' ABOUT NO DEMONSTRATION!

I'M NOT TALKIN' ABOUT GETTIN' OUT ON THE STREETS!

I'M TALKIN' ABOUT HAVIN' SOME FUN!

I'M TALKIN' ABOUT DANCIN'!

I'M TALKIN' ABOUT LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOUR, TILL IT HURTS!

I'M TALKIN' ABOUT GRAB YOUR FRIEND!

I'M TALKIN' ABOUT LOVE, I'M TALKIN' ABOUT SOME LOVE, I'M

TALKIN' ABOUT SOME LOVE, I'M TALKIN' ABOUT LOVE, LOVE,

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE! GRAB YOUR ...

FFFFFFUCKIN' FRIEND AND LOVE HIM! COME ON! YEAH!"

Robby uses the breathless silence in the audience to play the intro of TOUCH ME. John and Ray join in seconds later. Jim is being distracted by this and sings part of the first verse, but then furiously stops.

"Touch me babe,

can't you see I am not afraid...

HEY WAIT A MINUTE! WAIT A MINUTE! WAIT A MINUTE! HEY WAIT

A MINUTE, THIS IS ALL FUCKED UP! NO, WAIT A MINUTE, WAIT A

MINUTE, WAIT A MINUTE! YOU BLEW IT, YOU BLEW IT, YOU BLEW

IT!"

At that very second Vince Treanor rushes behind Jim. He had seen that the singer had put his right hand inside his trousers, and with the left hand was now fiddling with the button. Vince grabs Jim by the belt of his dark brown leather trousers and pulls him tightly to himself. Jim furiously shouts into the microphone.

"NO, C'MON, WAIT A MINUTE! WAIT A MINUTE! I'M NOT GONNA GO ON! WAIT A MINUTE! I'M NOT GONNA TAKE THIS SHIT! I'M COPPIN' OUT, NOW WAIT A MINUTE!"

Jim manages to release himself from Vince Treanor's grip.

"BULLSHIT!"

Masses of people climb on stage. Jim and Vince are being pushed aside. Jim is happy about the fans, who start dancing on the stage, and shouts out his commentaries from the background. Robby and John have in the meantime broken up playing TOUCH ME. Only Ray continues on his organ, but stops after a few seconds while John starts playing a short drum solo. After a few seconds of silence, Robby suddenly produces the guitar intro to 'Love Me Two Times'. Jim sings in an uninspired tone.

"Love me two times, babe, love me twice today,

love me two times, babe, I'm going away.

Love me two times, yeah,

one for tomorrow, one just for today,

love me two times, going away.

Love me one time, babe, do not speak.

One time babe, knees got weak.

Love me two times, yeah,

one for tomorrow, all through the week.

Love me two times, going away.

Love me two times, going awaaaaaay.

Alright, yeah!"

Ray plays an accurate solo on his organ, while people are still running around the stage. The police try to push them off, but only partly succeed in doing so. Jim clings to the microphone and continues the song.

"Love me one time, babe, do not speak,

love me one time, babe, and my knees got weak.

But love me two times girl, last me all through the week.

Love me two times, going away.

Love me two times, babe, love me twice today,

love me two times, baby, going awaaayyy.

Two times, babe, one's gotta be soft,

love me two times, going away,

love me two times, going away!"

Applause rises. Jim nods his head. At least he has mastered one song without any interruption. Meanwhile the police have cleared the stage. In the hope that a slower rhythm might calm people down, The Doors start playing 'When The Music's Over'. Jim slowly gets back to his microphone.

"When the music's over,

when the music's over, yeaah.

When the music's over,

turn out the light,

turn out the light, yyyeeeeeeeeeeeaaahhhh.

When the music's over,

when the music's over, yeeeah.

When the music's over,

turn out the light,

turn out the light."

Jim continues singing, but now in a deep, drunken slur, totally devoid of emotion.

"Music is your special friend,

dance on fire, it intends,

music is your only veeeeaaaah!

Un ... til the end! Until the end! Until the end!"

Robby Krieger's distorted guitar solo follows. Jim starts howling again, then barks like a dog.

"Yeeeeeeeeeaaah! Yeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaah! Yeeeeeeee- ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah-aaaaaauuuuugh!"

The band are vamping to the tune of 'When The Music's Over', and Morrison suddenly decides to add a note of seriousness to the evening's proceedings.

"Now listen! I used to think the whole thing was a big joke. I used to think it was something to laugh about. And then the last couple of nights I met some people who were doing somethin'! They're tryin' to change the world! And I wanna get on that trip! I wanna change the world. Wanna change it. Yeeeeeeaaaaaahhh - change it."

