Vince's first Doors show - Hampton Beach, August 1967

[Buda]

Vince can you tell us something you remember about your first concert experience of the Doors? I read that it was at Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom on Saturday August 19, 1967 (not in Greg Shaw's book). What is also known about this show that a crowd also gathered at the entrance of the ballroom to hear the show.

Thanks!

[universalmind69]

Vince adressed the Hampton Beach show briefly in this thread http://www.thefreedomman.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=426

Would be nice to hear a bit more from Vince on this show if memory and time allows though...

[Buda]

Thanks UniversalMind67 for your notice, I also encountered that thread, but unfortunately besides mentioning Hampton,
there were no real recollections concerning the gig itslef, that's why I raised this question again. Hopefuly Vince can add
something besides those few things we know about this date. I guess there's more he could remember, being this the
very first time he saw the Doors.

Until then, here's a review I found recently at AllExperts.com from a guy who attended the show (according to him they
played two sets!) and if his memory serves him (and us) well, we finally come to know a bit more what they played
besides the obligatory Light My Fire:

"I remember the Door's August 19, 1967, Hampton Beach concert very well. I was 18 and graduated high school
just two months before. Vietnam was going on and I knew this would be my last weekend as a civilian for some
time to come. I knew I was leaving home for Air Force basic training three days later. Somebody here said it
was stormy that day (a Saturday). I don't recall it being stormy -- I drove up from Nashua with my girlfriend
in my dad's old '55 Chevy station wagon, and we walked around the beach front a bit before getting in line
for the tickets and the show. By time the show was finished, however, some serious fog had rolled in and it
was pretty thick. It took at least two hours to get back to Nashua because you could hardly see the road.
Somebody mentioned "The Spectras" opening for the Doors that night. The band that opened the show Boston-
based "Bundle of Joy". For some reason, I never forgot that name, only because I thought it was a cool name
at the time. Also different from shows today was that The Doors played two sets, repeating "Light My Fire" in
both. The Doors followed the opening act, then in turn was followed by the house band -- a bunch of guys who
played there most nights during the summer. The Doors followed them with their show-closing second set. The
second set was a smoker, too -- it opened with "When the Music's Over", and closed with "The End". I was
standing maybe three feet or five feet from the front of the stage, almost directly in front of Jim Morrison.
Remember, Hampton Beach was a "dry" beach back then. There were no tables or concert seating or bar -- just a
big open dance floor that you stood in to watch shows like this. The place was a teen hangout with bands
there every night during the summer. It was a place for kids to hang out and dance to live bands. The Doors
were still riding high on their first self-titled album and the shortened single version of "Light My Fire"
(the LP had been recorded a year earlier in L.A. but not released until the summer of '67). The "Strange
Days" LP wouldn't be out for several more months, but the Doors played pretty much everything off both those
LPs that night. Doors' keyboardist Ray Manzarek later said the Doors could be one of the best bands in the
world or one of the worse, depending on how messed up Jim was. In August 1967, Jim and the Doors were still
hungry for it, and just tore the Casino up. It was raw and in your face -- the stage was a shambles when the
lights went up after "The End" (mic stands, drums and drum stands littered the stage) and I still remember
standing there with eyes wide open and jaw hanging to the ground. My air-head girlfriend didn't get it. "You
really liked this?" she asked. "Yeah," I replied. "Did you?" "Oh, I guess it was okay," was the best she
could muster. But then again, she thought the Monkees were the best thing since peanut butter. Go figure."
BluesPicker, 2011-01-30

http://en.allexperts.com/q/Doors-Jim-Mo ... -doors.htm

[Porsche]

The show is in Shaw's book. But he has it mislabeled as August 9, 1967. My friend Scott dug out the date in an old newspaper and discovered it was actually August 19. He also said Jay Leno attended this show when he was a teenager.

[Buda]

Thanks Len for the input! Maybe you were refering to this guy as your friend, as at the upper link he also mentions Jay Leno being there.

Scott MacNeil wrote at 2009-03-12 00:32:55:
I am researching these concerts for a book called The doors On The Road, I am a contributor and live in Billerica. A few days later the doors played the Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom. It was Saturday, August 19, 1967. The Spectras were an opening band for them. It was a stormy night and the Casino was damaged from it. I asked Jay Leno, and he confirmed he was in attendance as a Sr in high school. I hope people will come forward and fill in more blanks I have in this info. Also, many say the doors played The Frolics at Salisbury Beach, but I have been unable to find one person to confirm this and interview, I suspect it was during the same tour.

Is it possible to see that newspaper clip which confirmed the valid date?

[Porsche]

Yep, that's him. Small world. I don't know if he has a copy of the newspaper clipping. He told me he found it while going through the microfilm collection at a local library, but I never asked if he printed it out.

[Buda]

Would be cool to have a copy of it as there are still not any flyers or handbills surfaced of this show.

[RiderOnTheStorm0]

I dont live to far from hampton beach and have been there several times for shows, there was a smoking section few years back, i went there looked up and hanging on the wall in a glass case they have the cardboard flyer (original im assuming) hanging on the walls, it looks real cool and aged, next time i go there, i will be sure to take a picture with my phone.

[Buda]

That would be awesome to see, and please make sure to use the best equipment you can lay your hands on or set the highest quality possible! ...as we could never find anything from that show, not a ticket, nor a photo sadly.

[RiderOnTheStorm0]

yeah i deff. will man, ive seen it a few times, ill have to go up again soon, theres always good shows there, ive seen steve winwood like 7 times there, cool little theater

[vince]

There seems to be a controvery about the weather - Clear, warm summers evening. The week before the Turtles had performed. It was my first "Rack" concert. I was impresed with the Turtles because they had fun. They were exhuberant, talkative, joked with the crown. It was a "Happy" performance.

Then came the Doors. Stage dark until Jim began to sing. Lights up and there they were - from album to real life. When it was over I walked away and suggested to my friend - There go the American Beattles.

Soon after I established "The Organ Factory" which became quite popular and went on toe win a Battle of The Bands resulting in a recoding contract. This bubble was busted as a result fo Drugs, the lead singer being arrested for possission of pot in direct disobedience to the edict that this group, at least, would be drug free.

We went in to see the Doors in other locations. Two were pivotal - Baltimore when I went to propose my Sound system to Bill. I learned that they had just signed a promotional agreement with Acoustic, a new company under the guidance of Steve Marx. I assisted Bill in packing the equipment up and getting it into the truck.

This was to stand me in good stead when the next attendance was New Haven. I was quite prepared to take over the packing while Bill, only 19 went to tryoto get Jim out of jail. This latter effort, accomplished with the help of the members ofr the Factory, was to result in my association with the group.

The Organ Factory went on to play the "Calming Group" at the theater in Boston while the Doors were delayed by Fog for hours. They played while the audience grew more restive. While there was some booing and such, they got a good applause when finally the Doors arrived and the Show was to go on.

Who was to know that the Joy of Spring in one year was to be followed by the dissolution of a concept in the fall of another.

Sound like The 4 Seasons, Yes?

As an aside - I do not remember that the Doors stage was a mess after the performance. they were not in the mindset that lead to damaging their equipment. Especially John was very fussy about the care of his drums. It would be worth your very life to knock one down. He used Zilgen cymbals - at that time the most valued and valuable of them all. Woe to him who damaged one of those. At the time of the summer of 1967 the group was just going public. The were still not used to the fame and growing fortune. In fact they were careful of expenses. taxis rather than the later limos were the mode of transport. Motels, rather than expensive hotels were the place of shelter.

I suppose this is a bit more history. Be assured that it was not a stormy night for that show, however.