NEW YORK -- The show cost nothing to attend. Yet the crowd gathered

to see Canadian singer/songwriter Alanis Morissette on Sunday clearly had

something to give the artist.

Performing a free, radio-sponsored concert at the Roseland theater that

night for roughly 2,500 fans, Morissette was met with the ultimate

compliment when her fans sang along word-for-word on her older songs and

greeted the 24-year-old singer's new tunes as if they were classics.

"I can relate to her lyrics," said Tara Crifasi, 16, from North Caldwell,

N.J. Tara was joined by friend Meghan White, 16, also from North Caldwell.

Meghan, who had been singing along throughout the entire show, was reduced

to a hoarse whisper, and Tara had to speak for the both of them.

The primarily young, female crowd at the Midtown venue sang, yelled and

bellowed as Morissette showcased 18 songs -- newly arranged material off

her multi-platinum 1995 album, Jagged Little Pill, and songs off her

upcoming fourth album, Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie, set for a

Nov. 3 release.

Lending her support to the provocative Morissette, pop icon Madonna -- who

founded Morissette's Maverick label -- sat in the mezzanine of the theater

next to retro-rocker Lenny Kravitz.

The concert was presented by New York City radio-station WHTZ (Z-100),

which, over the past two weeks, had given out 500 tickets on the air. In

addition, WHTZ handed out 2,000 access wristbands for the show to fans who

came to the Roseland early Sunday morning, according to Gabe Tesoriero of

the publicity firm JLM, which handles public relations for Z100.

Pop-music cable-channel MTV taped the concert, with its photographers and

crew dodging across the stage to film Morissette.

Meanwhile, excited fans played to the cameras that panned the audience. MTV

plans to air the Morissette concert Nov. 2, in conjunction with the release

of Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie the following day.

Wearing a sheer, black top and a red skirt over black pants, Morissette --

her long, brown hair in an unkempt ponytail -- appeared serene as she

performed her older songs. For instance, she sang the jocular

HREF="http://media.addict.com/atn-bin/get-music/Morissette,_Alanis/Hand_In_M

y_Pocket.ram">"Hand In My Pocket" (RealAudio excerpt), off

Jagged Little Pill, in a slow, almost monotonous style, backed by a

pared-down instrumental arrangement.

The scathing rocker

HREF="http://media.addict.com/atn-bin/get-music/Morissette,_Alanis/You_Ought

a_Know.ram">"You Oughta Know" (RealAudio excerpt), usually

delivered with Morissette's trademark growl, and the ballad "Ironic"

received the same watered-down treatment, with Morissette speaking the

words softly, almost poetically. Her voice was barely audible above the

band's loud accompaniment.

It was apparent that her heart was in her newer songs, such as the

concert-opening "Baba," which Morissette warbled with her voice cascading

to high, almost opera-like pitches during the song's refrain of "Ava

Maria." Keyboardist Deron Johnson enhanced the performance with a

remarkable cacophony of chords.

Morissette, who recently spent some time traveling in India, used the rough

edges of rock to enhance her lyrical meditations and revelations.

"Sympathetic Character," a swirling, otherworldly, psychedelic-sounding

song, featured ample guitar work by Nick Lashley and Joel Shearer.

Morissette herself donned a guitar to add big, rock textures to "Can't Not."

Her voice was most pure and coherent during the performance of

HREF="http://media.addict.com/atn-bin/get-music/Morissette,_Alanis/Thank_U.r

am">

"Thank U" (RealAudio excerpt), the first single culled from

Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie. Other, quieter songs such as

HREF="http://media.addict.com/atn-bin/get-music/Morissette,_Alanis/mono-exce

rpt-Uninvited-28.ram">"Uninvited" (RealAudio excerpt), from the

soundtrack to the film "City of Angels," benefited from the absence of the

band's loud instrumentation, which tended to drown out Morissette's voice

at times.

Throughout the show, Morissette's gaze was decidedly calm. The few times

she spoke to the audience, she'd speak in an offhand fashion. At one point,

she asked, "Is anyone here from New York?" Between songs, she'd bow in

greeting, with her hands pressed together, or reservedly pick up bouquets

of flowers wrapped in cellophane that fans threw on the stage.

Still, Morissette showed off her playful side.

Between songs, she presented a birthday cake topped with layers of whipped

cream to one of her crewmembers. When the crowd tried to encourage

Morissette to throw the cream pie at the guy, she obliged by spreading the

cream over his bald head.

Madonna, who was sporting recently dyed dark-brown locks and wearing a

jet-black jacket, and Kravitz weren't the only celebrities in attendance.

According to Tesoriero, actor/teen-idol Leonardo DiCaprio and

rapper/producer Sean "Puffy" Combs were also in the theater.

Fans were treated to a repeat performance of the song "Baba" at the end of

the concert, apparently at the request of MTV, which had told audience

members at the beginning of the evening that Morissette might be forced to

repeat a song because of the filming.

"Her voice sounds rested," commented Jill Michael, a 33-year-old fan from

New York City, after the concert ended. "You can tell she's really been

working on training her voice. The last time I saw her in concert, she

sounded more rough, like she was screaming."

Other fans, commenting on the newfound spirituality of the singer's lyrics,

said that with her latest material, Morissette hasn't lost her edge either.

"The new songs are a lot harder -- more rock-sounding," Tara said. "But

she's still real, even after selling a million albums. She's still real."