Avril gives fans what they want

Avril Lavigne plays Scotiabank Place

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Avril Lavigne performing at Scotiabank Place in Ottawa. Monday October 17,2011. (ERROL MCGIHON/THE OTTAWA SUN/QMI AGENCY)

Success used to be measured in record sales and hit singles.
Now, apparently, you’re no one in the music business unless you’re peddling clothing lines and fragrances with your name and have your skimpily-dressed figure splashed across billboards.
So add marketing genius to Avril Lavigne’s list of critical plaudits.
It may seem a strange turn for Lavigne who, when she broke through a decade ago as a 17-year-old with the catchy Complicated, was billed as the anti-Britney pop-punk princess, a tag that had more to do with her generous pasting of mascara and steadfast refusal to bare her midriff than her bubblegum sound.
Because, clearly, Lavigne wouldn’t know punk if Johnny Rotten headbutted her in a mosh pit.
Still, it’s hard to be too critical of the small-town Napanee gal made good, who returned Monday night to the place where it all began for her when she won a chance to guest with Shania Twain in 1999 at the then-Corel Centre.
There were 20,000 in the crowd that night; fewer than half that number on Monday.
“Every time I come to this particular venue, it’s so special to me,” Lavigne gushed, sitting atop a grand piano recalling those 14-year-old butterflies.
“This venue was the first time I ever performed in front of so many people.
“This is the stage I walked onto, telling myself, ‘I have to do this, I want to do this, I love to sing.’ ”
Twelve years and 30 million in album sales later, that much is clear.
Lavigne opened her Black Star tour stop as she did her latest album, Goodbye Lullaby, with Black Star, which is also the name of her perfume (a clever bit of self-cross-promotion).
She followed that up with the single What the Hell, whose accompanying video may set a new standard for product placements, except that the featured products are largely her own.
“All my life I’ve been good, but now I’m thinking what the hell?” she sings, convincingly, in the refrain.
She had some trouble staying on pitch through the openers, but hit her stride on Sk8er Boi, the second smash single from her 2001 debut, Let Go.
Her voice rang out on the pretty Alice — written for Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland — and the ballad When You’re Gone.
In introducing that song, from 2007’s The Best Damn Thing, Lavigne bubbled over in sharing the “beautiful experience” of playing for fans so close to her hometown, with her mom, sister and old high school friends all in the crowd.
Lavigne took a powder midset to let her five-piece band take over on an instrumental medley before storming back out with the gleeful Girlfriend, with the crowd of teens and tweens whooping along with every “Hey! Hey!” chorus.
The tender I’m With You, also from her debut, showcased Lavigne’s grasp of the catchy chorus that would define her career, and gave the fans a chance to take over vocal duties on the singalong refrain.
She pulled off a smart cover of B.o.B’s Airplanes, and invited opening act Evan Taubenfeld to join her on stage for encores Best Years of Our Lives and Everybody Hurts, a standout from Goodbye Lullaby — before closing out the fan-friendly show with her name-making hit, Complicated.

Review: THREE STARS

Source : www.ottawasun.com

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Concert Review: Experienced Lavigne takes charge in front of modest crowd Read more: http://www.ottawacitizen.com/entertainment/Concert+Review+Experienced+Lavigne+takes+charge+front+modest+crowd/5564312/story.html#ixzz1bDHE9kGJ

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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Review+Setlist: Lavigne’s a work in progress (Regina)

Lavigne’s a work in progress



No longer a pop-rock princess, Avril Lavigne’s evolution as an adult artist is still a work in progress.

Lavigne isn’t the brash teenager who exploded onto the music scene in 2002 — after all she turned 27 on Sept. 27 — and Thursday’s show at the Brandt Show demonstrated she’s still in transition.

It’s unrealistic to expect Lavigne to remain the 17-year-old who sold 16 million copies of her debut album Let Go. Yet it’s obvious she still has one foot firmly planted in that world — when working her way through earlier hits like Sk8er Boi and My Happy Ending she morphed back into a rebellious teen.


Yet there were signs that Lavigne is moving toward the adult pop mainstream. While her material is still a little immature, her voice has undergone some noticeable changes. Criticized early in her career as being whiny and shrill, Lavigne’s voice now has a deeper and richer tone. She did struggle from time to time with her voice but for the most part Lavigne delivered a strong vocal performance.

The adult Avril was also evident during Wish You Were Here, which will be released next month as the third single from Goodbye Lullaby.

“This song really represents the record, I wrote this song about missing somebody … It’s about looking back and remembering the good times,” explained Lavigne.

The crowd hasn’t forgotten the younger Avril — during I’m With You the fans lustily sang the chorus a number of times. They sang loud and long and it was obvious the song had a deep connection.

A large portion of the sparse Brandt Centre crowd consisted of fans in the 10- to 15-years old range and Lavigne was still able to relate to these youngsters. The problem on Thursday night, and one that will follow Lavigne in the coming days, is the absence of fans who were involved with her first wave of success with Let Go. To maintain a prosperous career, Lavigne has to convince adults that her music has something to offer them.

In the middle of the Canadian leg of her Black Star tour, Lavigne also mentioned her love for the Great White North numerous times during the 9-minute, 16-song show.

“I love coming to Canada because I can get Tim Horton’s, Swiss Chalet and ketchup chips. They’re all my favourite foods.” 

