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| Alanis Morissette @ Shoreline Amphitheater (Photo: Kevin Keating) |
What a night at Shoreline last night. Not only was the weather absolutely stunning, with just a slight cool breeze blowing off the SF Bay waters to relieve the warmer temps Mountain View saw earlier in the day, but those of us in the audience were about to witness the last show of Alanis Morissette's Covid-interrupted 25th Anniversary Tour for Jagged Little Pill. Joining Alanis on the tour was the Shirley Manson-fronted Garbage who hit the stage just after 7pm for an hour-long set in support of their '21 release, No Gods No Masters.
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| Shirley Manson of Garbage @ Shoreline Amphitheater (Photo: Kevin Keating) |
The last time I caught Garbage was back in '17 when they were touring with Blondie at the Mountain Winery, but this was my first time seeing Alanis I'm slightly embarrassed to say. I'm pretty sure the show was close to sold out, and Shirley gave what came across as a sincere heart-felt thanks to those of us who made the time to arrive early to catch their set. She also spoke about the current war on women across the US and how although she's childless, she's grown close with the kids of bandmates and friends over the years and fights for them as all adults should. And as a segue into "The Men Who Rule the World" she commented about the recent Alex Jones verdict. As expected, they played their hits including "Stupid Girl" and "Only Happy When it Rains" along with a sprinkling of tracks from their latest album. I was most impressed with their live rendition of "Only Happy..." which started out with a slower tempo that featured Duke on piano, and Eric Avery on bass backing Shirley for the first verse, while Butch Vig sat out until after the first chorus when it kicked into high gear for the remainder of the song. You can see what I mean with this fan-shot footage from their show in Vancouver a few nights before:
Although Alanis was due to hit the stage at 8:30, things were moving slightly behind schedule, so her set didn't formally start until about 8:40pm with a video montage of moments spanning her career. Everything from bits from SNL, to various TV or movie acting highlights, and of course, a good chunk of it was around the sensation that was "Ironic". And just as the video was wrapping up, Alanis and her band took the stage and kicked-off with the opening track from Jagged Little Pill, "All I Really Want."
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| Alanis Morissette @ Shoreline Amphitheater (Photo: Kevin Keating) |
Even though some fans were wearing Canadian flags as capes, it's now official that Alanis is one of us! She moved from LA to the Bay Area back in 2019 to decompress from the LA lifestyle -- and I can only think that's been incredibly beneficial to her and her family!
I can't underscore enough how passionate Alanis' fans are... At least within the lower bowl, just about everyone was on their feet for the entire show and Alanis barely stood still -- pacing from one side of the stage to the other like a lion circling their prey in the plains of Africa. She was a woman on a mission to make sure everyone in the audience was engaged and part of the party that she was here to put on last night!
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| Alanis Morissette @ Shoreline Amphitheater (Photo: Kevin Keating) |
Considering this was the tour supporting the 25th anniversary of the album that launched her music career, it wasn't surprising to see that she performed the whole album, but she also included a selection of tracks across her catalog. I can't say enough about Alanis' vocals. Honestly, she sounded fantastic and especially considering he had to cancel/reschedule a few dates on her European tour just over a month ago as she fought throat/vocal issues. She was in absolutely top form last night, which was a great way to cap off the tour.
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| Alanis Morissette @ Shoreline Amphitheater (Photo: Kevin Keating) |
Let's hope another tour isn't too far off in the near future and maybe she could play some warm-up gigs in any of our smaller venues now that she's a Bay Area transplant? What say you Alanis?
Either way, don't miss her the next time she plays the Bay Area! Thanks for reading and while you're at it, you can follow us as well here: Instagram | Facebook | Twitter.
