“Ace tribute to The Doors” is what the poster says. And after The Fire Doors stroll on stage and blast into “Break on Through (to the Other Side),” Jim Morrison and Co’s January 1967 debut single, it’s instantly clear this band has the chops.
The bass – played left-handed on a keyboard balanced upon a Crumar Mojo 61 Hammond-organ style synth – pumps relentlessly. The spikey guitar penetrates. The drumming swings, jazzily. The keyboard fills are baroque, filigreed. The singer, though he doesn’t look exactly like Jim Morrison or attempt to, inhabits the persona of The Doors' frontman.
There are two sets. Each about 45 minutes. After “Break on Through (to the Other Side)”, “Soul Kitchen”, “Love Me Two Times” and “People are Strange”. Then, “Light my Fire”. The audience at the sold-out show is going bananas. These classics are delivered with a punk-adjacent energy yet still sound as close as it can be to the original model. In the second set, during the instantly recognisable opening moment of “L.A. Woman”, a woman near the front of the stage cries out “oh, here we go!” This is what The Fire Doors do: go, while embracing the chug of this landmark hunk of classic American music. (Pictured right: The Fire Doors. From left: Andrew Moore, David Brewis, Peter Brewis, David Hyde)
Seventeen songs are played over the two sets and the encore. The balance is towards The Doors’ first two and last two albums. The wildest cards are Morrison Hotel's “Peace Frog” and “Blue Monday.” This is about capturing the essence of the musical identity inherent to The Doors. From “Alabama Song" and “Backdoor Man” to “Riders on the Storm” and second set closer “The End”.
Tribute bands are nothing unusual in the backroom of venerable Camden Town music pub The Dublin Castle. Hunky Dory, a David Bowie tribute, are booked for this coming weekend. Close-to the end of the month, it’s The Paul Weller Experience. In early February, there’s Circa 79, advertised as “performing punk, mod, ska and new wave from around about the late 1970s.” The Fire Doors are in line with what takes to the boards at this unreconstructed hostelry. Walk in, and it’s still possible to bring to mind the late Seventies, when Madness were regulars on stage here. Such time travel might not be achievable, but Specials/Madness band Special Kinda Madness have played The Dublin Castle. It’s right for The Fire Doors.
However, there is a twist. In another world, The Fire Doors are more familiar as top-notch British art rockers Field Music – who, after releasing nine albums, celebrated 20 years as a recording entity last year. On stage are Field Music’s backbone: David Brewis (this evening’s singer, the Jim Morrison) and his brother Peter (on finger-picked guitar, the Robby Krieger). On keyboards, in the Ray Manzarek role, is long-time Field Music associate Andrew Moore. The drummer – the John Densmore, with a very Jim Morrison circa Soft Parade beard – is David Hyde, of Field Music’s friends Futureheads.
The idea of “celebrating the music of Morrison, Krieger, Manzarek and Densmore,” as the band puts it, came about when the Brewis’ coolly examined Field Music’s trajectory and realised that the finances could no longer be made to work. The bold – deeply unpredictable and unusual – decision was made to see if income could be generated another way; income to help Field Music continue. The consequence: The Fire Doors, even though nothing in Field Music’s musical makeup suggests a kinship with The Doors. The first show as such was played last May. If one is played a month, Field Music can be kept afloat. The Dublin Castle appearance is the London debut of this venture.
For a fan of Field Music, a cognitive dissonance is at play. The Doors take on “Backdoor Man” is performed. There is no blues in Field Music. A clipped funk, yes. But no blues. Less specifically, the whole thing goes way beyond the throwing of a curveball. All four on the stage are obviously having a blast. Peter Brewis frequently smiles. His brother David – in faux-leather trousers: he’s vegetarian – is really into it, really digs Jim Morrison and is the opposite of naff. Andrew Moore has it all. David Hyde balances rock attack with that jazzy swing, just like John Densmore. This is played straight. There is even some Doors-esque improv. The soloing section of “Light my Fire” is not exactly as per the record or the myriad of live Doors’ versions. Nothing is arch.
Purely unrepresentative research – asking a random person in the audience why they are here – reveals that some ticket holders have come along for The Doors experience. In this case, after reading an article saying The Fire Doors are terrific. It’s not about Field Music.
A parallel might be the Echo & the Bunnymen of 1985, when they were their own support band and played a set of cover versions – including Doors’ songs. Or maybe The Netherlands’ Analogues, who play Beatles material on the instruments used in the Sixties without actually impersonating their inspiration. There’s also a nagging not-quite equivalent: when bands become their own tribute act by, say, playing the totality of the “classic album,” some tracks of which were never performed live in the first place.
It’s best, though, to try and suppress these ponderings as they surface and groove along with The Fire Doors. To figuratively, as it’s put in The Doors’ “Roadhouse Blues,” “keep your eyes on the road, your hand upon the wheel.” Whatever the background, whatever the contemplation, this is an amazing experience.
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