Alanis Morissette will perform in Manila for two nights on Aug. 1 and 2 at the Mall of Asia Arena
Originally scheduled for April 2020, the Manila stop of Alanis Morissette’s “Jagged Little Pill 25th Anniversary Tour” was one of the first casualties of the COVID-19 pandemic on the concert scene.
The next two years saw local promoter Ovation Productions postponing and rescheduling the show twice — only for it to be canceled outright by the Canadian star’s management in June 2022.
But after tedious rescheduling efforts — and a “surprising” turn of events — the concert is finally pushing through on Aug. 1 and 2 at Mall of Asia Arena. And Ovation head Renen de Guia couldn’t be more “relieved.”
“To set the record straight, the first two COVID-19-related postponements had predetermined future dates. But the third one was a complete cancellation with no discussion regarding any new date or assurance that the show would ever happen again anytime soon,” De Guia told the Inquirer in an interview.
“So, we were really surprised that the artist management got back to us sooner than we expected,” he added.
Securing a date and organizing a concert that’s part of a major world tour is grueling enough. Doing that amid a pandemic—and navigating the ever-changing protocols and restrictions—makes the entire process even more frustrating.
Tough planning
“Scheduling a tour is a major effort because all the dates, venues, and cities need to be aligned. There should be no backtracking to avoid incurring higher airfare costs, and the work week should be tight with minimum days off. So, when a tour is rescheduled, all the hard work goes down the drain,” De Guia said. “I do many Philippine tours headlined by foreign acts, so I know how tough planning can get,” he said. “That’s nothing compared to regional and world tours.
And with the recent resurgence of the live music circuit, rebooking venues isn’t a guarantee. “It’s very difficult because there are so many other events happening everywhere,” he said.
As such, Ovation had to go through the entire process three times.
“Scheduling tours with the pandemic as a backdrop didn’t inspire confidence. But we did it anyway in the hopes that the virus would have gone away by the time the new dates came. But as it was, COVID was very much around during those times, so it was always back to zero,” he said.
Despite the stop-and-go ordeal, the fans’ excitement for Alanis didn’t seem to have wavered one bit. It was supposed to be a one-night affair only. But it quickly sold out, prompting a second night.
Morissette performs for her fans.
Meanwhile, asked what happens to those who failed to have their tickets refunded and insisted on keeping them after the previous cancellation announcement De Guia said Ovation came up with a ticket exchange system that will run until April 23 through SM Tickets’ Mall of Asia Arena office.
“Despite the concert’s cancellation, a number of people held onto their tickets, so we’re offering them a last chance to exchange their expired tickets for new ones — provided they pay the price difference. This is exclusively for tickets bought from SM Tickets,” De Guia said.
Laden with pop-rock and postgrunge sensibilities, “Jagged Little Pill, ” according to the release, “captured the zeitgeist of the mid-1990s by crossing the line between Generation X cynicism and self-realization.”
Successful hits
The album, which melds angst and brutally honest lyrics, spawned some of Alanis’ most artistically important and commercially successful hits that have become anthems of her generation: “You Oughta Know,” “Hand in My Pocket,” “You Learn,” “Ironic,” “Head Over Feet” and “All I Really Want.”
“Jagged Little Pill” went on to become one of the bestselling albums of all time, having moved 33 million copies worldwide and topped the charts in 13 countries. In 1996, Alanis and the album earned nine nominations at the Grammy Awards and ended up winning five, including Album of the Year. More recently, “Jagged Little Pill” was ranked 69th on Rolling Stone Magazine’s 500 Best Albums of All Time list.