Live Review: Alanis Morissette, Angie McMahon

Walking into the International Convention Centre Sydney for Alanis Morissette, it was a very mixed crowd. Twenty years on from her last tour, Morissette certainly still draws a lot of attention from young and old.

Melbourne's Angie McMahon opened the night's proceedings, kicking things off with a laugh by introducing herself to the crowd and telling them, "I'm going to play you some sad shit." Opening for someone with a voice like Morissette was always going to a hard act but McMahon handled it with grace and humour, and a massive voice that filled the arena. She shared songs from her forthcoming debut album, including the likes of Patrick, one she's temporarily dubbed 'The Pasta Song' and, of course, the one that's gaining her the most attention, Slow Mover. If you get the chance to see McMahon - run, don't walk. She's just too special to miss.

There was about a 45-minute wait between McMahon finishing and Morissette taking to the stage, not that it mattered since one guy in the crowd took it on himself to become the evening's unofficial hype man. After two somewhat successful attempts, the crowd embraced his call for a Mexican wave and soon after a sea of arms were flailing across the width of the arena. He was rewarded with Morissette's setlist by a crewmember for his efforts.

The reaction to Alanis Morissette returning to Sydney was always going to be huge. The one she got upon walking out on stage exceeded probably anything anyone was expecting — the crowd so loud you could barely hear her say hello.

The show kicked off with You Learn and a massive singalong, while a collective scream filled the room when the "Swallow it down (what a jagged little pill)" came in. There's an update of the lyrics towards the end, with Morissette joking about her children wearing her out.

All I Really Want and Precious Illusions follow before Morissette notes the similarity between the Canadian and Australian sense of humour. She informed the crowd that a musical about Jagged Little Pill is currently in the works, so it's not too long until they'll be reliving the feeling again.

The evening was totally acoustic, Morissette flanked by just two guitarists, so all of her songs were reimagined for the setting, including Mary Jane, which got a very pretty ukulele treatment.

She moved through Hands Clean, Right Through You, Guardian, Hand In My Pocket, Everything and Head Over Feet, before stopping to tell the crowd, "This is for anyone who's written a song that has a malapropism," before playing the very crowd-pleasing Ironic.

Uninvited, a track she wrote for the City Of Angels soundtrack, led into a slow and stripped-back version of You Oughta Know, which sounded much more sinister in its acoustic form.

Morissette joked about how she and her guitarists would at that point normally walk off the stage and then guess when to come back for an encore, but she informed the crowd that they wouldn't be doing that as she was simply enjoying them too much.

Of course, it was Thank You that wrapped up the evening. It was an appropriate end to the night for both Morissette and the crowd. After 20 years, Morissette's return to Sydney was exactly as you hoped it would be. Let's hope it won't take her so long to return next time.