On March 1, 1969, the Doors gave their infamous Miami concert in Dinner Key Auditorium, Coconut Grove, Miami, Florida, USA.

I was there with the other 3 members of my group.  We had a rather keen interest in the Doors, we were pretty much the first Miami group to play Doors tunes at gigs. It was general admission, no seats, just an open concrete floor, with bleachers in the rear.  We got there early and found ourselves about 80 feet from the stage, dead center. We had a clear view of everything.

The Doors had to start without Jim, he missed a plane and was late. The first problem became evident right away: you couldn't hear them. The volume was so low and without impact that the crowd had to get absolutely quiet.  Jim finally got there, very late, full-bearded, and just not looking right. He had what looked like a bottle of liquor with him and was not avoiding showing it and swigging from it freely.  Halfway through the very first tune he stopped the group and started shouting "Stop this, stop this, this ain't right."  He stopped each sucessive attempt at playing a tune. Somewhere in there the Doors actually did complete a song, perhaps a few, but for the most part, Jim seemed inclined to just banter non-sensibly with the audience rather than perform.

The Doors eventually launched into 'The End', and the group slowly made its way through the tune. When they arrived at a quiet section of the song, Jim was able to start his banter again while the group played in the background.  By then he seemed very drunk and his talking had regressed to the very lewd. The crowd had gotten on its feet.  It was at that point that the alleged exposure took place.   Soon after, the stage personnel unplugged the group one by one, with guitarist Robbie Krieger faithfully playing that haunting theme from 'The End' right to the very end. Jim was pushed off the stage and disappeared into the crowd.  He was not seen again that night.

Sometime later Jim Morrison was tried by a three man, three woman jury and found guilty of vulgar and indecent exposure, and vulgar and indecent language, and not guilty of gross lewdness and lascivious behavior and drunkenness.  He was fined $500 and sentenced to six months hard labor in a Florida prison.  His sentence was appealed; he died before completing any part of it.

Jim Morrison lies forever at peace with himself and the world in Pere-Lachaise cemetery in Paris, at rest in the so-called "Poets' Corner".   Whether Jim actually exposed himself is shrouded in controversy. Those who had a center view know exactly what happened.  The concert itself remains as a major incident of the late 60's, and historically should be viewed within the context of the strange days of the late sixties.  Jim Morrison was only acting out the times. Nothing more should be read into his life or his music.

Three footnotes:

1) Oliver Stone's movie "The Doors" shows a number of women dancing around onstage at the Miami concert. Other accounts claim that at one point several hundred people had climbed onto the stage during the confusion.  All of this is totally inaccurate.  At most, only about three people climbed onto the stage and were promply escorted off.  At no point was anyone allowed to dance around on the stage. The concert atmosphere itself somehow held together the entire time, the crowd was remarkably patient and never out of control, and the 31 police officers there also restrained themselves.  Jim seemed to hold sway over everyone there.

2) On the day after the concert my bass player got a call from a friend of his who worked at the Miami Herald, they needed a picture of Jim.  They used the inside sleeve of my Doors 'Strange Days' album; an artist at the paper drew in a beard, and the picture was stamped with day and time of use.  I still have that album sleeve to this day.

3) Dinner Key Auditorium, as it was then called, wasn't really an auditorium, but an old Pan American World Airways seaplane hangar from the late 1930's which had been converted for use as an exhibition center.  The interior was always an open space, seating had never been installed.    It still stands today, located on Biscayne Bay in Coconut Grove.

That's a great anecdote. I like to remember him just for his work, it's a shame so many have assumed he was, as a human being,  something more than just a poet who became famous and developed a serious drug/alchohol problem. He never took himself that seriously, I don't think.

One of my fave Morrison moments was in a documentary where they decided to introduce each member of the band as they deplaned somewhere... :Name? Profession?" Each of the guys answered with their name, then the instrument they played.

  Jim was last, and he gave his name, but when asked "profession?" he just started laughing. 

Apex, I've been seaching the web for info on the 69 concert for The Doors and came up with your response.  I too was there at the concert, we were to the right of the stage and could see the band members smoking some, and drinking alot.  My memory isn't as good as it use to be and I was trying to remember who opened for The Doors during that concert?  I also don't remember Jim exposing hisself either but I do remember him going on a rant, especially the words come up here and love my ass.  If you remember who opened for him please respond and let me know, I have a couple of idea's but it's been so long.  Side note, I went into the Army in Sep of 1970.  As you know back then it was a weird time, with Vietnam going on and everything else so I probably didn't know what I was in for.  But anyhow a few years later I took a trip to Paris and we had a couple of side tours of the city and guess where one of them was to, yep Jim's gravesite.  

Apex, thanks for the info.