The day couldn’t have been any better as ALANIS MORISSETTE came into the capital for another gig in the BLACKWEIR series. We’d already witnessed Noah Kahan kick off the 2025 series with a massive gig last Friday ahead of his Glastonbury set. It’s Ironic that Alanis headlined the Pyramid Stage the same evening Noah played Blackweir (thanks goodness for iPlayer).
It was clear as we sat in the evening sun, drinks in hand, watching and listening to three great support artists, that we’d all watched the Worthy Farm set and were desperate to hear these career-spanning songs played live in Wales.
First up was MEGAN WYN who delivered a short, but perfectly paced set, backed by her live band. It’s a bit of daunting prospect being first up, in front of so many people, but Megan showed no sign of nerves as she delivered a great opening set.
GWENNO then took to the stage, a performer who is well known around these parts, especially for those of us who make the regular pilgrimage to Green Man. We had songs in Welsh and English but all of them kept the crowd entertained on a warm Tuesday night.
Then it was LIZ PHAIR to round off the trio of female support artists. Often described as one of the most ‘important songwriters of the last 30 years‘ which is why she is a seven-time Grammy nominee. She has supported Alanis on a few of her tour dates recently, and you can see why.
There’s not many artists who can pull people away from the concession stands and back into the thick of the crowd. But when you’ve a performer blasting brilliantly through songs like ‘Polyester Bride‘, ‘Supernova‘ and the hard hitting ‘F*** and Run‘, burgers and beers can wait for a break.
And then it was the reason we’d all congregated in the fields of Blackweir.
There’s only a handful or artists who can turn out an album which is as relevant now as it was when we first took it home and played it till the needle broke (we still love vinyl). Enter Alanis Morissette and the 1995 ‘Jagged Little Pill, an absolute beast of a pop record which spoke about the end of a very unhealthy relationship, which a lot of us still relate to now, which quickly became clear last night.
And it was ‘Hand in my Pocket‘ which kicked off an unforgettable night where me, and the huge Blackweir crowd were there to relive songs, stories and plenty of emotions which brought us to this incredible venue some thirty plus years after Alanis entered our lives.
There is no doubt who owned the stage last night but to be fair, Alanis really gave her band the credit they truly deserved. Her guitarist JASON HORNE came in for some extra praise and rightly so, he’s a bit special.
Alanis was off at one hell of a pace, working the stage and never missing a beat or breath, her vocals were spot-on.
If you’ve see her live before you may have been a little surprised, but pleasantly so, that she spoke a so much during the show. She had a lot to say about a lot of things. The background of the set too also spoke about violence against women, and highlighted her own feminist values.
As she played through a set including, ‘You Oughta Know‘, ‘Mary Jane‘ and ‘Reasons I Drink‘ I noticed what an amazing cross section there was in the audience. There we clearly the die-hard Alanis fans, those who had perhaps dipped into an album or two or wanted a good night of great music on home soil, but there was also so many children in the crowd. They weren’t there so they could have a late night and some great stories to tell their mates the next day but also knew every word to all the songs.
Which brings us to one of the stand-out moments of an Alanis gig. For Ironic, she brought a local woman up on stage to sing the first verse – and she was actually pretty good. Although the thousands of us on the grass helped out a bit too. And then of course the famous harmonica came out and Alanis showed us that it wasn’t only vocally where her musical skills lay.
As we brought her back for a couple of outstanding encore songs, including ‘Thank U‘ I think we all agreed we’d witnessed something very special in the heart of the city. While we all went home with a night filled with important messages we also have memories of an incredible performer who delivered an outstanding performance.
Blackweir continues today….
BLACKWEIR 2025
- 3rd Juiy – SLAYER + Amon Amarth + Anthrax + Mastodon + Hatebreed + Neckbreaker
- 9th July – Stevie Wonder + Corinne Bailey Rae
For more details on BLACKWEIR, how to get there safely and ticket information, go HERE.
