Whisky-A-Go-Go Marks 50th Anniversary With Robby Krieger’s Jam Kitchen

Review & photos by Andrew Bansal

January 16 2014, The Whisky-A-Go-Go, West Hollywood CA: After two weeks of great shows, the month-long 50th anniversary celebration for West Hollywood’s oldest rock club Whisky-A-Go-Go reached its mid-point and marquee occasion last night, with January 16 being the exact date the club was opened 50 years ago, and to aptly etch this moment in history, The Doors guitarist Robby Krieger descended to the Whisky to play a headline show with his ‘Jam Kitchen’. But the atmosphere started building up quite a few hours before Krieger and his band took the stage, as a red carpet event was organized at the club’s doorstep. By the looks of it, there was no doubt that this evening meant a lot to everyone involved with the club, and based on how it unfolded, it’s safe to say it lived up to the occasion.

At around 7:30, the red carpet began as American actor/singer Rex Smith was the first to walk on it, gleefully showing off a 1977 flyer of the Whisky’s concert schedule, which listed him alongside AC/DC, The Runaways and Van Halen. Robby Krieger himself made a swift entry along with his band mates, did a couple of quick sound bites with local TV and headed straight into the Whisky. Besides, the Maglieri family, owners of the club, made an appearance and with that the red carpet event came to an end, as the activity shifted indoors.

Mayor Abbe Land and Council member John Heilman awarded the Whisky with a proclamation from the city of West Hollywood, as the Maglieri family came up to accept it. There was a sizable audience in the venue at this point, and shortly after, at around 8:40, the live music began with former Dropkick Murphys guitarist Marc Orrell’s new band Wild Roses taking the stage for a short 25-minute set, playing a laid-back style of rock ‘n roll with elements of alt and country. The band was certainly a good fit in terms of the kind of music this audience had come here to see from the headline act, and turned out to be a well-chosen opening act. Before departing the stage, Marc Orrell thanked the Whisky and got the crowd pumped up for Robby Krieger’s arrival.

Following that, a Whisky-A-Go-Go 50th anniversary guitar was given away on stage through a raffle. Anyone buying a merch item was handed a free raffle ticket, and from among these entries, the winner was awarded this special guitar. And that happened to be the last item on the agenda before the stage was cleared for the headline act.

Photo Gallery – Red Carpet, Presentation, Opening Act (Wild Roses) & Raffle:

At 9:50, Robby Krieger and his Jam Kitchen walked down the staircase by the side of the stage amidst a huge uproar from this eagerly awaiting crowd. The six musicians took their respective positions on stage, Krieger addressed the audience for a very brief speech expressing his gratitude towards the Whisky and in the process sharing an old story or two, but from then on, it was all about the music as the band treated fans to a hefty dosage of rock that lasted for more than two hours. Given that he’s 68 years old, this set was certainly a lot longer than what some people would have expected from Robby Krieger, and it was more than a pleasant surprise in that sense.

The set obviously had its fair share of Doors tunes, but a majority of it was actually focussed on non-Doors music, including new Jam Kitchen material, one song each from Krieger’s solo albums Cinematix and Singularity, and a couple of Frank Zappa covers. Judging by the response from the audience, a section of it was perhaps disappointed at not getting to see an entire Doors set, or a larger number of Doors songs, but most of them were able to appreciate the musical pedigree of these seasoned professionals that was shining through these non-Doors tunes. Besides Krieger, the ‘Jam Kitchen’ comprises Arthur Barrow on bass and Tommy Mars on the keys, both of whom played with Frank Zappa, along with Joel Taylor on drums, and Larry Klimas and Vince Denham carrying the horn section.

Even the Doors material was given a jam-type treatment by the band as they extended every tune with improvised fills and multiple layers. Much to the delight of the fans, Krieger did vocals on ‘Love Me Two Times’ and ‘Back Door Man’, but ‘Lost Little Girl’ was played as an instrumental for the most part. One surprise addition was the song ‘Under Waterfall’, which is an adaption of a Jim Morrison poem and was released on the ‘Stoned Immaculate’ Doors tribute album in the year 2000. But the real spark in the Doors part of the set was provided by the arrival of singer Dave Brock, who fronts Wild Child, a Doors tribute band famous in Los Angeles and several other parts of the world for their recreation of the Doors live experience. Robby Krieger’s Jam Kitchen closed this set with five of the most loved Doors songs, and Brock sang all of them. He took this stage by storm and wowed the audience as he lent his golden touch to these tunes, heightening the excitement level amongst fans to a new peak. In all honesty, he should have done all of the Doors songs in this set.

“It’s getting real horny up here”, remarked Krieger, as two more Zappa alumni Sal Marquez and Jock Ellis along with Chuck Manning joined the horn section of the Jam Kitchen, and with bassist Phil Chen, they all combined together for a grand finale of epic proportions. On a fitting note, the show ended with ‘Riders On The Storm’ and ‘Light My Fire’. All in all, it was a special evening for every attendee, and even at this age, Robby Krieger continues to rock. With such a memorable performance led by a musician who’s had a history with the club for almost as long as it has existed, the Whisky-A-Go-Go couldn’t have possibly dreamt of a better way to celebrate its 50th anniversary.

Photo Gallery – Robby Krieger’s Jam Kitchen:

Set List:
01. Chunga’s Revenge (Frank Zappa cover)
02. Love Me Two Times (The Doors cover)
03. What Was That?
04. Screen Junkie
05. Lost Little Girl (The Doors cover)
06. Snake Oil
07. Under Waterfall (The Doors cover)
08. Cosmik Debris (Frank Zappa cover)
09. Back Door Man (The Doors cover)
10. Coffin Dodger
11. The Drift
12. Wild Child (The Doors cover)
13. Touch Me (The Doors cover)
14. Roadhouse Blues (The Doors cover)
15. Riders On The Storm (The Doors cover)
16. Light My Fire (The Doors cover)

Related – Interview: Whisky-A-Go-Go Owner Discusses Club’s 50th Anniversary

Visit Robby Krieger’s Jam Kitchen on the web:
RobbyKriegersJamKitchen.com
facebook.com/OfficialRobbyKrieger 

Visit the Whisky-A-Go-Go on the web:
WhiskyAGoGo.com
facebook.com/theWhiskyAGoGo
twitter.com/theWhiskyAGoGo
instagram.com/theWhiskyAGoGo

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