Longish pause, The Doors continuing to vamp, expecting the worst. Everybody looks to Morrison, waiting for it, and it comes. He suddenly exclaims:

"THE NEXT THING WE'RE GONNA DO IS TAKE OVER ALL THE SCHOOLS!!!"

This sentiment elicits loud applause from the (largely student) audience. Jim continues, warming to the theme.

"AFTER WE TAKE OVER ALL THE SCHOOLS WE'RE GONNA TAKE OVER ALL THE ..."

His voice trails off.

" ... THE ... YEEEEEEAAAAH!"

He gives up. Jim decides to turn his attention to singing, and comes up with a passable phrase he sometimes adds to the song 'The End'.

"Away, away, away, away in India.

Away, away, away, away in India.

Away, away, away, away in India."

Robby Krieger effortlessly takes over the mournful melody, and turns it into a beautiful, repetitive, Indian sounding lick. Jim senses when to return to the song; it all gels nicely.

"Before I sink into the big sleep

I want to hear, I want to hear

the scream of the butterfly,

an' I'm howlin',

come back babe,

back into my arms."

He breaks off abruptly.

"Hey looky here! We're gettin' tired of hanging around!

Waitin' around with our heads to the ground.

I hear a very gentle sound.

Very near yet, very far,

very soft and very clear,

come today, babe, come today.

What have they done to the earth?

What have they done to our fair sister?

Ravaged and plundered,

ripped her and bit her,

stuck her with knives in the side of the dawn and

tied her with fences and

dragged her down.

I hear a very gentle sound.

Very near yet very far, very soft and very clear,

come today, baby, come today ..."

A girl's outburst has distracted Morrison - he breaks off:

"Huh? What's that? What you say, baby? ... Say huh? ... Say what? ... Say what? ... Say what? ... What's that? ... What's that, honey? Come on, tell me again ... Aw, come on, I can't hear you - now tell me what you're sayin' ... you want me to what?"

The crowd are becoming restless with Jim's flirting, and some people start to boo and scream.

"Huh? ... I can't hear you!"

The Doors vamp on as ever, and Jim gives up on the girl. The audience continue screaming.

"YEEEEEAAAH, right! "

Obviously John Densmore is bored. He tries to disturb the rising tension with some heavy drum beats. Nobody listens but screams out nasty words. Jim answers one of the guys and helps him to get on stage.

"Man says he's no animal ... what are you? What's your name, man? How are you doin'?"

There is incredible unrest in the auditorium. It seems everybody has forgotten this is a concert. There is no music anymore. Ray Manzarek, Robby Krieger and John Densmore are silent, save for Ray's bass vamping.

"Has anybody ... anybody out there got a cigarette?", Jim asks. He invites more people to come on stage.

"Hey, I'm gettin' lonely up here. I need some love! Don't know about you man!"

Jim now decides to get playful and do his Lenny Bruce routine.

"Hey, I can't believe all those people sitting way up there, man - why don't you all come down and get with us, man? Come on! ... What ... What are you ... in the fifty cent section or what?! Come on!"

Uproar and laughter follow. A few hundred people move towards the stage and start climbing it. But this is not enough for Jim.

"Come on down here! Come on! .... Closer, man! We need some love!"

Pause. Ray Manzarek continues vamping on his bass pedal. Jim notices nobody coming down from the upper seats and gives up on them. The stage is crowded anyway.

"Well you gonna stay way away."

Another pause. Now Jim thinks it's a good time to get a little autobiographical in his Bruce routine. The audience respond to each of his statements with cheers and whistles.

"You know I was born here in this state - you know that? ... Yeah, I was born right here in Melbourne, Florida in 1943. I think they call it 'Cape Something', I don't know ... yeah, but I, I left for a little while but I came back and I went to a ... a little, uh, junior college in St. Petersburg, you know where that is? ... Then I left there and I went up to a little uh ... college in Tallahassee called 'F.S.U.' ... Then I got smart ... Then I went out to a beautiful state called California! Went out to a little city, name of Los Angeles ...."

Jim Morrison's autobiographical sketch is over, and he decides to return to his favourite mantra.

"Now listen, I'm not talkin' about no revolution, an' I'm not talkin' about no demonstration! I'm talkin' about having fun! I'm talkin' about dancin'! I wanna see you people get up and dance! I wanna see you people dancin' in the street this summer! I wanna see you have some fun. I wanna see you run around. I wanna see you paint the town. I wanna see you ringin' out. I wanna see you shout. I wanna see some fun. I wanna see some fun from everyone."

