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Alanis Morissette
with
special guest Garbage
A Concert Review |
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The weather forecast the day before called for snow. Not just a
couple of inches, but this was supposed to be one of those
"stock up on canned goods because you won't be going anywhere
for a while" snowstorms. I was a tad concerned that mother
nature would interfere with Alanis' return to Chicago, but as I
looked out my window the next morning I wondered why I ever listen
to the weatherman. Yea, there was snow, but thanks to them I now was
stuck with twenty cans of green beans and ravioli. Maybe I'll just
save them for the Y2K disaster coming later this year. Oh well.
Anyway, the snow wasn't nearly that bad, so it was off to the
Rosemont Horizon to see a couple of ladies - Shirley Manson of
Garbage, and of course, Alanis Morissette.
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| Shirley Manson of "Garbage" |
Arriving at the Horizon quicker than I figured, I had time to do a
little people-watching. The first thing I noticed were the two dudes
that kissed right in front of me, and after I got adjusted to
nothing being wrong with that, I noticed a few other things about
the crowd. This time, unlike a couple of years ago, the crowd seemed
a little younger. Gone seemed to be the older dudettes angry at the
male race, and in their place younger, more in the high school
crowd, bringing their boyfriends. I felt my ability to flaunt my
sensitive side would now be wasted, so I might as well just enjoy
the shows.
Garbage was opening, and Shirley and the boys sounded great.
Sportin' a busted flipper, Shirley did her best to still bounce
around the stage, but I was still a little sad. I wasn't sad at
their performance, oh no, I was bummed because I was pulling double
duties as photographer and reviewer so I would only get to see three
songs of Garbage. Their set was kind of short, so it was kinda a
quick run through of their radio hits. The three songs I saw came
off well, and I liked the more acoustical version of
"Misunderstood," but it was time for me to head back to
the waiting area and just listen. The crowd sounded like they
enjoyed the band, so I've got to go with that, and give Garbage Two
"thumbs in a sling" up!
And then came Alanis.
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| Alanis stalks the stage. |
The last time I saw Alanis, over two years ago, I was impressed
because of the showwomanship she possessed, and how she used it to
work the crowd. This time, although I think I was in a huge
minority, I wasn't as impressed, and this is why - maybe it was my
vantage point (I skipped my assigned seats and headed for the
rafters to get a clear shot of the stage), maybe it was my not
knowing all of the songs this time around, or maybe it was because I
kept getting distracted by the six girls a few rows in front of me,
but for most of the show, it just seemed to me that Alanis wasn't
trying to connect with the crowd, but maybe more just singing and
dancing in her own little world. Not that there's anything wrong
with that, and most of the rest of the crowd didn't seem to care,
but it bugged me.
Music-wise, Alanis' hour and forty five minutes on stage were
just about what I expected. A lot of the show was based on the
"Jagged Little Pill" days, but the old songs didn't sound
old because it sounded like she and the band changed them just a
little to keep them fresh. But, Alanis is out in support of her
latest CD, "Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie," which I
haven't heard yet, other than the songs on the radio, so I will
assume that most of the songs I didn't know were from that.
"Dude, you suck. You bad-mouth her in that last paragraph, then
tell us you don't even have her latest CD. What kind of reviewer are
you? Why don't you go back to making airplanes?" I can hear a
couple of you Alanis fans ready to blast an e-mail at me saying
something like that, but hold your horses for a minute. Read on.
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| Alanis Morissette |
One thing I like about seeing bands, especially if I haven't heard a
lot of their new material, is to find out that I like their new
material. I like hearing the radio hits, but I like it even more
when a band or performer can have me leaving a show adding their
latest CD to my "buy" list. On the music side, Alanis did
that, as I found I liked a lot of the songs I haven't heard better
than those on the radio. So, in that aspect, I was happy with the
show.
I became kinda annoyed, though, of Alanis' stage stalking, going
from one corner, diagonally to the middle of the stage, then
diagonally to the other corner, and repeating this maneuver with the
occasional karma dance thrown in. But I think I may have been the
only one who was annoyed with this. There were, however, a couple of
times I saw that spark again, how Alanis could make you listen to a
song as well as enjoy it, and for that I was happy to be there.
Well, as much as some things bugged me, it wasn't that important
that Alanis please me, she needed to please her fans and she seemed
to do just that. From those in the front row to the six girls in
front of me in the rafters, everyone seemed to have a great time.
Me, maybe I should go get her new CD. It's Two "Karma
Dancing" Thumbs Up for Alanis.
That's it for this one, I'm The Dude on the Right!! L8R!! |
