MORRIE released his new album
Shining Wilderness this April, and he has been touring Japan with his new solo band since his last
SOLITUDE show in New York City five months ago. On August 16th, he performed another show in NYC, this
time with
Kiyoharu joining him as a special opening act.
Fans gathered outside before the venue opened the doors and a long line formed after the opening. Compared to the intimate vibe the 99-seat Kraine Theater provided for
MORRIE’s previous
SOLITUDE shows, Joe's Pub had
twice as many seats, as well as tables for dining, a full bar, a wider hall space and a higher ceiling. Every time a subway train passed by, it shook the floor beneath the audience and even the stage. This is a part of life in NYC.
Kiyoharu
Kiyoharu appeared on the stage dressed in a hat and a long shirt that said “You can’t sleep too” in Japanese. Considering his long trip from Japan and whether or not he had time to sleep during the flight, he seemed confident for his
first performance in the United States.
Opening the show with
Blank World from his 2017 acoustic album
elegy,
Kiyoharu presented his sensitive, dark, yet strong vocals to the audience. That song was followed by
February, from his first solo album
Poetry,
which was released in 2004. The melancholic feeling of
Kiyoharu's performance drew in the audience's attention.
The dark atmosphere and his pull on the audience only grew stronger with
GENTLE DARKNESS and
Rally, both also from the album
elegy. After the slightly lighter tone of
Charade from his 2018 album
Night, Carmen's Poetry,
Kiyoharu sang
Alon. It was the only song of the night originally performed by his band
KUROYUME, which won him a record deal with Toshiba EMI back in 1994. In fact,
Kiyoharu has been celebrating the 25th anniversary of this
debut with
KUROYUME in Japan this year.
Kiyoharu ended his set with
LAW'S from the
elegy album. Sung over beautiful guitar chords, the chorus lyrics "Let me go" carried a strong and painful tone and expressed strong determination to move forward. It conjured the mental
image of him walking over a road full of thorns.
Kiyoharu and his guitarist
Hideyuki Ohashi performed all songs tightly while the light stand next to them shined in the audience’s eyes from the dimly lit stage. There was no need to enhance his performance with any extra tools. His voice,
lyrics, mood and melancholic atmosphere are the focus points that make
Kiyoharu most unique. These elements and his continuous work since the early 90s have proved that he has moved beyond the visual kei genre and is truly a one-of-a-kind singer.
A longer set with more songs is strongly desired, based on his solid performance and the audience’s reaction.
Set list
01. Blank World
02. February
03. GENTLE DARKNESS
04. Rally
05. Charade
06. Alon
07. LAW'S
MORRIE
MORRIE began his set with
Burn The Twilight, a new song that fills the gap between his current self and the
MORRIE likely in much of the audience's mind. For the fans that have listened to previously released songs, it is the
MORRIE of
the past. For
MORRIE, new songs are the most relevant to his current self. This approach shows that
MORRIE is an active live artist.
It was not entirely unpredictable for the audience to hear a new song as the opening for
MORRIE's concert, because he did the same for the last
SOLITUDE show in NYC. What made this occasion different was the lyrics—the song is one
of the very few in his entire catalog that is sung completely in English. With this new song, it was clear that if
MORRIE wanted to sing more in English, he could. Yet in his long career, he has focused on singing in his native tongue, which allows
him to bring out the true power of the words from the bottom of his kotodama (“spirit of words” in Japanese).
During the set,
MORRIE jokingly commented that most of his lyrics are in Japanese and international fans would not understand the meaning behind them. However, both
MORRIE and his fans know that this kotodama reaches to their hearts
directly and is beyond language. The divide between
MORRIE and the audience dissolved as
Falling, another unreleased song, followed.
One of the highlights of the night was the third song,
The Setting Sun. There was a fly circling over
MORRIE, but once he started playing this calm song, it disappeared. It was as if a creature from a lower realm was forced to fly
away from a higher spiritual aura.
The next section went to lighter melodies and deeper lyrics as
MORRIE performed
Seeing You. This song from his 1995 album
Shadow seems to have become a staple of his recent
SOLITUDE shows.
Switching from an acoustic guitar to his vintage electric Fender Jaguar "Cherry Bomb",
MORRIE played
Sleep In The Sky from
DEAD END's 1989 album
ZERO. Echoes from
MORRIE’s guitar pedal created a cosmic soundscape
when combined with the colorful venue lighting. Following this track was a song prequel of the album
ZERO,
Heaven from
DEAD END's 1988 album
Shambara. These 24, 30 and 31-year-old songs are truly the proof of
MORRIE's
timeless creativity and uncompromising songwriting style.
The next song,
From Netherworld, was performed for the first time in America. An official release for this new, or perhaps simply unreleased, song, along with recorded versions of
Burn The Twilight and
Falling, would likely
help to satisfy international fans’ cravings, as
MORRIE's
SOLITUDE shows outside of Japan are quite rare. Fans who traveled a long distance and local fans both knew that the show was almost over when they heard the legendary guitar phrase
of
Serafine, one of the milestones of
MORRIE's career.
The last song of the set was the title track from
MORRIE’s latest solo album
Shining Wilderness. Towards the end of the song, like a masterful performer,
MORRIE's face began to resemble that of an ancient folklore teller.
Then, as soon as the song’s last lyric "shisu" (“die” in Japanese) was pronounced, that demeanor vanished and
MORRIE's regular face was back, as if the word and that persona were sucked into his mouth. It was absolutely stunning, almost like watching
magic happen.
MORRIE then thanked the audience and left the stage.
Fans witnessed such a fantastic performance that they keep clapping their hands and calling
MORRIE's name. It was clear that they wanted to see more of both him and
Kiyoharu.
After a few minutes,
MORRIE came back to the stage and introduced
Kiyoharu. They then played the song fans knew they would perform a duet of: The
Godsend from
DEAD END's 1987 major debut album
Ghost of Romance.
In 2013,
Kiyoharu chose to sing this song for
DEAD END's tribute album
Song of Lunatics. Ever since then, this dark, somber, and lesser known song compared to other live staples from
DEAD END's catalog has become an important
link between the past and present in the visual kei scene.
Kiyoharu and
MORRIE alternated singing verses while
Hideyuki Ohashi's tight acoustic guitar kept the groove going on. They sang the chorus “Silent night So crazy night Silent night So crazy" together. Both
MORRIE and
Kiyoharu took
turns for the outro and sang along for the finale.
Another encore call from the fans continued even after the staff started packing up the stage. The duet was so good that the audience wanted more, although it did not happen due to the venue's strict time policy. Perhaps they will have another
occasion to hear more if
Kiyoharu or
MORRIE's solo band hold another show in NYC in the future.
In a globalized world where the number of tourists visiting Japan has hit an all-time high and is still growing, more and more international fans are traveling to Japan for their favorite artists. Generation crossover events happen often now
in Tokyo. Although the level of performance based on talent, respect, friendship, and true human bonds between two artists as displayed by
MORRIE and
Kiyoharu is extremely rare. In fact, it may be the first time in history it was represented
like this in the US for a global audience. From this show in NYC,
MORRIE and
Kiyoharu sang and struck new chords to the world, and it is clear that there are no more borders.
Set list
01. Burn The Twilight
02. Falling
03. The Setting Sun
04. Seeing you
05. Killing Me Beautiful
06. Sleep In The Sky
07. Heaven
08. From Netherworld
09. Serafine
10. Shining Wilderness
Encore
11. The Godsend