The whistles from the audience get louder. After a short pause Jim starts singing again.

"Weeeeee are together. We're together. We're together baby. We're together ... Get it up!"

Somebody from the audience screams up at Morrison: "Somebody else gets to this fucking thing, Jim!". Several listeners produce other unintelligable screams. The singer suddenly rounds on them and asks matter-of-factly:

"We want the same thing, don't we?"

Some people scream yes.

"We want the same thing. We want the whole hog, don't we babe?"

Much to the delight of his fellow musicians, Jim finally returns to the song.

"We want the world and we want it ...

NOOOOOOOWWWWWWW! YEEEAAAH!"

The group play their familiar parts, and Jim gets back to his usual lyrics. The band seem to be relieved.

"So when the music's over,

when the music's over, yeeeaaaah,

when the music's over,

turn out the light,

turn out the light!

Music is your only friend,

dance on fire, it intends,

music is your only friend ...

un ... til the end,

till the end,

until the ... eeeeeeeend!"

'When The Music's Over' duly completed, and with the trembling stage still swamped with people, Morrison unceremoniously lays into the 'Ceremony' intro to 'Light My Fire'.

"Wake up! You can't remember where it was, had this dream stopped? The snake ... was pale gold, glazed and shrunken. ... We were afraid to touch it. The sheets were hot, dead prisons. Nooooowwww ... run to the mirror in the bathroom, look, she's coming in here ... I can't live through each slow century of her moving ..."

Jim pauses and turns to the group, while the audience moves forth and back. Everybody screams.

"... I let my cheek slide down the cool smooth tile ... feel the good cold stinging blood ... the smooth ... hissing ... snakes of raaaaiiiin!"

The band suddenly lance into 'Light My Fire'. Morrison is on the case immediately, but he suddenly sounds very drunk, slurring the words terribly.

"Know that it would be untrue, know that I would be a liar,

if I was to say to you, girl we couldn't get much higher.

Come on baby light my fire,

come on baby light my fire,

try to set the night on fire!

Time to hesitate is thru', no time to wallow in the mire,

try now we can only lose, our love become a funeral pyre.

Come on baby light my fire,

come on baby light my fire,

try to set the night on fiiiiiireeeeee!"

Ray plays an accurate solo without mistakes. Everybody hopes that Jim has calmed down, but some more fans climb up on the stage again, stomping on the wooden floor and dancing. The stomping comes through the microphone P.A. and creates a dull rumbling. Robby Krieger takes over the solo and plays the melody of 'Eleanor Rigby'. Jim squats down in front of Robby, his eyes following the movements of Robby's left hand from only inches away, flying across the neck of his guitar. He jumps up again, lights up a cigarette, then snatches the cap off an unsuspecting policeman's head, throwing it into the raging audience. The fans applaud, as the cop snatches Jim's hat with the metal skull on, and likewise lets it sail frisbee-like into the audience. Everybody's laughing. After Robby's solo Jim shares a beer with one of the guys on stage. He returns to the microphone, surrounded by screaming and dancing fans. All instruments stop immediately except Ray's heavy bass.

"YEAH, I WANNA SEE SOME DANCIN'! I WANNA SEE SOME DANCIN!"

Jim pauses for a second.

"YEEEAHHH, I WANNA SEE SOME FUN, WANNA SEE SOME DANCIN'! THERE ARE NO RULES, THERE ARE NO LAWS, DO WHATEVER YOU WANNA DO! DO IT!"

There is an incredible noise in the hall. Jim struggles hard to be heard.

"AAALLLRIGHT!"

Lewis Martin comes on stage and gives Jim a live lamb. Jim puts it under his right arm.

"I'd fuck her but she's too young!"

The audience howls and whistles.

"Yeeeaahhh! Now listen, anybody that wants to come up here and join us and do some dancin', have some fun, just get on up here! Come on! COME ON!"

Robby interrupts Jim with the intro to the final part of LIGHT MY FIRE. In the meantime countless people have accumulated on stage. Someone takes the lamb off Jim and he clings to the microphone.

"Time to hesitate is thru', no time to wallow in the mire,

try now we can only lose, and our love become a funeral pyre.

C'mon baby light my FIRE!

COME ON BABY LIGHT MY FIRE!

TRY TO SET THE NIGHT ON...

