Morissette Lives Up to Great Expectations

How long will Alanis Morissette have to keep proving herself?

Each time the 22-year-old singer-songwriter comes through town, she seems to be on trial in one way or another.

From the time she headlined the John Anson Ford Theatre last fall just as her song “You Oughta Know” was becoming the toast of pop to a January concert at UC Irvine’s Crawford Hall after she received six Grammy nominations, Morissette has had to live up to greatly increasing expectations.

And each time she has come through marvelously--much like a champion high jumper clearing the bar with confidence and grace.

The bar was clearly raised several more notches when she kicked off a brief, sold-out Southern California swing on Wednesday at the Santa Barbara County Bowl--a lovely, 4,500-seat venue that offers a distant view of the ocean.

Since her last visit, Morissette’s album “Jagged Little Pill” has soared to a whopping 9 million in sales and won the Grammy for best album of the year.

Equally challengingly, she has moved from the underdog status of playing small facilities, where audiences could still discover her in relative intimacy, to first-line venues where fans are used to seeing the big stars.

Was she up to the test?

Absolutely.

Morissette continues to amaze. On Wednesday she not only did the songs from the album--including the hits “Hand in My Pocket” and “Ironic”--with added assurance and command, but also introduced new tunes with equal dimension and appeal--from the vigorous “Can’t Not” to the calmer “No Pressure Over Cappuccino.”

Backed by a four-piece band that conveys expertly the tension and passion in her music, Morissette moves about the stage with a restless energy but without the melodramatic gestures that would violate the purity of the songs.

To illustrate some of the themes, Morissette has introduced video images on a screen behind her. Rather than MTV-type clips, these were more slow-paced and informal--frequently in the form of grainy home movies that underscored the universal emotions of the tunes.

Indeed, there was an underlying warmth to the entire presentation that contrasted nicely with the “angry young woman” tag first applied to Morissette because of the confrontational nature of “You Oughta Know.”

As she went through the old and new songs, the primary tone was self-affirmation. The songs may be rooted in anger or insecurity, but they are addressed from a position of optimism and strength.

Like PJ Harvey and Ani DiFranco, Morissette rejects the role of the victim that was long applied to women in pop music. Instead, she speaks of relationships and life with a belief in herself and her judgments--a belief that has been tested and has survived.

The demographics of the audience Wednesday showed just how well Morissette’s message is reaching a wide audience. There were an unusual number of women and their teen-age daughters in the crowd--as well as a mix of twentysomethings and fortysomethings that you rarely find in the rather fragmented world of pop. It’s a healthy sign that underscores the imagination and heart of this by now proven young talent.

* Morissette plays Saturday, Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday at the Greek Theatre, 2700 N. Vermont Ave., 7:30 p.m. Sold out. (213) 480-3232. Also Thursday at Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre, 8800 Irvine Center Drive, Irvine, 8 p.m. Sold out. (714) 855-4515.