Can an Italian cover band that plays The Doors actually sound legit? Interestingly enough, the answer is an emphatic, Yes.
This past weekend, Saturday night to be precise, Lori, Jeff and I accompanied Jeff’s posse of friends to an outdoor bar located in the countryside, near the coast. We got a late start and were up until 3AM....rocking-out to The Doors cover band. Upon our arrival the place seemed a little dead, but with our group of 20+ we managed to liven up the joint. The band definitely played up to us as we loudly sang along to the songs popularized by Classic Rock radio stations and throwback era movies which glamorized the 1960's. The band members played their roles well. The keyboardist was a skinny little guy with a head full of shaggy hair, denim jeans and Chuck-taylor Converse All-star shoes. He was animated and lively as he pounded away on the keyboard, seemingly content in his own little world. Conversely, the lead singer was machismo to the tilt, but not in an un-glamorous way. He was your typical tall, dark and handsome Italian type, who could croon with the best of them. He was sporting jeans, cowboy / rocker boots, and a white summer weight collared shirt with a big open chest V-neck to go along with his Jim Morrison wavy hair. His "stage presence" was eccentric but appropriate for the venue. Imagine a cross between a sober, sexually charged Jim Morrison and the swooning of Rat-Pack Era Dean Martin. The drummer and lead guitarist rounded out the group.
At first, Lori and I were speculative about whether or not these guys could pull it off. By the end of the night, they had won us over. The whole scene was bizarre. In between songs, the lead singer would speak to the crowd, all 35 of us, in Italian. Then return to singing and rocking-out in English. Additionally, there were some kids running around during the show and two teenager, hippy types (uncommon for teens around Brindisi who seem more geared towards soccer trends and ultra-current pop-culture-trends) who were sitting on a park bench perched directly in front of the speakers. The lead singer sounded exactly like Jim Morrison as he belted out "Light My Fire", "Roadhouse Blues" and others.
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2 comments:
How does someone who wasn't born until 1970 now about 60's bands and singers??? Must have been that other life!!!
That was my favorite group growing up. Our van had an 8-track player, so we listened to our Doors 8-track all the way down to Daytona and back 3 times a year!
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