KNOW THAT IT WOULD BE UNTRUE, KNOW THAT I WOULD BE A

LIAR,

IF I WAS TO SAY TO YOU, GIRL WE COULD'NT GET MUCH HIGHER!

COME ON BABY LIGHT MY FIRE!

COME ON BABY LIGHT MY FIRE, C'MON!

TRY TO SET THE NIGHT ON FIRE!

TRY TO SET THE NIGHT ON - FIREEEE!"

After the song's outro the audience erupts. Jim shouts out further comments above the noise.

"ALRIGHT! ALRIGHT! NOW I WANNA SEE SOME ACTION OUT THERE! I WANNA SEE SOME ACTION OUT THERE! I WANNA SEE SOME ACTION OUT THERE! I WANNA SEE SOME ACTION OUT THERE! I WANNA SEE SOME ACTION OUT THERE! I WANNA SEE YOU PEOPLE COME ON UP HERE AND HAVE SOME FUN! NOW COME ON, LET'S GET ON UP HERE! NO LIMITS, NO LAWS, COME ON, COME ON!"

An incredible noise ensues. People shout, screech, howl, applaud, whistle.

"THIS IS YOUR SHOW! ANYTHING YOU WANT GOES! NOW COME ON!"

The audience returns a hundredfold "Yeah!" and storm the stage again. It is perfect chaos.

"ANYTHING YOU WANT! LET'S DO IT! LET'S DO IT! LET'S DO IT!"

One of the promoters pushes through to the microphone and shouts: "Hold it, someone's gonna get hurt! HOLD IT!" Jim takes the microphone out of his hand.

"ALRIGHT! NOW, WE'RE NOT GONNA LEAVE UNTIL WE ALL GET OUR ROCKS OFF!"

At this point someone throws a bag of red paint at the singer. Jim's pants get covered with paint. One of the security guards has had enough, and amongst all the howling from the fans, he shoves Jim off the stage. The other Doors flee when the guy in the audience starts throwing bags of paint at them as well. It takes Morrison almost 10 minutes to break free from the crowd and to disappear behind the stage curtain into his dressing room. Shortly after that he emerges from backstage up at the balcony. For minutes he stares as if in a trance down at the chaos in the hall below him.

Not until an hour later is the hall empty. Pieces of clothing are lying around everywhere, being swept together into a pile 5 foot high. Backstage soon afterwards, everybody's good mood returns. The Doors share a few cans of beer with the cops. The officials laugh, and say that they had had fun. Bill Siddons gives the policeman whose cap had been purloined by Jim a couple of dollars as compensation.

After listening to the 59 minute tape of the Miami concert in my headphones for the second time, my head is ringing. Throughout the whole concert there was incredible unrest. People react to almost every sentence that Jim aggressively and forcefully shouts out. Horrified, I imagine what a chaotic impression the band must have left with the judge and jury in court in Miami when they played this tape in the courtroom. However, even after the most intense listening, the much quoted sentence 'How about if I show you my cock?' can't be made out. Had the three Doors, who in later interviews often mentioned this quote, themselves become victims of the much-mooted 'mass hallucination'? Ray Manzarek, Robby Krieger and John Densmore are vehemently of the opinion that Jim hadn't exposed himself, notwithstanding Jim purportedly shouting the quote during LIGHT MY FIRE. The sound quality of the recording is quite good, despite the apparent chaos, and no distinguishable cuts can be heard.

"Imagine the following. There is the judge, prosecuting attorney, the jury, 60% freaks and older guys in this bourgeois court room. They play this tape. The first piece is BACK DOOR MAN, and the judge had ordered beforehand that none of the spectators shout, sing or tap the rhythm with their feet. The next thing that happens is this eye contact game. Everybody looks at everyone, and lifelong friendships are made. It was incredible. It was really Kafka-esque. This music is being played in a court room - music you normally dance or fuck to."

(Mike Gershman, a journalist, in an interview with Chuck Pulin, 1969)

We're not talking about 'music' in the conventional sense, though. The musicians' desperate attempts to try to turn Jim's own version of the Living Theatre into an 'ordinary' concert failed. Apart from Love Me Two Times and Light My Fire, no song was played featuring the complete lyrics. Any attempt to finish the songs to the musicians' satisfaction was put to rest by Jim with his excessive 'spiel'. For many, this night in Miami was the end of The Doors. Backstage Robby Krieger was furious. Ray Manzarek didn't know yet into which category to fit this show, but he had also been affected. John Densmore's theory, that a time bomb had been ticking inside Jim Morrison, and had exploded that night, was probably closer to the truth.

