ALANIS MORISETTE // OVO HYDRO, GLASGOW
Glasgow was left well and truly spiked from two powerhouse performances with the long-awaited sets of Alanis Morissette and support Beth Orton.
★★★★☆ (4.5/5)
ALANIS MORISETTE // OVO HYDRO, GLASGOW - 19.06.2022
PHOTOCREDIT: STUART WESTWOOD PHOTOGRAPHY
It was set out to be a colour filled night with two singer-songwriters ready to show the large arena why music is one of life’s greatest blessings. First up was the eclectic folk rebellion of Beth Orton. Beginning in the 1990’s, Orton has collaborated with the likes of The Chemical Brothers, Ben Harper and Elliot Smith. She was engaging an angelic in her delivery in Glasgow OVO. She sung with a softness that was so tender that she cradled the crowd but moved with crunchy gravel into electronic rhythms. She had the audience hypnotised playing songs including Stolen Car, Thinking About Tomorrow and Stars All Seem to Weep. Her set transfixed the crowd and felt over in flash with its captivating beauty.
Orton’s killer performance set the tempo for the stage-shy sensation that a huge crowd had come to see. Morissette has been known for her aversion to the spotlight and lucky attendees of the night had waited a long time for the show to finally come.
Alanis Morissette exploded into stardom in the 90s and became a hero for a generation. Rising from the ashes to produce work that blasted out on stereos around the world, she was quintessential in creating the free-spirited, speak-your-truth vibe the filled the decade’s airwaves. With the iconic album Jagged Little Pill Morissette was thrown from her modest beginnings to sell out notoriety. At the time she had been dropped by her label and the Canadian-American has expressed how this gave her the freedom to write honestly of her lived reality. She was free of limitations and free of those who had told her that her music needed to rhyme and that she needed to sell sex. Now over 25 years since this jaw dropping release, Morissette set out to stun in her unique way.
The perpetual outsider, Morissette has never been an artist truly comfortable being as famous as she is. However, she knows her power. She started the night with a display of her influence – and, my word, she is influential. Clips of just a small amount of the many uses of her work were played. Looking incredible, Morissette wore a bright yellow baggy T-shirt with a big cat face on the front and leather trousers as she patrolled her stage with a punchy energy that oozed both purpose and relaxation.
Known for the strength in her voice, her Glasgow performance made clear that she has not lost her ability to deliver vocals that shake an audience from front to back. Throughout her set she stunned fans into an awe-filled silence, all eyes fixated on the beauty and rawness that they were witness to.
The most emotional moment of the night was Morissette tribute to Taylor Hawkins. Hawkins drummed for the singer before he set out with Foo Fighters. His memory soared with the beloved song Ironic.
The night was finished with the fiery You Oughta Know and then an encore including Uninvited and Thank U. Alanis Morissette left the crowd so grateful and so moved. She has moved on but is not far from the lady who was spoken down to by critics while she saved a sea of youth with her honesty. Although she exudes a new lightness, her humble beginnings still connect her to the songs just as they were 25 years ago. Morissette is as breath-taking now as ever before.
REVIEW BY // KATRIN LAMONT
PHOTOS BY // STUART WESTWOOD
SETLIST:
OVO HYDRO, GLASGOW
ALL I REALLY WANT
HAND IN MY POCKET
RIGHT THROUGH YOU
YOU LEARN
HANDS CLEAN - (SEGUE 1)
FORGIVEN
EVERYTHING - (SEGUE 2)
MARY JANE
DIAGNOSIS - (SEGUE 3)
REASONS I DRINK
HEAD OVER FEET
SO UNSEXY - (SEGUE 4)
ABLAZE
NEMESIS - (SEGUE 4½)
PERFECT
LOSING THE PLOT - (SEGUE 5)
WAKE UP
NOT THE DOCTOR
IRONIC - (DEDICATED TO TAYLOR HAWKINS)
SYMPATHETIC CHARACTER - (SEGUE 6)
SMILING
I REMAIN - (SEGUE 7)
YOU OUGHTA KNOW
ENCORE:
YOUR HOUSE
UNINVITED
THANK YOU