Although there’s no doubt that Morissette gave it her all, there was a problem that dampened proceedings: a bad sound mix, writes Nick Krewen

By Nick Krewen

Special to the Star

Alanis Morissette and Joan Jett

Three stars (out of four) 

Budweiser Stage on Saturday, July 13, 2024 

Isn’t she iconic?

True that the term “iconic” has been employed to the point of nausea by every well-meaning publicist grasping for straws to describe their latest client, but in the case of veteran singer and songwriter Alanis Morissette — who performed the first of two shows at Budweiser Stage with openers Joan Jett and the Blackhearts and Morgan Wade on Saturday night, with the second set for Sunday evening — the description is more than warranted.

It’s been 29 years since Ottawa’s Morissette unleashed her game-changing Jagged Little Pill album and her angry, defiant jilted-lover theme “You Oughta Know” — and judging by the reaction of the nearly 16,000 who belted it out alongside our heroine, the passage of time has not diminished the impact of that song and that album, but only enhanced it.

Before deep-diving into Morissette’s performance, let’s begin with another woman who falls into the “iconic” category: the 65-year-young Ms. Joan Jett. At the time when Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Jett co-founded the Runaways with Cherie Currie, Lita Ford and Jackie Fox, Morissette was still a toddler and female rock bands playing their own instruments were few and far between. For some, at the time, the rock ‘n’ roll, punk-edged Runaways were considered a bit of a novelty in a male-dominated industry, although both guitar-wielders Jett and Ford managed to rise above the infamy and enjoy lengthy careers as solo acts.

However, Jett was the one that enjoyed the most mainstream success, and last night, the leather-clad legend proved her mettle again with a 15-song, hour-long set of no-nonsense rock ‘n’ roll.

With drummer Michael McDermott’s kit positioned dangerously close behind her, Jett acknowledged her Runaways history with the one number that was something of a sensation — “Cherry Bomb” — the second song on before yielding an additional nod to the band with “the first song I ever wrote”: “You Drive Me Wild.”

The followup melodies ranged from originals like “Different” and “Fake Friends” to covers of Lou Reed’s “I’m So Free,” the Replacements’ “Androgynous” and Sly and the Family Stone’s “Everyday People,” with guitarist Dougie Needles offering some lengthy solos and Jett chiming in with the occasional six-string lead.

There was respectful cheering, but nothing over the top … until Jett demonstrated the power of a hit song. Suddenly, everyone was on their feet and cheering when the opening chords of the anthemic “I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll” socked the air — and then Jett rifled off four of her smashes in a row, including her cover of Tommy James and the Shondells’ “Crimson and Clover,” “I Hate Myself for Loving You” and “Bad Reputation.”

And then the real party got started.

From the opening strains of Jagged Little Pill‘s “Hand in My Pocket,” the harmonica-toting Morissette and her crackerjack five-piece band were all business, barely stopping to breathe in a 24-song set that dwelled heavily on her smash 1995 breakthrough while dipping into a handful of post-“Jagged” material in what could be described as a Herculean effort.

Expelling boundless energy, Morissette was a whirling dervish of activity, constantly pacing from stage left to stage right, or — dressed in a peacock-tail imprint shirt, tank top and peacock blue slacks and running shoes — standing cross-armed behind a microphone as she impressively exercised that powerful mezzo-soprano to thrilling impact, employing some of the tonal embellishments that launched a bunch of copycat singers in the late ‘90s (anyone remember Meredith Brooks?).

Assisted by a first-rate video backdrop that offered imagery including past videos, a sort of autobiographical visual diary and sobering gender-inequality statistics (during “Right Through You”), Morissette was relentless for the hour-and-45 minutes she was on stage.

Aside from the occasional thank you or to briefly introduce her band, she didn’t speak, preferring to let her music do the talking — splitting the format of her Triple Moon Tour set to briefly refer to Under Rug Swept‘s “A Man” or Feast on Scraps‘ “Sorry to Myself,” before segueing into “Hands Clean” and “Head Over Feet.” 

And since they were hits, the audience exercised its inner songbird, threatening at times to overpower the superstar herself as they joyfully celebrated her music.

Midway through the show, Morrisette and her band rushed to a stage positioned in the 300 section — closer to the lawns — for a four-song, partially acoustic set that included “Mary Jane” and “Your House” from her best-known album.

Following that incursion into the crowd, Morissette spotted U.S. comedian Fortune Feimster on her way back to the main stage and dragged her onstage so they could duet for a verse and chorus of “Ironic,” before continuing the Jagged theme with “Not the Doctor,” “All I Really Want” and the hit that started it all, “You Oughta Know,” to wrap up the pre-encore set.

As the camera panned through the audience for Morissette’s best-known chorale, women everywhere were smiling as they joined in to chastise a former romantic partner that they felt wronged by.

Although there’s no doubt that Morissette gave it her all, there was a problem that dampened the proceedings: a bad sound mix. Morissette’s vocals were never clear or articulate to the point where you could understand the words during some of the louder parts of the show, at least in the 200 section of Budweiser Stage seating, as she seemed to be competing with the band.

If you knew the words, it may have escaped a bit more unnoticed, but frankly, for an artist of Alanis Morissette’s stature — and yes, she is iconic — she deserved better from her sound engineers.

Hopefully, Sunday’s show gifts the audience some cleaner sonics.