Ever since Irish comedian Ed Byrne mercilessly tore “Ironic” apart to reveal, ironically, just how much it had failed to grasp the concept of irony, it’s become difficult to take Alanis Morissette’s 1996 signature hit that seriously:

A traffic jam when you’re already late
A no-smoking sign on your cigarette break
It’s like 10,000 spoons when all you need is a knife
It’s meeting the man of my dreams
And then meeting his beautiful wife

Not that the surprisingly near-capacity crowd at the Liverpool Echo Arena care one iota, singing along to its amusing coincidences like their life depended on it to give the last date on the Canadian banshee’s European tour a rather fitting celebratory feel. Indeed, for an artist that’s renowned for her dictionary-swallowing way with words, it’s remarkable just how many of her more verbose tracks are performed in unison with the crowd down to every last syllable.

From the pure ‘woman scorned’ aggression of “You Oughta Know” (“Does she speak eloquently? And would she have your baby?”) to the friends with benefits ode of “Head Over Feet” (“You are the bearer of unconditional things”), each of the seven numbers from the juggernaut that is Jagged Little Pill are welcomed like long-lost friends by those whose mid-90s days were soundtracked by the record. Even “All I Really Want,” with its lengthy rally cry for a spiritual and intellectual soul-mate, is reeled off word-for-word:

I’m like Estella

I like to reel it in and then spit it out

I’m frustrated by your apathy
And I am frightened by the corrupted ways of this land

If only I could meet the maker

And I am fascinated by the spiritual man

I am humbled by his humble nature

Understandably, given her career’s subsequent adherence to the law of diminishing returns, her post JLP-material isn’t always met with such a fervent reaction. Wheeled in during a dreary first acoustic encore, meandering ballad “Heart Of The House” indicates why Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie barely sold a fraction of its predecessor, Havoc and Bright Lights’ more MOR offerings (“receive,” “havoc”) providing several ‘let’s go to the bar’ moments, while Prince of Persia theme “I Remain” felt like a slightly underwhelming choice to open the show with.

However, there was still plenty to get excited about during her generous, if arbitrary, two-hour set. A rousing performance of “21 Things I Want In A Lover” and a gorgeously melancholic rendition of “Flinch” proved just how underrated 2002’s Under Rug Swept remains. The symphonic rock of “Uninvited” allowed Alanis to revisit her windmill-style hair-spinning moves in a suitably dramatic fashion, while her brief appearance during rapper-husband Souleye’s support slot gave the breakbeat-tinged “So Pure” a rather prescient new meaning:

Luminous more so then most anyone 
Unapologetically alive knot in my stomach 
And lump in my throat 
I love you when you dance

When you freestyle in trance 

So pure such an expression 

And although her lack of crowd interaction was disappointing, she seemed genuinely humbled by Liverpool’s response, particularly when leaving the stage for a third and final time following the second encore, “Thank U.”

No longer the angst-ridden international superstar, Alanis Morissette may find it increasingly difficult to overcome the indifference to her newer material. But by cleverly targeting her set at both her hardcore fan base and those who have come purely for the hits, she ensured everyone went home happy.