Gut Reactions (post-gig memories and other trips): Alanis Morissette, World Tour 2022, Celebrating 25 Years of Jagged Little Pill. OVO Hydro, Glasgow. Sunday 19th June, 2022

Alanis constantly races across the stage as if determined to get her daily steps up and although she's not as slim as she once was, her voice is still pure and controlled and has a fantastic range.

But I'm getting ahead of myself.

Beth Orton and her band, in support, gave a performance that sounded like it needed a proper soundcheck. Her voice was fine but the band sound was muddy and indistinct. I didn't doze but my eyes felt heavy for most of her time on stage. She has a voice reminiscent of Alanis's but I feel her intimate songs would have worked better in a smaller venue.

Later, when Alanis burst onto the stage with long, blonde hair, I was a bit surprised and wondered if this was an impersonator playing a prank on us. Alanis, as I remembered, had dark hair and was pencil-thin and didn't rush all over the stage as if attempting to avoid a sniper. Seeing the microphone held away from the mouth, even when Alanis's vocals are soaring further compounded this thought. After some time it became evident this was not the case and that this was Alanis as she is now. She had to hold the mike away from her mouth sometimes because she was singing so loudly.

Her voice was the best part of the night. Everything else was a letdown.

This was a bare-bones production with minimal staging, average lighting and no cameras to show those on the upper levels what was going on. The three large screens at the back of the stage only showed video clips and images, nothing of the live performance. I ended up using the zoom function on my phone camera to watch the show. She practically sold out the OVO so she did deserve to be there but she put on a show that would have worked better in the Armadillo where the audience wasn't so far away. It felt like a show planned by the candidates on The Apprentice where they'd cut out anything non-essential that would risk their profit.

The one time the images on the screens made an impact on me was when she showed footage of Taylor Hawkins, her former drummer, whom she introduced to Dave Grohl. It was touching to be reminded of him as a young man at the start of his career. The song Ironic carried a screen dedication to him at the end.

The fans were in fine voice during many of the songs, their chorus filling the auditorium, particularly during the more well-known numbers. Many also exited for the bars/toilets during the less popular album tracks, small streams of people flowing in and out regularly.

As usual, I can't go to a concert without experiencing some audience gripes. The female diagonally in front of me kept elbowing my knee whenever she put her arm around her partner (which she did a lot). And whenever the round girl beside me stood up to dance, I experienced flashbacks to the boulder scene from the movie Raiders of the Lost Ark. She was a big fan, knew all the lyrics and clapped like a seal between songs. Deep down, I knew I wasn't in any danger but there was always the fear she might trip. I was most surprised when she left with her pal during one of the more famous tunes and was away for ages. They returned later with armfuls of alcohol but then had to exit again later for a toilet break. I don't understand this behaviour. You've paid a lot of money to be at a show by an artist you love. So be there. Experience it.

And then gripe about it afterwards like me.

Ticket Price: £65 plus £10 in fees each. Total £75 each.

Setlist

(The show opens with a video retrospective)

All I Really Want

Hand in My Pocket

Right Through You

You Learn

Hands Clean (Segue 1)

Forgiven

Everything (Segue 2)

Mary Jane