Jagged little thrill

You can’t deny that there’s something of a thrill to be had watching a proper pop star stride onto a stage just a few yards away from you.

Morissette is here as part of a European tour that will see her road test a bunch of new material and re-establish contact with an audience that was somewhat dwindling.

Unlike some of these events, though, the show is admirably complete, both visually and musically. The set is a plenty even split between the new stuff and the world conquering Jagged Little Pill, giving that difficult second album something of a wide berth.

And, perhaps against all odds, it’s a fantastic night out. Six years on from their seeming omnipresence, the songs from that debut album sound suprisingly fresh and increasingly muscular in the hands of her five pie ce band. ‘Hand In My Pocket’ may be robbed of some its subtlety but generates true hands in the hair mayhem, as does ‘All I Really Want’ and ‘Forgiven’. It’s been easy to forget, however, just what a splendidly vitriolic lyric graces ‘You Oughta Know’.

Even more encouraging is the extended set of new songs, the quality of which suggest that those who have written the Canadian off may have spoken to soon.

With an encore of ‘Thank U’ (sounding far better than it ever did on record) and a huge ‘Ironic’ winding things up, those who won in the mad scrabble for tickets undoubtedly returned home with tales of an historic gig. Believe them.