MORRIE the UNIVERSE “SOLITUDE” Season 9 Episode 72 at CLUB PHASE Takadanobaba

MORRIE’s SOLITUDE concert series made its much-awaited return on September 27th at Tokyo’s CLUB PHASE Takadanobaba. The show was rescheduled from its original date of July 4th due to COVID-19. Both daytime and evening shows were held on the same date, with a limited capacity crowd and infection prevention measures in place for fans’ safety. Tickets for both of the shows were sold out. This report covers the daytime show.

Clad in all black, MORRIE walked onto the stage with his acoustic guitar as the sound of fans’ applause welcomed him. With the tender strumming sounds of his guitar, the opening song Martyr started to play. His rich, deep voice sang of rebirth and returning into shining darkness. MORRIE fascinated fans even more with his beautiful falsetto during the next song Kodama, as he musically explored the mystery of words, being and the goodness that exists in the universe.

Afterwards, MORRIE spoke to the fans. “Welcome. Thank you for coming to this show in spite of the current situation. I came back to Japan from the United States. So, as a rule, I had to self-isolate for two weeks. I’m fine. I even received the certificate that proves it. This is the first show since February, but it does not feel like that much time actually passed,” he said. MORRIE seemed to be enjoying catching up with the fans. “It’s all good if we are here in the present and happy. Let’s not be too worried. People die not just because of corona. We were born, therefore we will all die. Death is sad, but it is not misfortune. We have to accept it, and decide how to come to terms with it,” he continued.

Following this talk, MORRIE played Sign. Then, he discussed the situations he saw in New York City. “I myself had no fear, but I felt sorry for what was happening to people in the city. Too much fear can weaken your body and mind, including your immune system. Having a balanced cautiousness is important,” he said. “Isn’t live music great?” He softened the atmosphere in the venue. “Flesh decays and its pleasure ceases. Those are the natural processes of life. When you come to fully accept it, the spiritual world starts to open up. The body shines as the inner universe deepens. ‘I’ in ‘here’, that’s where it begins,” he said.

MORRIE also talked about his love of watching dance performances. “If I had encountered dance performances during my teens or 20s, I might have become a dancer,” he said. “I created new songs when I was in New York City. These new songs are mainly suited for a band format. Sometimes, I switched the arrangement of the songs from a band format to the SOLITUDE style, and sometimes the other way around. Although I don’t go to clubs, I do enjoy computer-generated music. I actually used it in my early days as a solo artist. I arranged the next new song from the computer music to acoustic,” he said. Ultra-Heaven started with powerful guitar riffs. MORRIE vigorously delivered his voice as if he was leading fans into the light of existence.

“I’ll cover Ghosts. This is a song from JAPAN’s fifth album, and I like it a lot. Tin Drum is a great album. The synthesizer sounds on the album are very good,” he said. MORRIE performed the song in an acoustic style. The beauty of his mellow guitar playing and glamorous vocals mesmerized fans. After the cover, he played his new song Nostalgia.

The relentless guitar and his powerful vocal delivery struck the audience as he performed the song, which was originally created to be played with a band. MORRIE continued to fascinate the fans with his haunting yet transcendent performances of DEAD END’s Sleep In The Sky and Creature Creature’s Vanishing. “We all die one day, as a matter of course. There are a lot of emotions and thoughts. I put all of them in my heart and live,” he said. He closed the show with DEAD END’s song Heaven, and his emotional vocals seemed to resonate deep in the fans’ hearts.

A loud ovation calling for an encore brought MORRIE back to the stage. “Does someone report to some kind of police if you actually shout out ‘encore’? I understand since I am from the rural Hyogo prefecture where people used to even know how much soy sauce their next door neighbor had,” MORRIE teased the fans, showing his sense of humour. Serafine, one of DEAD END’s classics, was the last song of the show. The solemn and strong riffs from his acoustic guitar filled the venue with a dignified atmosphere. Fans quietly but eagerly took in the beauty of the singer’s movement and the music itself. “Thank you!”, MORRIE bade farewell to the audience for the daytime show, and fans once again clapped their hands loudly to show their support and respect for MORRIE.

Set List

01. Martyr
02. Kodama
03. Sign
04. Panic no Me/Bud of Panic
05. Ultra-Heaven
06. Disquieting Muse
07. Ghosts
08. Nostalgia
09. Sleep In The Sky
10. Vanishing
11. Heaven

Encore

12. Serafine