Benefit for Milarepa Fund
Tibetan Freedom Concert
Randall's Island, NYC
June 8th, 1997
Downing Stadium

"Knock, Knock." Some strange, shady character bangs on our car window as we pull up in the large parking lot trying to sell us a book. I anxiously step out of the car with excitement around 9:20 a.m, and engage on the beginning of our adventure. My friend and I travel under a bridge, across a 2 lane highway in a tunnel, and around the outside of what appears to be the side of the stadium. I notice a small crowd of people in a loose line, so we sit and join them for the 40 minute wait, listening to soundcheck. Later, people begin to stand and my heart races. "No cameras, videos, or bottled drinks" echoes throughout the air. Lucky for me, I quickly wrapped my Evian water bottle and disposable camera in a sweatshirt and stuffed it back into my Jansport. The ticketguy gives me back half of a stub and mumbles, "Enjoy the show." I take a deep breath and begin to power-walk. Today is the day that I can finally indulge in the intellectual intercourse dished out by the one and only, Alanis Morissette.
Large colorful tents, banners, hippie shops, portable bathrooms, and concession stands fill the area. Loose dirt is everywhere, and dust thickly layers the air. We peek around the left corner and catch a glimpse of the empty stadium. But there are two stages; One is red, the other blue. Total Confusion. I ask one of the security guards with a bright yellow shirt where Alanis will be performing and he points to the left where the Red stage sits. It is only 10:30 a.m., but I take a front row spot of the Red stage and sit against the railing to secure my position. Several volunteers approach us to sign a petition to end the imprisonment of Tibetan people. I look up at the sky and notice a huge Mtv sign…"Hey, there's Tabitha and Kurt from Mtv," my friend adds. We sit and wait. And then sit and wait some more. The sun is glistening brightly and I can only imagine the degree of sunburn that I will have by the end of the show. And vendors are selling drinks for $3.00 a cup: I have a feeling that dehydration will be a major problem here today. 11:40 a.m. Suddenly Pearl Jam (Eddie Vedder) begins to play a short set including Yellow, Corduroy, Better Man, and Rockin' in the free world. What an excellent surprise opener. The Mighty Mighty Bosstones invade the stage next and hundreds of concert-goers fill the remaining ground and seated areas. Sure there were other great performances after this, but I will get straight to Alanis. Most members from R.E.M. perform on the Red Stage. Major Problem. Alanis is next on the official list, and that means that she will play the Blue Stage. Several fans question the security guards, but they promise she will be on the Red Stage. When the Blue Stage lights up, I close my eyes and shake my head in disappointment. But seconds later, I hear tribal drums and open my eyes to see a bunch of dancing monks. Whew!! Tension begins to lift from the audience and I smile with delight. Twenty minutes into the monks performance, people around me start to smoosh together and the noise level rises. It is amazing how many people are watching the empty stage setup. After the stool is placed at the center of the stage, my friend confidently mentions that it is for 'her'. I see several shadows walking back and forth behind the transparent curtain. Every time a person walks out from behind the white curtain, I squint to see if it is Alanis and her band. I glance down at my watch which reads 4:43 p.m. My friend grabs my arm and points to the left of the stage. Alanis emerges and walks over to the stool, holding a Poland Springs water bottle and gives the audience a small smile. Three band members follow her. Two I recognize as Chris Chaney and Nick Lashley. The drummer is not Taylor Hawkins, who was rumored to have gone with the Foo Fighers. And Jessie Tobias is nowhere to be found.

Alanis greets the audience:" It's great to be here"
I expected Alanis to be in her signature black pants and flailing her long wavy hair. Instead, she wore dark blue shorts, a white tank top, low pony tail, and sandals which she slipped off during the first song. Photographers swarm around below the stage. With no further introduction she heads into "Gorgeous", a new unreleased song. It was a rather catchy tune with a little harmonica, but deciphering the lyrics was a bit confusing.
"Testosterone in large amounts
Your little sister got kicked out of God
You can't shave your head
Come to the show the boys, they rock harder
You put a bullet in your foot
You make it hard for us bitches inconsequential in your back bends"

Final Contemplative Analysis: I believe that the lyrics convey a message of people placing too much emphasis on outer beauty. Although the song sounded slightly different that JLP material, I knew it was the same Alanis when she ended the ballad with "La Da Di Da Ya La Da Di Ya Da Ya Da Ya"

"This is a song called King of Intimidation"
Yes! I knew this one. I guess it did pay off to buy that expensive imported CD. I felt like I was the only one singing along besides another fan to the right of me. Some of the misheard lyrics were now clear. I now knew the chorus:
"All hail the King of Intimidation
My dad loves good Christian behavior"
However, I do believe that there various versions of this song. Alanis strapped on her acoustic guitar for this one. The best lyric was "You are Petty"
Something funny that caught my eye was a bunch of police officers lined up on the side of the bridge, which looked into Downing Stadium. I guess Alanis' irresistible voice caught their attention and compelled them to listen.

"Thank you. Whew. A new song. I don't really have a title for it yet. It's called. Um. It's called London Today"
Some wailing. The only comment I have is that she must have toured through England, and acquired a love for London. The highlight of the song was "I love speaking French to the taxi drivers"
"Thanks. I'd like to take an opportunity to thank Adam and everyone involved with this show today and yesterday. I am honored to be part of it. It's good to be part of something that has nothing to do artists' egos. It's all about ..um..what we can do as opposed to what we can do her today. This is a song called Can’t Not"
Another unreleased song that I had heard before. Again, Alanis played guitar, which echoed through the outdoor stadium. Ironically enough, the song ended after the solo, "To all the younger children", and not the usual "Because I can't not walk without my crutches."

Ending her set with Your House and Wake up, Alanis let the audience indulge in a few emotions from Jagged Little Pill. Her last words," And get up, get the hell out of here, enough already, get up, Pleeeeeaaase, and Wake up," which sent shivers down everyone's spine.
"Thanks you very much everyone. God bless you"
'Miss Thing' picks up her sandals, begins to walk to the back of the stage, gives the audience one last wave and smile, and vanishes in the white curtains. And with that the aura of Alanis left the summer air.

Now was the tricky part : To weave through the crowd and "Get the hell out of here", taking the advice from Alanis herself. People didn't move, and so many were sick from the heat and other illegal substances. It took almost 30 minutes to get from the front row to the entrance lines. We managed to beat the rush and listen to Bjork, Beastie Boys, and Rancid from outside the gates. So I left New York City with 2 t-shirts, a hemp necklace, major sunburn, numb legs (from standing for 7 hours), and the biggest smile across my face.

Other Noteworthy Comments:
· Every 20 minutes, the security guards sprayed the crowd with a hose to prevent heat exhaustion
· I took pictures…but they aren't close-ups because the stage was still 20 feet from the front row.
· Near 100 people were either kicked out from moshing or sickness, and exited the stadium by walking or being carried on the path between the front rows and stage.
· After seeing the Mtv coverage, I realized that I can be seen after Alanis sings "Because I can't not" and it turns to the audience. I am to the left of the screen, pushing my hair behind my ears, leaning on the black railing in front of me.