Venue Address: 515 East Jefferson St. - Ann Arbor, MI 
Promotion: Student Council
Event: University of Michigan Homecoming Dance
Also Performing:
The Long Island Sound
The Five Bucks
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Setlist: |
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1st Attempt Soul Kitchen (Vamp) (Aborted) |
2nd Attempt (Aborted) |
3rd Attempt Soul Kitchen (Vamp) (Aborted) |
4th Attempt Light My Fire The Crystal Ship Alabama Song The End |
Recordings / Film:
Unavailable
Photographers:
Steve Bober
Jay Cassidy
Reviews / Info:
-The Doors stop for ice cream prior to this show and Jim Morrison begins drinking as a result.
-Approximately 5,000 in attendance for the first performance.
-During the 1st attempt to perform, The Doors vamp Soul Kitchen without Jim Morrison.
-Jim Morrison takes the stage during the 2nd attempt to perform.
-During the second attempt to perform, Jim Morrison is overly intoxicated and the audience begins to walk out.
-The Doors take the stage for a third time and begin vamping Soul Kitchen again.
-Audience members throw crumpled paper cups onto the stage and The Doors leave the stage.
-The Doors make a fourth attempt to perform and the show is a success despite a sparse crowd.
-Iggy Pop recalls this show as his inspiration for The Stooges, forming in 1969.
STEVE BOBER AT UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN 1967
On October 20th 1967, Steve Bober of the University Of Michigan attends The Doors disastrous performance in the intramural building, and captures a handful of color photographs of the event. MildEquator.com is pleased to feature these previously unpublished photographs publicly for the first time, courtesy of Steve, along with his first-hand account of what it was like to attend this performance and witness the legendary performance by Jim Morrison that inspired Iggy Pop to follow in his footsteps! Please visit our Ann Arbor 1967 concert info page for more information and materials on the show, and be sure to pick up Robby Krieger's Set The Night On Fire to find out what really happened that night!
"I was there, up front and center. Morrison whipped his mic cord at me because I was yelling at him to get down with the tunes. Yep, I was in his face... when he presented his drunken belligerence and snarls, I hollered for him to sing a song, and he took offense, whipping the mic cord at me. I didn't get that particular shot, but got some directly in front, in focus, red-eye and all. I took some fine pics of him, unpublished until now, because I stuck around to the end of the excellent set.
Iggy Pop was part of my apartment scene, as 'the Professor' Ron Richardson and I were roommates, and he was managing the Psychedelic Stooges (and Scott Richard). I was at the Ann Arbor Armory for the Stooges inaugural and took some classic pics; The SRC was also on board, the same, or a different night, but no pics of that one. Wouldn’t have missed this era for the world!"
A very special thanks to Steve Bober for providing his story & photographs to MildEquator.com!
PHOTOS:
CLICK HERE TO PICK UP A COPY ROBBY KRIEGER'S SET THE NIGHT ON FIRE FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THIS SHOW! >
MILAN SASICH AT UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN 1967
"As Jim Morrison would say, "Okay, here we go!". This is what I saw and heard, at the University of Michigan, on October 20th, 1967, which was our Homecoming dance event at the old Intramural Bldg. I didn't want to go too early to the concert, because I didn't want to hear any other band or music by them. As the concert crowd was gathering outside the Intramural Bldg, several people were selling Doors tickets (ironically, at the doors) for $2.50 to $3.00 a ticket. So I bought a ticket earlier, and went home (since I was a Big Ten gymnast I lived on the Athletic campus, and I lived only a half a block away, I could see how crowded the whole concert would be, and I could go at my 'leisure'). The concert was to start at 9pm, and go to 12:30 am. I thought that I would go there about 9:30 pm or so... and nearly a huge mistake (by my missing the 1st 30 or 40 minutes).
Some people estimated the crowd to be about 5,000 but I can't imagine that. It was my understanding that the 1st set, which was performed by Manzarek, Densmore, and Krieger, had such a long, long intro (without Morrison) but the crowd (nor anyone) knew what to expect... it was their first time to witness a 'happening'. Anyhow, after approximately 15 or 20 minutes, the crowd became very agitated, and started booing, and waited for Jim Morrison to appear. Apparently, no one knew that Jim was so drunk, that he refused to go on stage. With that 1st disastrous set, the 3 band members walked off the stage. This was documented by a handful of people who were at the concert, e.g. Steve Bober, who was the photographer, a 19 year old sophomore, Steve Welkom, who was a member of the backup band, Long Island Sound, and Fred LaBour, another sophomore... and I am still not there. So I finally enter building and join my many Letterman winners (many 6ft. 3in., 260lb. linebackers, 6ft. 2in., 240lb. Big Ten heavyweight wrestlers, etc). Now it's about 9:30 pm. My friends are telling me that they saw the 1st set, and that Jim Morrison never came on stage, and so on. They thought that the concert was over. So we were just wondering what we should do, maybe go to a party or something. Well, a crazy thing just happened then... The Doors came back on stage and Manzarek, Densmore and Krieger went to their places on stage, and a few seconds later, Jim Morrison comes on stage, flailing his arms and nearly falling on his face (in his white silk shirt) and growling words that could not be understood. Then Jim went behind Krieger and went over to the backdrop behind him and Jim knocked it down. He was raging on and on. Then Jim used some 'F' bombs, quoted by Fred LaBour, and directed all of his rage to the audience. The police were called, and Jim seemed to collapse on Densmore's drum riser. At this time, guitarist Krieger and the drummer, Densmore, walked off the stage "outraged and disgusted", a quote from Manzarek. Then Manzarek actually picked up a guitar and tried playing a blues riff, just to get " something, - anything, going " (Manzarek's quote) just to keep the concert crowd interested. Well, it didn't happen, and that is when Manzarek and the police and security guards picked Jim up, and walked him off the stage. That was the breaking point of the concert, we thought. "It was the 1st time he'd been that messed up on stage", quote from Manzarek. Now, is the concert over for real? It is now about 10pm. There is no way that The Doors were going to come back. The crowd had dwindled down from approximately 2,000 to about 300. This is my estimate. Was this "The End" result of this absolute failure? Little did know that we were in for a shock.
