Alanis Morissette

WATER RATS 22/05/02

Its Wednesday 22nd May 2002, and Alanis Morissette and her band are doing their best to relax as they cross the Atlantic on their way to Europe. This is a welcome break from a hectic series of dates across the States as part of the 'Under Rug Swept' tour, and as Alanis considers the delights of a CD:UK appearance, she is clearly in the mood for something a little different. 'Lets do a couple of small shows' she announces. The phone calls are made, the wheels are in motion, and the instructions are that arrangements be made for shows in Madrid and London.

Cut to Friday 24th May, and those still at ground level have made sure that everything is in place for a very special event at our very own Water Rats Theatre. Tickets were on sale exclusively through the venue, and though you had to turn up in person to get them, they sold out within hours of the radio announcement. The venue is packed out, the crew have made everything ready - its 8.45 and the band have yet to arrive. Even at this stage, people were finding it hard to believe - would she turn up, or would she change her mind at the last minute ? Was it all just a big publicity stunt, they wondered, or could it be a less than famous Alanis tribute act turning up to see if she could fool everyone? A few minutes later a silver Mercedes pulled up outside the venue, and out stepped the answer - there is of course, only one Alanis, and ten frantic minutes later she took to stage to a rapturous welcome.

This crowd of course, were pure unadulterated Alanis devotees, and quite frankly she could have brought the house down with a smile - nevertheless, there is no question that, like so many performers before her, Alanis suffers from that age old problem that comes with a multi-million selling first album - the 'I like your old stuff better than your new stuff syndrome'. Seemingly aware of this, Alanis feels her way through the first half of the set, for the most part steering clear of 'Jagged little Pill', and instead concentrating on the stronger titles from 'Supposed Former Infatuaton Junkie' (Baba, So Pure) interspersed with tracks from her first studio album in four years, the self-produced 'under rug swept' (Hands clean, Flinch, Precious Illusions, 21 Things).

Playing on such a small stage can be an unnerving and raw experience, but its clear that this is the kind of exposure she thrives on. In her music, she is never one to hold back emotionally - her writing is her therapy, and its clear that she relishes performances on this scale for the opportunity they give to take that one step further - eyeball to eyeball with audience. The new material clearly shows where she is today, more philosophical, more accepting, the sheer vitriol giving way to a knowing twinkle in the eye that says 'I'm still pissed off but I'm dealing with it'.

So, if the first half of the show was the audience giving Alanis what she wanted (including singing her a rendition of Happy Birthday, a clearly touched Alanis turning 28 one week later), they were repaid in kind in the second half. From the moment the first few bars of 'You oughta know' were struck, Alanis was clearly saying 'Its your turn now', and she did not disappoint. Seven hits in a row belted out with passion included 'Ironic', 'Head over Feet', 'Thank you' and an inspired 'You Learn' in which Alanis bounced around the stage, first jumping on the back of the guitar player before shepherding the drummer away in order to take his place and wreak havoc with his cymbals.

There were moments of pure joy, and suddenly, as quickly as she arrived, she was gone. Not one to hang around and press the flesh, she was straight out the side door and back into the Merc, like a one night stand that won't even stay for breakfast. She left behind a hot, sweaty and disbelieving crowd behind her, most of whom still couldn't quite accept that it had really happened. They'll probably all wake up tomorrow, ticket stub still clenched in a joyful fist as the only evidence of a truly memorable evening. Then again, we've got the pictures...