Music Blog

Music Blog

Alanis Morisette to Play Her Dream Venue at Henry Miller Library Oct. 2

When Alanis Morisette plays at Henry Miller Memorial Library on October 2, she'll be thinking about her set list like a painting. "I think in terms of color," she said on a call with reporters Tuesday. "I want to make sure the whole set isn’t dark purple; I want to throw some primary colors in there."

Once celebrated for her angsty tunes, Morisette has contained her anger somewhat since Jagged Little Pill launched her to global renown in 1995, but she's no less ambitious these days. And though her lyrics and her sound are softer, she's not lost her edge, even though she speaks as lyrically and philosophically as she sings.

"I’m still feisty, it just shows up in different ways," she said. "The emotions themselves still move through me, but I can corral them." That diversity—of emotion, or of the color palette—comes across in her new album, Havoc and Bright Lights, released in August.

She'll bring her evolving ethos of balance over rage to the Henry Miller stage, a sensibility she's been honing particularly since becoming a partner and a parent, which she sings about in "Guardian."

"The credo for me these days is it’s win-win or there’s no deal," she said.

Her show at Henry Miller is sure to be a win-win, especially since Morisette says she draws energy from her audiences. "It’s been my fantasy to play there," Morisette told the Weekly.

"Big Sur is one of my favorite places on the planet," she adds. "I’ve been obsessed with Big Sur since i was 20 years old."

The Esalen Institute, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this weekend, was Morisette's destination for respite from work while writing Jagged Little Pill, she says. "Esalen was my one solace."

After she quickly rose to celebrity status with Jagged Little Pill, Morisette says she looked increasingly inward.

She says she's learned to be more reliant on people around her as she's started a family. As she sings in "Spiral," "Don’t leave me here with all these critical voices / Cuz they do their best to bring me down bring me down / When I’m alone with all these negative voices / I will need your help to turn them down turn them ‘round."

Morisette said the advice she'd give now to her younger self would be to look for support around her. And to take a shower.

Alanis Morisette plays 8pm Tuesday, Oct. 2 at Henry Miller Memorial Library. $93; sold out. www.henrymiller.org .