Video: 'The Doors - London Fog (1966)' (7 tracks)

(Thursday, May 5?, 1966) — A brand-new band from Venice, California, called The Doors performed today at the London Fog at 8919 Sunset Blvd. in West Hollywood, marking a pivotal moment in their early career.

Just a few months into their first series of live concerts ever, the group’s raw energy was captured (likely today) by UCLA student Nettie Peña, who decided to record the performance on a reel-to-reel tape recorder.

These recordings, taken during the band’s debut run as the house band at the London Fog club on the Sunset Strip, provide a rare, unvarnished look at the quartet before their rise to global stardom.

The set highlights the band’s experimental nature, blending blues covers with early versions of original tracks that would later become staples of their discography.

Decades later, these historic tapes would finally be unearthed and released as the London Fog 1966 live album in 2017.