Venue Address: 1826 West McDowell Rd. - Phoenix, AZ 
Promotion: Scenic Sounds
Event: Arizona State Fair - Show 3
Also Performing:
Albert King
The Sunshine Company
Hamilton Streetcar
Sweetwater
Setlist:
Back Door Man
Tell All The People
When The Music's Over
Light My Fire
The Unknown Soldier
(Incomplete)
Recordings / Film:
Unavailable
Photographers:
Ed Conrow (Bandersnatch)
Doug Hartley
Brian Lanker (Phoenix Gazette)
Rick Rieckhoff (Amateur)
Reviews / Info:
-The Arizona State Fair runs from November 1st to 11th.
-This is Show #3 of the Arizona State Fair.
-8:00pm scheduled start time.
-Approx. 10,000 in attendance.
-Jim Morrison expresses disatisfaction with the election of Richard Nixon as President on November 5th.
-The Doors are troubled with equipment failures during this show.
-Jim Morrison provokes a near-riot from the audience.
-Members of the audience are arrested during the performance after rushing the stage.
-The Doors are banned from further performances in Phoenix after this show.
-Newspapers across the country begin reporting on the banning of The Doors.
-Manager Bill Siddons reports that a TV special on The Doors is cancelled as a result of this show.
-This is The Doors final performance in Phoenix.
FIRST-HAND REVIEWS:
"The Doors/Albert King/Sweetwater show at the Arizona State Fair, Veteran's Memorial Coliseum in 11/1968 was the first "Concert" I went to at 12 years old. I sat above the floor on the east side next to the stage which was facing north. Sweetwater had a great sound and Albert King just plain blew me away, and I've been crazy about that Gibson Flying V guitar ever since. The Doors opened the show with 'Back Door Man'. The AZ Republic article is incomplete and seems somewhat tamed down, especially to what I remember. Nixon had just been elected president the day before and Mr. Morrison was NOT pleased, angrily bellering "Here we go again - four more years of mediocrity and horseshit!".
Things were getting out of control on the floor, and I'm glad I wasn't down there. I remember The Doors had an extremely long version of 'When The Music's Over' with Jim at a stand off with Vet's Coliseum facilities crew and security who wouldn't shut the house lights completely off at Jim's recurring insistance. At one point in the show, Jim took off his shirt and was using it to gesture at Arizona highway patrolmen in the front row as a mock bullfighter summoning the bull, waving his shirt like a 'cape'. At the end of the show, with the crowd demanding encores, throwing wadded up balls of paper on fire on stage, an Arizona highway patrolman on stage kept demanding that the show was over, but the crowd wouldn't let up, so he finally gave in and The Doors did another tune. Jim was charged with inciting a riot (looks like the charges were dropped) and seven people were arrested on the floor. All four members of The Doors were banned from entering or being in the state of Arizona for five years, even though John, Robby and Ray did nothing against the law, just playing their instruments per my quite accurate personal recollection. About a year later Jim violated the ban to be in Arizona by getting arrested with a friend at Sky Harbor Phoenix airport for being D&D on a Continental flight. I remember they were trying to 'sneak in' to see a Rolling Stones show."
Bob Wyman
Sedona, AZ
Copyright © 2012 Bob Wyman
A Special Thanks to Bob Wyman for providing his review of the concert to MildEquator.com!
"I was at the Nov. 7th, 1968 concert The Doors gave. I was backstage and then went out to my front-row center seat. I believe the order of appearance was Albert King, Sweetwater, and then The Doors. I remember watching Albert King from backstage and I realized my friend Bev was standing right next to Jim Morrison. I frantically tried to get her attention. She remembers being so absorbed in Albert King playing the guitar she didn't realize who she was standing next to. She told me later Jim commented on how good Albert was and she replied, saying "yes he is!" and never looking at Jim Morrison. Until I told her who she was standing next to later on, she thought it was a roadie!
I do remember what Jim said about Nixon that threw everyone into a tailspin - He said "Well, we have a new President. If we don't like him we will get him!" That is what caused such an uproar, given how close it was to JFK's assassination. There were not 500 fans storming the stage. No one rushed the stage, I had a front-row center seat.
My friend and I had also gone to see The Doors at the Hollywood Bowl on July 5th, 1968. As I recall, they played the same line-up. I think I was one of the few people who knew what was coming when Jim sang The Unknown Soldier. It was before Jim sang that song that he made the comment "Well, we have a new President..." It was more about the way he said it, he was drunk and it sounded threatening even to my seventeen year old self. That is what shook everyone up!"
Barbara Peterson
Phoenix, AZ
Copyright © 2023 Barbara Peterson
A Special Thanks to Barbara Peterson for providing her review of the concert to MildEquator.com!
ARCHIVE/MEMORABILIA:
NEWSPAPER PHOTO:
Contributed by: JSchuderer
REVIEW #1:
Newspaper: The Phoenix GazetteAuthor: Unknown
Publish Date: November 8th - 1968
Copyright © The Phoenix Gazette
Contributed By: JSchuderer
REVIEW #2:
Newspaper: The Arizona RepublicAuthor: Jon Sargent
Publish Date: November 8th - 1968
Copyright © The Arizona Republic
Contributed By: jim4371
REVIEW #3:
Newspaper: The Arizona RepublicAuthor: Ray Muench
Publish Date: November 9th - 1968
Copyright © The Arizona Republic
Contributed By: jim4371
ARTICLE #1:
Newspaper: The Arizona RepublicAuthor: Unknown
Publish Date: October 26th - 1968
Copyright © The Arizona Republic
Contributed By: MildEquator.com
RIOT ARTICLE #1:
Newspaper: The Arizona RepublicAuthor: Unknown
Publish Date: November 9th - 1968
Copyright © The Arizona Republic
Contributed By: jim4371
RIOT ARTICLE #2:
Newspaper: The Arizona Daily StarAuthor: Unknown
Publish Date: November 9th - 1968
Copyright © The Arizona Daily Star
Contributed By: jim4371
RIOT ARTICLE #3:
Newspaper: The Milwaukee JournalAuthor: Unknown
Publish Date: November 9th - 1968
Copyright © The Miwaukee Journal
RIOT ARTICLE #4:
Newspaper: The Chicago TribuneAuthor: The Associated Press
Publish Date: November 27th - 1968
Reproduced with permission by the Chicago Tribune
RIOT ARTICLE #5:
Newspaper: Rolling StoneAuthor: Unknown
Publish Date: Unknown - 1968
Copyright © Rolling Stone
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