Music review: James Morrison’s The Awakening tour lives up to the hype

Let me preface this write-up by saying, aside from a barely-peripheral knowledge of his songs, I’m hardly what one would consider a James Morrison fan. It was with this in mind that I approached the performer’s October 9 concert at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, part of his “The Awakening” world tour. Moonstar 88 provided a solid, if unremarkable, set for the opening act, but then, they weren’t who the thousands of gathered fans had paid to see. When Morrison stepped on stage, it was like an invisible switch had been flipped, the Coliseum exploding in an admirable display of fangirl frenzy.

Born in Rugby, Warwickshire, Morrison describes his childhood as “unhappy,” going so far as to describe his trademark voice as a direct result of the whooping cough that almost claimed his life as a baby. Learning to play the guitar when an uncle showed him how to play the blues, the young man began his career doing covers of other artists’ songs before moving on to writing his own. Following the release of his first hit single, “You Give Me Something,” then his debut album “Undiscovered,” Morrison has continuously defied the much-derided stereotype of a white guy with a guitar, injecting his music with a soul missing from many of his contemporaries. Morrison opened the Araneta show with a bravura performance of “This Boy,” followed by “In My Dreams.” Clad in a quickly-discarded leather jacket, jeans and a plain white T-shirt, armed only with his guitar and remarkable voice, Morisson had no trouble winning the hearts of the predominantly female crowd. From the get-go, he was on fire, his every move fetching approving cheers. If ever this writer had to describe a performance as “sexually-charged,” this was it; even more so than Maroon 5’s Adam Levine the month before, Morrison had women (and some men) literally swooning over his skillfully tormented tones, as their boyfriends stood by, taking in the scene with no small measure of jealousy. Morrison kept up the pace with what was essentially a “greatest hits” show, interspersed with tracks off his newest album. “All Around the World,” “Slave to the Music,” and “Precious Love” were performed in succession; for someone whose songs are so fixated on pain and heartbreak, the artist wasn’t wanting for attention on this night. Large-scale stage design (such as that of Foster the People, three nights before) and showy moves were nowhere to be found, nor were they necessary; Morrison, on his own, had no trouble keeping the crowd squarely wrapped around his finger. Seemingly only coming up for air to address the crowd or to wipe away sweat with a handy towel (which a rather large gentleman later claimed when it was tossed into the crowd), Morrison plowed through his setlist with aplomb. By the time we got to perennial favorite, “You Give Me Something,” this writer was a believer. Here was a performer at the top of his game, obviously relishing every reaction the crowd was all too happy to provide. Whenever he would say something to the crowd, Morrison’s spoken British accent by itself had the tendency of causing even more excitement, something this writer would not have thought possible. Morrison shared that he was touched and amazed that his music had made it all over the world, making the prerequisite promise to make a return trip. For the encore, Morrison gave it his all, with renditions of “Under the Influence” and “The Wonderful World” (from his first album), with “The Awakening” (off the album from which the tour took its name) thrown in for good measure. The encore was notable for nearly causing a riot before a note was played when Morrison, drenched in sweat, returned to the stage with his shirt pulled up over his head, boasting abs that would look right at home on a billboard. I’ll give the guy credit; he knows what his fans want, and isn’t averse to giving it to them. All in all, “The Awakening” proved to be one of this writer’s best concert experiences of the year. Not bad for a white guy with a guitar. — KG, GMA News