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At her first hometown show in over a decade, Alanis Morissette gave Bluesfest everything she had, singing with a force that threatened to shatter her voice and pacing the stage with wild abandon.
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It was an incredible performance that not only showcased the power of her voice and the depth of her songwriting, but also revealed some of her outlook on life, though she barely said more than “thank you, I missed you” and “it’s good to be back, at last.”
Instead of joking around between songs, Morissette kept her flute for singing, no doubt due to a recent bout of laryngitis that wiped out the full range of her voice and caused her to cancel two shows in Britain last month.
On the main stage at LeBreton Flats Park on Sunday, the 48-year-old singer-songwriter (and mother of three) was almost completely back to her energetic musical persona, except for a bit of hoarseness towards the end of the night. Wearing an oversized T-shirt, baggy leather-look pants and comfortable sneakers, with her hair long and loose, Morissette gave a magnificent concert before a crowd numbering nearly 20,000.
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Instead of wasting his breath talking, he got the message across with his music, underscoring the contemporary significance of certain songs with well-chosen video clips. Even the 25-year-old tunes from his multi-million-selling hit album, Jagged Little Pill, gained new relevance, in part because of his band’s fiery work, but also because of the big-screen imagery behind it.
Without saying a word, he trolled Jordan Peterson, promoted body positivity, paid tribute to the late Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins, and criticized the compulsion of parents to push children to be winners.
After an introductory video montage summarizing her career, Morissette dove in, kicking off proceedings with an absolutely searing performance of All I Really Want that turned heads, followed by the quirky poetry of Hand in My Pocket, her first single. No. 1 in Canada and always a crowd favorite.
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Next came Right Through You, which found Alanis singing the line “I see right through you” while a photo of Peterson appeared on the screen. A couple of songs later, the Mary Jane tune was accompanied by unflattering images of Morissette, including photos in a bathing suit, to illustrate the pressure on women to be thin.
Also highlighting the video was the poignant song “Be a Good Girl (or Boy)”, Perfect, which featured footage from a home video of a shelf full of trophies that, at the end of the song, were smashed by a baseball bat. .
Another highlight was the hit single, Ironic, a sweet song sung to perfection with the crowd as the screen flashed a tribute video to Taylor Hawkins, the recently deceased Foo Fighters drummer who was Alanis’ drummer on her first world tour. before joining the gang. Foos. Footage from that tour showed a vibrant young Hawkins enjoying life on the road, creating a tear-jerking moment.
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Morissette seemed to lose herself in her performance, whether she was concentrating on reaching the top levels on songs like the triumphant Reasons I Drink and the impassioned Forgiven, or spinning and moaning cathartically during powerful versions of Smiling and You Oughta Know. He also played a bit of guitar and played a raunchy harmonica.
A two-song encore featured another round of twists and turns on Uninvited before a rendition of Thank U was dedicated to Ottawa, the city Alanis had to leave to make it big.
One surprise remained: Alanis’s adorable 6-year-old daughter Onyx appeared onstage and mischievously attacked Mom with a spray of glitter, earning a huge laugh that brought us all back to reality after a great concert.
