Morissette rocks the CoreStates Spectrum Philadelphia

by Jeanne Lombardo arts and entertainment/features editor

Chances are, if you didn't catch Alanis Morissette at the Corestates Spectrum, your parents probably did.

Alth.ough Morissette seems to appeal to a pre-teen, teen and college-age crowd, the sold out crowd at the Spectrum was, surprisingly, a different story.

Morissette performed for children as young as six years of age, and adults upwards of 40 years old. Despite Morissette being categorized as an "angry, young woman" and a man-hater by the music industry, more than a few members of the male population were present in the audience.

Following a 45 minute perfor- mance by Radio Head, Morissette exploded onto stage with "All I Really Want."

Three large, multi-colored banners with various lyrics printed on them hung freely from the Spectrum ceiling. Morissette also had an extensive set of lighting including an over-sized disco ball that pelted flecks of light onto the audience during selected songs.

Like many concerts today, Morissette had a large screen that flashed several different images during each song.

Throughout "Forgiven," an account of how the Catholic religion can affect people negatively, images of Jesus and other symbols representing the Catholic Church were displayed on the screen.

After the first four or five songs, it became obvious why Morissette attracts such a diversified audience. Her lyrics are universal and her music style is mellow, yet contains a large quantity of enthusiasm.

Morissette's voice is just as phenomenal live as it is on her current release, "Jagged Little Pill."

Morissette performed every track from the album, as well as three new, unreleased songs.

The concert lasted an hour and 45 minutes. She came back for two encores, which eventually led to a powerful jam (with Morissette on electric guitar) at the end of the closing song, "You Learn."

Although Morissette's performance was powerful, her rapport with the audience kept her from truly shining. Morissette's stage presence comes off as a bit shy and timid, even introverted. She didn't really make the were participants.