All of us athletes, and, yes, huge athletes, about a dozen or more, didn't know what was about to happen. Some of us had dates, as it was our Homecoming dance event. We were trying to decide if we should leave, and go to another party, as it was still early. Apparently, someone from one of the committee members who had something to do with obtaining The Doors to our Ann Arbor Homecoming, went backstage to see if they were going to come back. Because our Homecoming dance event was a big disaster, we were getting ready to leave the Intramural Bldg... and just then, it happened. The 3 band members walked quietly on to the stage, and went to their places. Manzarek on the left keyboards, Densmore in the center drums, and Krieger on the right guitar. We didn't say a word. It was extremely quiet, and you could definitely hear a pin drop. The 3 band members were just settling in, and then it miraculously happened. They started playing the same intro, "The Soul Kitchen"... the same intro that they played in the 1st set, without Jim Morrison, the one that they were booed off the stage, and now they are doing it again. Anyhow, after approximately 1 minute, Jim Morrison comes quietly on the stage and is facing the band members, not saying anything. Unlike the 2nd set, when he went crazy, without his leather jacket, this time he had his leather jacket on. Then, about 2 minutes later, with Manzarek, Densmore and Krieger playing the intro, Jim turns around and faces the concert crowd. He is still standing on the stage, and not saying or singing anything. I figured that something bad might happen...
Another 2 minutes go by. Our athletes, who have been drinking 'punch', decided to crumble up their paper cups and threw them on the stage. Unbelievably, Jim Morrison looks at us and says "That's alright," very calmly. Another 4 or 5 minutes later, the not so nice huge monster athletes again threw the empty paper cups on stage... and for the 2nd time, Jim Morrison says, in a wonderful and calm way, "That's alright"... 3 minutes later, a few of us other athletes and classmates who were at the concert were getting agitated with the football players. All of a sudden, the 'dumb athletes' in the crowd threw the empty paper cups on stage again, for the 3rd time, and got Jim Morrison so mad at us that he screamed into the mic, " You Godda%# motherf@&kers!!", and he walked off the stage, followed by the band members. Now we are shot down. Concert's over. Whatever could have been, would never happen again. So, of the remaining crowd of about 300 or so, more of the concert crowd began to leave. We looked at each other, and I was very disappointed in our behavior. We stood there for about 5 minutes, trying to decide if we should go to another party, since it's our Homecoming dance event (which has turned into a disaster).
But I was hearing, through the grapevine, that possibly the same person or persons who had The Doors come back to the stage the 3rd time, might miraculously do it again, against all odds, and have them come back to the stage a 4th time. And then one or two excruciating minutes later, the miracle happened. Word has it that someone from the committee members reminded The Doors, and Jim Morrison, that they will not be paid unless they do the concert. Now, with only about 150 of us left in the building, the door on the right, where the backstage is, opened, and, yes, JIM MORRISON AND THE DOORS ARE LIVE AND ON STAGE, for the 4th incredible time! Manzarek, Densmore and Krieger come on the stage 1st, and then, here comes Jim Morrison, right behind. Now, the band members are NOT doing an intro. They are not doing anything. Then Jim Morrison comes up to the mic and says, in a beautiful way, "What do you want to hear, the top ten?", to which the sparse crowd yelled, as loud as they could, "YEAHHH!!!". And, from what I understand now about Jim Morrison, is that he has a special saying when everyone and everything is in agreement, "OKAY, HERE WE GO!!"
And with that, Jim Morrison and The Doors started the concert with the first song that we came to hear in the 1st set, Light My Fire. Then proceeded to do The Crystal Ship, then Jim went to Alabama Song, and he finished the concert with what I thought was one of the best lyrical songs I have ever heard: The End. As Jim was into the song, somewhere just before he drops to his knees, he removes his leather jacket, and then throws it on stage right in front of Ray Manzareks keyboard. Then, as the song progresses to the part where he falls on his knees, and he let's out those screams, and then, as the music gets quieter, and at this point, he rocks over to his side, and, gently, rolled onto his BACK, and finishing up the concert with "This is the eeeehnnnd"...
This concert was known as the worst and the best concert of all time. I could not believe that it would ever end up this way. I have told this story to only a handful of people who were close friends of mine, and probably enough times to tell the story to see the expressions on their faces. Since the concert, in 1967, I have come to the conclusion that you don't go to see a Doors concert, you simply FEEL it!"
Milan Sasich
Ann Arbor, MI
Copyright © 2024 Milan Sasich
A Special Thanks to Milan Sasich for providing his review of the concert to MildEquator.com!
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