One Astronomer's Noise

Girly squeal time! Just a little. I fell in love with Alanis‘s music in 1995 with “Jagged Little Pill” (and really, who didn’t?) My best friend and I used to listen to her CD when we were nerdy little pre-teens in St. Rita’s elementary (“you know how us Catholic Girls can be…”), and it was such a release. It continued to be so for me throughout high school. In fact, when “Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie” came out in 1998, I didn’t really like it that much. I preferred the angry, gutsy girl music. It wasn’t until a few years later when I was finishing up my first year in college, and so much had changed in my life, and I had really begun to grow, that the newer CD finally made sense to me, and I loved it. I have loved all her music ever since. So it was about time that I saw her in concert.

Alanis came to the Charlottesville Pavilion last night for a benefit concert for the CVille Free Medical Clinic. Rachael (of moondog picture fame), Greg, and I got tickets near the back of the front-center section. I think this is the first time I’ve been to a concert with actual seats, so I was glad that we had no one behind us and could stand and dance and see the whole thing. She and her band ROCKED. I had never heard some of her songs live before, and they were played with such fierceness and passion that was infectious. I had almost forgotten how emotional her music could be, and how clearly it spoke to me, and doubtless to millions of her fans, all of us with the same human emotions. The acoustic set was just as brilliant and fun. There were lots of songs from the new album, “Flavors of Entanglement,” which I promptly bought on iTunes later that night. There was also a lot of songs from “Jagged Little Pill” which got the audience up and rocking. So many great songs were played from her other albums, and I wonder if they are not as appreciated by the audience. I danced and sang along to all of them! From the top of my head, they played “Moratorium,” “So Unsexy,” “Thank You,” “Head Over Feet,” “You Outta Know,” “Everything,” “The Couch,” and so many more. With all her material, they could have gone on for hours. I personally would have loved to have heard “Unprodigal Daughter,” but you can’t have it all!

So it was a great kick-off to the tour, and that friend of mine is going to see her in New York next weekend. Hooray! Too all the guys and girls who were singing and dancing along to her music all night, you rock. Muchly.

Now go watch her parody of “My Humps”!