Now the date was finally upon us. The tickets had arrived at my office a few weeks prior. As a result of the massive amounts of junk mail sent to me on a daily basis, my entry passes to one of the greatest concerts of all time almost made it into the trash. But fear not, they were rescued at the last moment. After a rendezvous at my office, my friend and fiancé, now wife, and I played follow the leader from Tempe into downtown Phoenix. Parking was a breeze and before we knew it we were surrounded by Doors fans hopped up on anticipation of the impending show. After passing through the gates we entered the recently constructed Dodge Theatre. A modern looking building that I'm sure is a far cry from early venues The Doors were forced to perform in. "Yea, I'll take two Captain and Cokes and a Sprite with a lime" I told the bartender at not your normal concession stand. We milled around the lobby of the venue talking to friends that had appeared through the crowd and then finally made our way into the vast hall.

Upon arrival at our seats, my friend and I looked at each other and assessed the viewing distance from us to the stage. Not bad, considering the online roulette we played with Ticketmaster. And then the wait set in. You know that wait that appears before every concert? Luckily the house dj didn't feel the need to show how cool he was by playing songs no one had ever heard of, by bands no one cared about. On this night the air was filled with the sounds of familiar tunes from great bands of the past. Zeppelin, Hendrix, Janis and a host of other greats ran through our eardrums as we waited. Multiple trips were made back to the bar and to smoke, but I was too excited, I needed to stay. And then it happened....

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN. FROM LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, THE DOORS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Chills still run up and down my spine as they did that night after hearing those nine beautiful words. Perhaps nine of the most perfect words ever strewn together to form a communication. And before my eyes appeared a site that was never to appear in real life again, The Doors were performing LIVE! Robby tore into the underlining riff that makes up “Roadhouse Blues.” Ray backed him up as only he can. But something was weird. It wasn't different. It wasn't that guy from the Cult singing with The Doors. It was, if you closed your eyes, Jim Morrison. The hair, the sunglasses, the voice, the moves, the attitude, they were all there. But not in some weak cover band kind of way; you could feel that this was a dedication. A form of flattery only matched by absolute imitation. It was what I wanted, but was not expecting. It was The Doors.

“Break On Through” followed “Roadhouse.” Ian further demonstrated the reason why he was the number one choice to lead half of the original line up into battle against harsh critics and even tougher fans. Then the Spiritual Experience took full and complete shape. The room got almost pitch-black dark, and a silence fell over the crowd. Ray lightly tapped the keys and it began..................YYYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!

“When The Music's Over.” It was an instant transportation back to 60's. This was all too familiar. Countless hours of listening to Doors live shows had etched into my brain the sounds of a real show, but this was the real thing. This wasn't Doors 21st Century, no this was The Doors. For the first time in my career as a concertgoer, which includes hundreds of shows, I had to fight back the tears that were welling up in my eyes. I had truly been touched by a band’s performance. I stood there motionless as they played. The highs and lows of “Music's Over” enveloped the crowd. If you closed your eyes you would swear that you were inside those recordings you had begged, pleaded and sometimes stole to hear. Fans were yelling towards the stage in low spots and erupting during the highs. "I hear a very gentle sound." The band got softer, Ian sang lower. "What have they done to the earth?" You could feel the tension building. "I hear a very gentle sound. With your ear down to the ground..................We want the world and we want it..... Now? NNNNNNNOOOOOWWWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!" And the crowd at the Dodge Theatre exploded as Ray's head bobbed up and down pounding the black and whites, Robby stood stoically, and Ian leaped towards the sky as he screeched.

It was what we came for. It was what I came for. It was The Doors, in every facet of the name. From “Music” they kicked ass through “Love Me Two Times” and “Whiskey Bar.” Then just like the label says, Ian screamed into “Backdoor Man” then they kept it ripping along with “Five To One” and you could feel a brief sense of Revolution in the air. “People Are Strange” lead into “Strange Days,” “Spanish Caravan,” “The Ghost Song” (could have done with out the dancing Native Americans), “Moonlight Drive,” “Horse Latitudes,” “Wild Child,” “LA Woman,” and “Light My Fire.” The first encore included “Riders” and “Maggie M’Gill.” But just as the house lights went on and people began to make their way towards the multiple exits, The Doors reappeared to make sure that everyone left with a smile on their face. “Soul Kitchen” flew out of the speakers and the party started again. Ian motioned to a few fans in the pit and before you knew it the entire stage was filled with Doors fans. Ian stood on the riser, while this huge bouncer protected Ray from the dancing fans.