by Jim Markley

Created on: May 26, 2007

I love many bands and several different genres of music but my favorite band of all time has to The Doors. John Densmore, Robbie Kreiger, Ray Manzarek, and of course, Jim Morrison. The poetry of the lyrics, the blues roots of the music and the amazing musicianship displayed simply blow me away.
Last night I had the immense pleasure of attending a concert at the Cleveland "House of Blues" performed by "Riders on the Storm". This band is basically "The Doors" minus the use of the name. This is no tribute band, as "Riders"

boasts both Ray and Robbie among it's members along with Brett Scallions (The former front-man for "Fuel".
To actually stand there and see Ray and Robbie perform in person has to be one of the highlights of my entire life! Not to mention the fact that they have obviously practiced long hours to truly give a masterful performance. They were the tightest group I have ever heard, crisp, clear, clean and full of energy and respect for the music.
Before the show, I wondered what to expect, after all. both Ray and Robbie are north of sixty years old. Would they merely go through the motions while performing all the great old chestnuts from their past? To my amazement, these veteran performers appeared to have even more fun playing then the privileged audience did listening to them!
They assaulted our eyes, ears and hearts and left the crowd in the most amazing state of euphoria I have ever seen. It literally felt like the roof would explode outward from all the powerful vibes.At the conclusion, complete strangers were grinning uncontrollably and hugging each other in a state of complete musical bliss.(Myself included).
What completely floors me is the sense of UNDERSTANDING I garnered by the performance and my reaction to it. These guys have absolutely NOTHING to proof to anyone. They are not in it for the money. They are not giant egos in need of a fix. They truly love this music, each other,playing together and sharing the experience with an entirely new audience. Intelligent life was found last night in Cleveland and they COMMUNICATED.
The first song I have any recollection of in my life was "The Unknown Soldier". I was five years old, they connected with me then and they still do 39 years later, THANK GOD.

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