Venue Address: 205 E. Pender St. - Vancouver, B.C.
Promotion: Tommy Chong
Performer:
Elijah
Setlist:
Gloria*
* Jim Morrison appears on-stage with Elijah
Recordings / Film:
Unavailable
Photographers:
Unavailable
Reviews / Info:
-Jim Morrison is taken to The Parlor by Ihor Todoruk following The Doors performance at the Pacific Coliseum.
-Actor/performer Tommy Chong moves the Elegant Parlor to this venue in 1969.
-Jim Morrison gets onstage with Elijah and performs an extended version of Gloria.
"I was there that night in Vancouver when Jim Morrison jammed after the concert. As I recall, Morrison did only one tune with the band. The band was called Elijah. They had their own repertoire of tunes, but when Morrison showed up, they had a quick confab and decided they'd jam out on Gloria, which was a Morrison fave and an easy tune to play with no rehearsal. Also, it wasn't The Elegant Parlor. That was a different place. This joint was just called The Parlor and it was located just east of the north east corner of Pender and Main on the north side of Pender.
Elijah was there for several consecutive nights. I don't remember which night of the week Morrison showed up. The Elegant Parlor was in the same building as the Retinal Circus on Davie, so that definitively was not the same place I'm speaking of. A lot of bands played there, and I remember a few of them, but I don't remember Django being there that particular night. I do remember being on a Burrard St. bus headed over to Kits in though in 1967 and seeing their name on the marquee of Dante's Inferno as the bus went by Davie St. I wasn't sure who they were at that point. In addition, I did see The Doors in concert, but it was in '68 in Toronto.
As for Elijah, they were from Seattle, and I only remember their lead singer, who also played flute. I think his name was Mark, and they played at least one of the outdoor festivals in the Vancouver area. They may have been at the Aldergrove festival. I believe local pianist, Bruce Gallagher aka Doc Fingers, played with Elijah at one point (he was originally from Seattle too).
Although I only remember Morrison doing just the one tune with them, they stretched it out for an extended and dynamic performance. I believe Morrison came to love the tune Gloria, cuz Van Morrison had shared a gig with the Doors for a few nights at the Whisky a Go Go when The Doors were the house band there.
Another reason I'm sure Morrison was at the Elijah gig was because the band was there for several consecutive nights and I attended every night. I don't remember which night of the week Morrison showed up, but June 6/70 sounds right, cuz I remember the weather was warm. And for sure it was the Parlor on Pender, not the place on Davie. I'm not even sure if the Elegant Parlor was still open in 1970. Also, I recall exchanging a couple of amusing pleasantries with Morrison after the performance. He was very high and/or drunk. Charming though."
Bruce Macmillan
Vancouver, B.C.
Copyright © 2020 Bruce Macmillan
A Special Thanks to Bruce Macmillan for providing his review of the jam in Vancouver to MildEquator.com!
ARCHIVE/MEMORABILIA:
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