(First appeared on JRockRevolution.com)

On January 31st, MORRIE held an intimate performance at the 99-seat capacity Kraine Theater. This was the second of his Solitude performances in the New York City that stripped away flair down to a man, his guitar, his music and his words.

Fans might be more familiar with his bands DEAD END and creature creature in addition to his solo work. MORRIE has been considered one of the original fathers of modern Jrock and Visual Kei. Indeed, his style remains visual, an expression of the man as much as his music.

That’s not to say that his music is dark and foreboding. During the interlude between songs, MORRIE delighted the audience with little stories that spoke of philosophy, of what it means to be human, punctuated by soft humor and a sharp wit. While the songs were the focus for the evening, MORRIE made the entirety a performance. One could genuinely feel the appreciation he had for his audience and likewise, the near silence from the audience during the performance of songs reciprocated that respectfully.

The title of the series is Solitude and it’s a very fitting one given the one man on stage. However, the energy between artist and audience either let us share that solitude or at least let us share MORRIE’s.

MORRIE Solitude Set list:
SOLITUDE in NEW YORK
Kraine Theater January 31, 2018

01.　Melancholia Ⅲ
02.　完璧な空 (Kanpeki na Sora / Perfect Sky)
03.　Sleep In The Sky
04.　Lilac Wine
05.　Unchained
06.　Epinoia
07.　Riding The Night
08.　Cosmosの中に (Kaosu no Naka ni / Into The Chaos)
09.　ここではないどこか (Kokodewa nai Dokoka / Somewhere But Here)
10.　神猿 (Shin-En / God Monkey)
11.　Definitely Maybe
12.　春狂え (Harukurue / Spring-Insane)
13.　Go Under
14.　Sign
15.　Vanishing
16.　Calling You
17.　光る曠野 (Hikaru Kouya / Shining Wilderness)
【Encore】
18.　Heaven
19.　Luna Madness

During this show, MORRIE informed us that creature creature will go into dormancy following their next tour in Japan. If you can make one of the shows, do it! Don’t take a chance on missing this tour.