With virtually no fanfare or hype, founding Doors members Ray Manzarek and Robby Krieger blew through town last Tuesday with their new outfit Riders on the Storm. This band is as close as we're ever gonna get to seeing The Doors without a Ouija board. I've always been a Doors fan, and Krieger's and Manzarek's contributions to the band. Manzarek also produced the first few X albums, so I guess you could say I really dig the cat.

I was a little conflicted on how to feel. Riders on the Storm play all Doors tunes, and nobody's more qualified than these two. But there's only one Lizard King; ain't nobody gonna fill Jim Morrison's shoes. Still, ex-Fuel singer Brett Scallions did an amazing job. He tried not to imitate Morrison, but rather gave the songs an honest, throaty interpretation. Besides, when Manzarek's keyboard comes in, nothing else enters your mind but The Doors. The bass player was unnecessary (The Doors never had one), and Scallions appeared to be the only one dressed for a rock show. Krieger played great with a tone scarily identical to the records, though he dressed like a software engineer. Manzarek was a bit flashier looking - like a pastel pimp at a Las Vegas bar mitzvah, in fact.

Roughly 1000 people crowded the stage to hear virtually all the original band's classics. I was absolutely thrilled when the Riders pulled off a thundering version of "Five To One." But we all managed to get out alive

I've frequently referred to Rochester blues guitarist Steve Grills as an encyclopedia of the blues. Well, Thursday night at The Dinosaur (and all this week at Acme Studios) Grills got to play with one of the pages of that encyclopedia, Ernest Lane. Lane is a legendary pianist of the highest caliber, known for his work with Ike and Tina Turner, and in Ike's band up until his death late last year. Lane strode the 88s with an ample sample of jump blues and boogie. And the man can belt righteously. His version of "Caledonia" is still in my big head. What makes it so hard?