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Avril Lavigne Diary
CONCERT REVIEW
AVRIL LAVIGNE
with The New Cities and Evan Taubenfeld
Scotiabank Place, Monday, Oct. 17, 2011
OTTAWA — Like many musical acts, Avril Lavigne has to be feeling the effects of the economic downturn. Her fourth and latest album, Goodbye Lullaby, hasn't been her biggest seller, and now she's facing the challenge of getting bums in the seats of concert venues. Even at home in Canada, fans aren't exactly flocking to her Black Star tour dates, which started on the West Coast at the beginning of the month.
On Monday, the Napanee-raised pop star drew a modest crowd of about 4,000 to her concert at Scotiabank Place, not quite enough to fill the second level, but enough to make her show her gratitude.
“I grew up just a couple hours away from here,” she said to the audience, “and every time I come to this particular venue and play a concert, it is so special to me.”
She recalled the time she was 14 years old, won a radio contest and got to sing with Shania Twain on the same stage, in front of thousands. “I was freaking out … it was amazing. I looked at the crowd and there were so many people. I thought, 'I have to do this, I need to do this, I love to do this. To be here performing is such a beautiful experience.”
Often criticized for her bratty demeanour, this time Lavigne seemed warm and friendly on the familiar stage. Dressed in boots, leather-look leggings and an oversize tank top with gaping armholes that showed her bra, the 27-year-old worked hard to overcome the sound issues that occur when the venue isn't full. Her voice sounded a tad screechy as she kicked off with an assertive What The Hell and a sludgy version of her big hit, Sk8ter Boi.
But Lavigne has been a rock star for a decade now and is experienced enough not to lose her grasp of the situation. Backed by a competent, if unexciting, band, she took charge, playing electric guitar during He Wasn't and pumping the upbeat, punky songs like Girlfriend and Smile, to the delight of the young audience. Strangely enough, the woman who attracted 10-year-olds a decade ago still attracts 10-year-olds, some of whom revived Lavigne's necktie-over-tanktop fashion trend for last night's outing.
In general, there was definitely more rock and less pop to Lavigne's performance, although she also managed to show that her music has matured by including emotion-laden ballads such as Don't Tell Me, Alice, When You're Gone and Wish You Were Here. Songs like that added a nice dimension to the concert and showed off the natural power of Lavigne's voice.
Another highlight was Lavigne's encore duet with Evan Taubenfeld, who used to be in Lavigne's backing band and is now a solo artist, thanks to her support. With him on acoustic guitar, they sang a sincere rendition of one of his songs, Best Years of Our Lives. Taubenfeld also performed a short opening set, sounding a bit like City and Colour.
Earlier in the evening, after Taubenfeld, The New Cities used their 30 minutes on stage to demonstrate why they're considered one of Canada's hottest new bands. With their pop-punk rock amped up by synths, the small-town Quebec band tore through a terrific set, showing bang-on songwriting skills and no shortage of showmanship.
Singer David Brown has a deep, grungy voice that might get tedious with a standard alt-rock band, but in the context of keyboard-driven pop rock, it was a surprisingly effective dance-rock hybrid. The harmony singing of bassist Julien Martre ensured strong vocals, not to mention a lively bottom end, while the electric guitar of Christian Bergeron and the crisp drumming of Francis Fugere rounded out the rock aspect of the band.
However, what sets this band apart, both in the studio and on stage, is a keyboard sound that not only seems to encapsulate the latest trends but also pays tribute to the 1980s. Even better is the showmanship of the two keyboardists, Philippe Lachance and Nicolas Denis, who disproved the notion that keyboardists have to stay in one place. Lachance in particular was all over the stage with his instrument, and even on top of it a few times.
Rolling out insanely catchy songs like Supersonic Hypertronic, The Hype, Get Connected and Heatwave, the band played like they were enjoying every moment, and took every opportunity to encourage the crowd to bounce along.
© Copyright (c) The Ottawa Citizen
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Posted in: Avril Lavigne Review
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