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BACK BAY THEATRE - 03/17/1968

BOSTON, MA - U.S.A.

Venue Address: 209 Massachusetts Ave. - Boston, MA
Promotion: Ron Delsener
Event: In Concert

Also Performing:
Linda Ronstadt & The Stone Poneys
Organ Factory (Early Show)

Setlist:

Early Show Break On Through The Unknown Soldier Light My Fire (Incomplete)	Late Show When The Music's Over Back Door Man -Five To One Break On Through -Don't Fight It Love Me Two Times You're Lost Little Girl Light My Fire The End -Across The Sea -The Accident -The Holy Sha -The Crossroads -Ensenada

Recordings / Film:
Lost Amateur/Audience Recording (See Below)
8mm Promotional Film
Amateur/Audience Recording (Late Show)

Photographers:
Carole Morrisey
Unidentified

Reviews / Info:
-This venue opens in March 1922 as Loew's State Theater and later takes on other names.
-This venue is purchased in January 1964 and renamed the Back Bay Theatre in August.
-This venue is purchased by the Christian Science Church with intent to demolish.
-This performance is falsely advertised as The Doors first appearance in Boston.
-The Doors are filmed by Bob Neuwirth on this date for a promotional film.
-4:00pm & 7:30pm scheduled start times.
-Promotional artwork by Bob Estus (Poster;)
-Approx. 3,500 in attendance during both shows.
-Due to fog in the Boston area, The Doors and Linda Ronstadt's flight from Rochester is delayed.
-Road manager Vince Treanor arrives late by truck with the band's equipment and unloads with the help of the Organ Factory.
-Promoters quickly call in opening act Organ Factory to perform.
-The earliest known screening of The Unknown Soldier promotional film takes place during the delay.
-Linda Ronstadt's manager Herb Cohen hires a private plane to fly both groups from Rochester and fulfill contract obligations.
-An early form of Five To One is performed during Back Door Man at the late show.
-Jim Morrison incorporates rare renditions of poetry into The End.
-Late show setlist may be incomplete.
-The Doors are paid $11,056 for these performances.
-The Doors return to Boston in April 1970.
-Ballerinas dressed in costume picket and protest the demolition of this venue in June 1968.
-A large Wurlitzer theatre pipe organ installed at this venue is saved from demolition by the American Theatre Organ Society.

"I had a choice of seeing either The Doors or the Paul Butterfield Blues Band that day. I had seen Butterfield shortly before, so I opted for The Doors. I was only 15 at the time, and I went with a high school mate. I think the show may have been on a Sunday and possibly in the afternoon. The band was late, and at some point during the delay, the film 'The Unknown Soldier' was shown. The song hadn't been released yet, and I think also that this was the first rock video I had ever seen. It was powerful at the time. I remember the crowd was a bit pissed at the wait, and Morrison being quite drunk. They opened with 'Break on Through'. The show was good, but not great. The Doors were so hot at the time but the delay and Jim's condition took away from the enthusiasm. I probably saved the ticket stub, but it's long gone by now. All I have are these, admittedly, limited memories."

Ron Bogan
Salem, MA
Copyright © 2010 Ron Bogan

A Special Thanks to Ron Bogan for providing his review of the concert to MildEquator.com!

NOT TO TOUCH THE EARTH - 8MM

Info:

8mm B&w footage with a studio version of Not To Touch The Earth for a soundtrack. In March 1968, The Doors management hire famed New York artist Bobby Neuwirth to 'babysit' Jim Morrison and complete a short documentary film titled Not To Touch The Earth as a companion to their recently recorded epic The Celebration Of The Lizard. The film includes footage of the The Doors shot on March 15th in Hamilton, March 16th in Rochester, and March 17th in Boston. Also included is behind-the-scenes footage of the band in flight and other miscellaneous venue/location footage. Linda Ronstadt can be spotted briefly. Although intended to be a promotional film, it is never used for that purpose and does not go into production. Outtake footage is known to exist, however the whereabouts of the complete master filmwork is currently unknown.

Film Locations:

Note: Portions of this filmwork do not contain performance footage.

Hamilton - March 15th 1968 at the Colgate University
Rochester - March 16th 1968 at the Eastman Theatre
Boston - March 17th 1968 at the Back Bay Theatre

LOST RECORDING:

Info:

While an audience recording of the 1968 Boston late show is known to fans, a taper from the Boston 1968 venue had previously recorded and loaned out his tapes, only to never receive them back. There is a possibility that these are a new source of Boston 1968 recordings, or they may very likely be the recording already known to fans.

ARCHIVE/MEMORABILIA:

LETTER TO THE EDITOR:

Newspaper: Broadside
Author: Don Williams
Publish Date: April 24th - 1968
Copyright © Broadside
The Doors - Boston Back Bay Theatre 1968 - Letter To The Editor