"Nobody had arrested Jim. The worst comment came from a policeman, when he said: 'Boys, this way you're going to ruin your career. People have come here to hear some songs, not that preaching'"

(Bill Siddons in the radio special "The Doors From The Inside", 1988)

In the public eye this time bomb had indeed exploded, in that the whole remainder of the planned tour, which consisted of a further 20 dates, was cancelled as a result. A catastrophe for The Doors, and a catastrophe for the Doors fans, as the group had intended to perform songs from the not yet released THE SOFT PARADE album. On this tour the band would have covered the whole of the east coast of the United States, and also two gigs in Honolulu. The cause of all the cancellations was the warrant released against Jim Morrison on 5th March 1969. He was accused of 'lewd and lascivious behavior, indecent exposure, open profanity and drunkeness'. The Doors, who had split to Jamaica for a short holiday, were surprised and not a little scared about this. Discontent with the unclear situation, Jim returned to L.A. only a week later.

In L.A. the heat was already on. The first comments about the cancelled concerts arrived, and the press began publishing exaggerated and even fabricated reports about the Miami concert. Every article picked up on the contents of the warrant, and to most of them Jim Morrison was guilty right from the beginning. It was found particularly distasteful that he had performed his 'exhibitionist show' in front of 14 year old school kids. The magistrate in Florida accused Jim of hastily leaving the state to escape his threatened arrest, even though it was known that The Doors had been booked to fly to Jamaica. Jim Morrison was now a fugitive from the law, and with an international warrant out for his arrest, was wanted by the FBI. This warrant eventually arrived at the Doors Office, and Jim gave himself up to the FBI in L.A. in the presence of his lawyer, Max Fink, on 3rd April 1969. $5000 was put up as bail, and he was released the very same day.

On 14th April Jim had to attend court again, where a prosecuting attorney confirmed the accusations made against Jim Morrison in Miami. In view of this, Max Fink tried to portray Jim's having to give himself up to the authorities in Miami on 14th November 1969 as being unlawful, as the freedom of the accused had been restricted. Morrison had, after all, been released on bail. Max Fink also applied for the case to be transferred to L.A. One Ronald Reagan, however, then the Governor of the State of California, first had agreed not to extradite Jim to Florida and granted Jim a full pardon. Then, out of the blue, Reagan thought otherwise, and personally signed Morrison's release papers, Fink's application thus being denied. Jim was livid, and Ronald Reagan's name couldn't be mentioned around him after that incident or he would erupt into profanity.

A degrading court case followed, which would stretch out until pronoucement of judgement on 30th October 1970.

Despite contradictory witness accounts and even the recording of the concert, as well as 150 photographs that did not show one shred of evidence of Morrison's apparent exhibitionist behaviour in public, he was found guilty on these charges. On top of this, he was accused of 'blasphemy'. The charges that were actually reasonable (drunkeness in public and lascivious behaviour) were dropped. Jim was given for profanity 60 days of hard labour; he was also sentenced to 6 months of the same in the Dade County Jail for exposure as well as a fine of $500 and 28 months of probationary time. Max Fink made an appeal to the court, and Jim was released on bail again. Due to Jim's subsequent death, however, there would never be another meeting in court. It was obvious that Judge Murray Goodman, with a lot of pressure from outside, wanted to make an example of this court case. A 'Demonstration for Decency and Good Manners' which was supported by President Richard Nixon, found public interest, and included much prejudice from right wing conservatives involved or not in the court case, so that for no good reason a political farce, eagerly hyped by the press, blew up out of nothing.

"The whole thing took place in the southern states of the U.S.A., and this was Jim's home. Also, I think that we had chosen a bad time. We were used as scapegoats, so they thought they would have a chance to hit back against all these young people, the dopers, and all things that had to do with sex, incidentally. The Doors were there - at the wrong time in the right place. If it hadn't been us, it would have been someone else. You know, all of this wasn't about The Doors - they just wanted to make some example at the time."

(Ray Manzarek in an interview with the author, 1990)

I remember a nice story that Jac Holzman told during THE DOORS FROM THE INSIDE radio show. About a month after the Miami incident, Pamela Courson had apparently asked Jim the all-decisive question, whether he had done 'it', or not. Pam later told Jac that Jim had said 'yes' to this question, accompanied by his most mischievous smile. When she had asked him the reason why, he had answered: "Honey, I just wanted to see how 'he' looked in the spotlight!"

