ALANIS MORISSETTE with GARBAGE; E Center; Wednesday, March 24, 7:30 p.m.; one show onlyWednesday night is ladies night at the E Center.
Opening act Garbage is impressive.
Shirley Manson's red hair is pulled back in a pony tail.
She looks more like Sporty Spice than the acidic beauty she is made up to be in her rock videos.
Manson's presence is athletic.
Her alto voice belies her tiny frame, and her masculine stance commands the stage.
The wee Scottish lass is overtly sexual.
After a 30-minute pause, Alanis Morissette struts on stage, her hair falling right below her waist.
Everything about her is feminine, strong.
Her voice is sorrowful and angry.
It convulses through the first song.
Morissette, staggers, as if in pain.
She's dancing.
For the song "Can't Not," Morissette straps on a guitar.
Even with this prop, her body manages to twist like a tree branch. Her voice cries.
"How would I explain this to my children if I had them?"
Morissette sings from the ground. It is gnarled, contorted, aggressive.
Her first songs are from her new CD, "Former Infatuation Junkie."
Even though they are not as well known, the crowd responds with enthusiasm.
They are awe-struck.
Morissette breaks between songs for water, or to pick up her harmonica.
She throws in "One Hand in my Pocket," before going into the hypnotically soothing "Are You Still Mad?"
The acoustics of the E Center hide her words.
Reverberations make the lyrics sound like a constant vowel, but still Morissette manages to hold the attention of her fans.
As the song ends, Morissette's dancing becomes an extension of her voice. It melts to the floor, writhing. Then she relaxes.
"Thank you," she says.
Her writhing turns to jumping and twirling during "Jagged Little Pill."
Like a small child, Morissette dizzies herself and falls. Each time she hits the ground, the audience screams louder. She has to cover her ears.
The set continues with "Unsent," "You Oughta Know," "Uninvited," "Thank You," "Ironic," and two more from her new album.
The show is visceral.