December 10, 2011

Largo Cultural Center, Largo, Florida

 ”Let’s just say I was testing the bounds of reality. I was curious to see what would happen. That’s all it was: curiosity.” —Jim Morrison

“A real theatrical experience shakes the calm of the senses, liberates the compressed unconscious and drives towards a kind of potential revolt.” —Antonin Artaud

“When we perform, we’re participating in the creation of a world, and we celebrate that with the crowd.” —Jim Morrison

Did you know . . . legendary Doors lead singer Jim Morrison was born in Melbourne, Florida, on December 8, 1943; attended both St. Petersburg Junior College and Florida State University in the early 1960s; was arrested for lewd and lascivious behavior, indecent exposure, open profanity and drunkenness after an infamous Doors concert at the Dinner Key Auditorium in Miami on March 1, 1969; and was posthumously pardoned by the State of Florida in December 2010?

Morrison’s Florida roots were highlighted when Peace Frog – “Tony Fernandez’s Tribute to Jim Morrison & The Doors! – took the stage at the Largo Cultural Center in Largo, Florida, on December 10, 2011, for the first-annual “Jim Morrison Pardon Party.” Based in Venice, California (the birthplace of The Doors!), Peace Frog definitely lives up to its billing as “the premiere Doors tribute show.” Fernandez expertly captured Morrison’s stage persona with his voice and mannerisms, and he was backed by an equally superb band during the 2 1/2 hour show. The place was jam packed with Doors fans of all ages (including an aging Jim Morrison wannabe in the audience, a bloated caricature who looked like he had partied for three days straight and who faded out pretty fast). Everybody was in the mood to party and experience a great show filled with classic Doors hits and no one left disappointed!

Fernandez and the band launched the show with a rousing rendition of “Break on Through” (complete with the “Dead Cats, Dead Rats lyrics!), which whipped the disparate crowd into a total frenzy. Bar drinks were prepared with an equal reckless abandon by the friendly bartenders and my Captain Morgan and Cokes easily received some of the most generous pours of my drinking career! In fact, Peace Frog expertly re-created the essence of a Doors concert with all of its manic intensity as they entertained the audience with renditions of such hits as “Light My Fire,” “Hello, I Love You,” “L.A. Woman,” “People Are Strange,” “The End,” “Riders on the Storm” and much more.

An added bonus to the concert was the fact that we were celebrating the one-year anniversary of Morrison’s pardon by the State of Florida on December 9, 2010 (in addition, the concert took place just two days after Morrison’s birthday—believe it or not, he would have turned 68 years old on December 8, 2011!). 

Fernandez even commented that Morrison deserved an “apology” rather than a pardon and the audience heartily agreed.

The pardon stemmed from Morrison’s arrest and subsequent 40-day trial for “lewd and lascivious behavior,” “indecent exposure,” “open profanity” and “drunkenness” following the notorious Doors concert at the Dinner Key Auditorium in Miami on March 1, 1969. On October 30, 1970, Morrison was given the maximum sentence of two months for “profanity” and six months for “indecent exposure” to be served in the Dade County Jail. The convictions were still in appeal when Morrison left for Paris in the spring of 1971.

A Peace Frog concert in Largo has now become an annual tradition and hopefully the band will return in 2012! In fact, Fernandez posted this on his blog after the latest show: “It was great to see our regular people in Florida! It is established now! There is a Frog family living in Florida!” Peace Frog is a must see for ALL Doors fans (and in fact ANY fan of classic rock will enjoy the Peace Frog experience!). For more information about Peace Frog, visit the Peace Frog Band Website.

Upcoming Peace Frog Concerts

Myles Reif Performing Arts Center, Grand Rapids, Minnesota – January 28, 2012
Arcadia Theater, Windber, Pennsylvania – February 25, 2012
Mystic Theatre & Music Hall, Petaluma, California – April 14, 2012