In the meantime Jim's relationship with Patricia Kennealy had intensified further, so that every time he was in New York, he stayed at her place. Although Patricia resembled Pamela Courson superficiously, to Jim she was the contra-point to his relationship with Pamela. While the latter adored him and gave him unlimited support in basically all activities (as long as they didn't concern The Doors), Patricia offered him intellectual support and nourishment. Back in Los Angeles, Pamela did her best to turn Jim into a home-loving character, in that she cooked for him, and made sure that he didn't drink too much. In New York, however, he was impressed by Patricia, who talked about and dared to criticise his poems and other literary sources. Patricia had initiated him into some of the secrets of the witch cult, in which he had been fascinated ever since, and Jim proposed to marry Patricia in a 'handfasting' ceremony. This makes Patricia the only woman who owns a certificate (which is, however, not legally valid), stating that she was married to Jim Morrison. Although Pamela frequently called herself Mrs Morrison, Jim had never actually lawfully married her, either.

At the court case in Miami, Patricia took part as a spectator.

"The case was a cheap and cynical farce, and was moreover a complete pisstake of justice. Right from the beginning his stars didn't look good. It was politically motivated and totally without sense. Certain moralists, like Jackie Gleason, jumped up from their seats when morals and decency were mentioned, just to get some cheap publicity, and accused Jim of things that he never did. Jim sat in the dock and kept scribbling in his scrap books. He never looked up, apart from glancing at the judge or one of the witnesses every now and then. He never looked at the jury. He didn't even look at me, although I sat on one side from him on the press bench. Later I sat down behind the wooden barrier, which separates the spectator benches from the dock. I sat so close behind him, I could have touched his back, if I had stretched out my hand. The judge often looked at me, and probably thought that I was a representative of the radical New York press."

(Patricia Kennealy-Morrison in a letter to the author, 1991)

In the recesses Patricia talked to the youths that were invited as jurors. Without exception, they voiced the opinion that Jim hadn't exposed himself. Patricia had not only come to the court case in Miami as an observer. She was pregnant and wanted to talk to Jim about what to do. In tears, both of them decided for Patricia to have an abortion - a hard decision, which in addition to the farce of the court case, created a deep pain in Jim Morrison's life.

"Jim was terribly scared, and he wasn't embarrassed about showing it to me. While we were talking about a possible abortion, he cried. We reached the opinion that the timing wasn't good, and he said that we could have a child together later at another time. I would have had the child for only one reason, that it was Jim's child - and I think it was terribly egotistic of me to want a child just because it was with a certain person, and not because I wished to have a child. It was the most difficult decision in my life, and the second biggest loss that I have ever suffered."

(Patricia Kennealy-Morrison in a letter to the author, 1991)

Under the pressure of the court case, as well as the burden of the abortion, Jim wrote a message to his fans, which doubtlessly also served as a cheering up to his own psyche, and which was published in several American magazines as a reader's letter:

"It's a matter of demolishing experience, just a question of gathering up all fragments into one zone of awareness, then pulverizing them sufficiently to expel from the system through its tiny doors, leaving behind the mind stripped bare, devastated and stark as ground zero. You got to have the balls to lace your own network with it; let the risk illuminate your own fluids. Look at these capillaries! Lit up like emerald peacock feathers! You gotta hook your brain fibre on the spike of a distant star and let it stretch you at the receding speed of the primal explosion. All the way, brothers and sisters, to the breaking point, and pray for a glimpse before the tissue tears. The extension of the human mind, the structure of technology squats on the surface area of collective consciousness. Get out from under the antientropic plumbing; become not just the source of energy but the receiving substance as well. Rediscover selfprogramming!

It's more than likely that a little self-abuse will be necessary to bruise away the dependence on bad habits. A little hootch, a little cootch, even a bloody brawl will keep you tainted in the understanding of Pilate's apostles and off their provendor menu. Keep yourself honest until the day you got the karmic warhead primed and can explode in their faces, leaving them gasping around mouthfuls of powdered teeth.

For now, take it as a delight to be nothing more than a stab of flesh with the total mathematical content of a pleasure quotient. Use your brain as an instrument for appreciating sensual input with its developed intricacies only as experiments in methods of acquiring more and better pleasure. Enough keeps the mythology erect - too much brings it down and through the floor. Ache on through to the other side! Kill the image! Create the essence! Never forget: the cockcunt and the brain are just opposite ends of the same organ."

(Jim Morrison in a letter, 1969)

Nobody knows for sure what he was on that day. It's a quite extraordinary and daring list of imperatives is what it is, and shows remarkable poise and eloquence, under the circumstances.

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