Courtesy of David J. Olender / Photo Editor

The night of Nov. 10, Grammy Award-winning musician Alanis Morissette graced the stage of the San Diego Civic Theatre.

The nearly sold-out performance took the audience back and forth through her musical and personal sagas from “Jagged Little Pill” to “Flavors of Entanglement” and everything in between.

Morissette opened up beautifully, singing “Uninvited,” made famous by the “City of Angels” soundtrack.

Morissette confidently flaunted her still youthful and distinctively impervious vocals. During the chorus she even crawled across the stage, head-banging as if Megadeth had been the opening band.

The only downer of the evening was her opener. Most tours render an opening act; in this case, Morissette should have left hers behind.

Alexi Murdoch could not have been more unflattering to his headliner, putting the audience into a sleepy depression that was evidently felt throughout his performance.

Members of the audience 8212; far from rowdy and disrespectful 8212; seemed to be intrigued by his disappointing stage presence, curiously yelling toward the stage, “What’s your name?” He didn’t even introduce himself, which would have helped his cause because no one knew who he was.

In this regard, Murdoch’s solo act definitely didn’t complement rock star Morissette.

Thankfully, Morissette’s performance easily mopped up the spill of Murdoch’s dreadfully boring lullaby.

“You Oughta Know,” “Hand In My Pocket,” “Head Over Feet,” “You Learn” and “Ironic,” gave an equivalent crowd reaction to the reunion of Rage Against the Machine, minus the mosh pit.

The crowd’s verbatim recital of lyrics to her hit songs lent perspective to her obvious contagiousness as an artist.

Two encores sum up this performance as Morissette has revitalized her career by reinventing her past, yet sustaining a trendsetting sound.

Fan Randee Lowery, “really enjoyed her energy,” and said “She was even better live than on her recordings.” Her powerful voice enchanted the crowd,” she said.

“You Oughta Know” (and hear) Morissette’s live performance to fully understand its exquisiteness.

I have no hands in my pocket for this performance; one gives a high five and the other a thumbs-up.

Alanis Morissette will be touring the whole month of November, primarily on the West Coast. She stops in Los Angeles today and tomorrow at the Orpheum Theatre before hitting up Las Vegas on Nov. 15. For more information about tickets, visit her Web site at www.alanismorissette.com.