Lavigne made good use of her five-member band — Al Berry (bass) guitar, Rodney Howard (drums), Steve Ferlazzo (keyboard), Jim McGorman (guitar) and Steve Fekete (guitar) — with the highlight coming during the intro of Alice. The combination of piano, organ, drums and guitar was almost orchestral. It was a big sound that led perfectly into the song.

Evan Taubenfeld, described by Lavigne as “my best friend,” opened the show with a 30-minute acoustic set. The mix of original songs and Avril covers from Lavigne’s former lead guitar player was OK but certainly wasn’t anything to motivate those in attendance to rush to the merchandise booths to buy his CD.

The energy level in the facility improved dramatically when The New Cities took to the stage. The Montreal-based electro-rock group powered its way through an entertaining 30-minute set that included Heatwave, a single that samples Baltimora’s 1985 dance hit Tarzan Boy.

Avril Lavigne set list
1. Black Star
2. What The Hell
3. Sk8er Boi
4. He Wasn’t
5. Don’t Tell Me
6. I Always Get What I Want
7. Alice
8. When You’re Gone
9. Wish You Were Here
10. Girlfriend
11. Smile
12. Airplanes/My Happy Ending
13. I’m With You

Encore
14. Nobody’s Home
15. Everybody Hurts
16. Complicated

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Avril still appreciates her Napanee roots

By Jim Barber/Napanee Guide

Avril Lavigne performs at Rexall place in Edmonton, Alta., on Monday, October 10, 2011. AMBER BRACKEN/EDMONTON SUN/QMI AGENCY

It's been three years since Avril Lavigne toured her home and native land, and the 27-year-old Napanee native is having time of her life.

After a number of dates in Europe and the Far East over the summer, Lavigne's Black Star Tour is in Canada for much of October, with dates in Sudbury Oct. 16, Ottawa the next night, in Moncton on Oct. 19, Halifax on Oct. 20, London two nights later, and Toronto on Oct. 24.
Her final Canadian tour stop is Montreal's Bell Centre on Oct. 25.
"My mom [Judy] is on tour with me on the tour bus, and the tour has been going really well. It's such a beautiful time to be back in Canada, being the fall. And the audiences have been amazing," Lavigne told the Napanee Guide from her tour stop in Calgary earlier this week.
"I act the same when she's around. It's nice because we get to spend a lot of time together. And it was just Thanksgiving too, so we were able to celebrate the Canadian Thanksgiving together – and it's been years since I've had that with her. I always end up being on tour for stuff like Thanksgiving and other special occasions. And I know she's been enjoying the shows too."
The Black Star Tour, named for Lavigne's fragrance line, is in support of her latest album, Goodbye Lullaby, which was released earlier in 2011.
The latest single from the album, the powerfully-emotive ballad Wish You Were Here, has been released in video form, and will be available for download on Nov. 1.
Lavigne confessed that she has begun to deliberately explore her less-pop, more mature, serious part of her songwriting nature.
"I guess in some way it was therapeutic to write that song, because, to me, it's like a journal or diary. The lyrics to my songs are personal, and they come from my life and things that I see or go through, or things that I see other people go through. Wish You Were Here, I feel, really reflects this album. There are more emotional songs on it, more raw, and they are personal, deep and moving. So that's kind of what the tone of the rest of the album is like, other than the first single, What the Hell, being more like my older stuff," she said.
"It's my fourth album. I produced two songs on Goodbye Lullaby. I wrote about half of this record all by myself, whereas I typically co-write. So I think I grew on this album. I didn't want to do the same thing over and over, and that's why this album is a little different.
"I also didn't really care about following the trends on radio, or anything like that. I didn't want to make a dance record. I didn't want to make a rhythmic record. I wanted to make a record that was important to me."
Lavigne said she wanted to make an album and write songs such as those done by female artists from whom she has drawn inspiration since here days as a precocious teen singer/songwriter attending Napanee District Secondary School.
"It's more song driven than before. And that's kind of like a lot of the stuff I heard on the radio growing up, from real artists like Sarah McLachlan, or Alanis, or Jann Arden - real music, from girls that have real voices, and whose songs had a lot of meaning to them," she said.
"I didn't want to just make another pop record where I just talking about boys and boy bashing and super-light subjects. My subjects on Goodbye Lullaby are personal, they're raw. It's vulnerable and emotional. On certain songs it was hard to go there, but I went there anyway.
"Basically, I have both sides to me. I love rocking out: I love playing the electric guitar and jumping around on stage. But I am also a songwriter. I am a singer, a chick. I play piano and acoustic guitar. And I love a lot of ballads, so I think it's good to have a mixture."
Lavigne's story is well known to Canadian music fans, especially those living in her hometown.
A gifted performer from an early age, she led a fairly normal childhood in Napanee, but by her early teens, she was a local sensation.
She said the Napanee area supported her budding talent and early concerts tremendously.
"I had a lot of wonderful opportunities in Napanee, because I sang at church, the Napanee Fair, Music By the River, which was an event held down by the river in the summer, and different banquets. And then there was the theatre in Selby [Lennox Community Theatre] and doing musicals and stuff there," she said, adding that by 14 she was writing her own songs and appearing in larger neighbouring communities such as Kingston and Belleville.
At 16, she signed a two-album deal with Arista Records for $2 million.
She was an instant pop hit, with her punk-stylings, catchy lyrics and melodies, with her 2002 debut album Let Go and breakthrough single Complicated, topping the charts in countries around the world.
Her second album, Under My Skin (2004) and follow-up release The Best Damn Thing solidified Lavigne's stature as one of the top musical acts in the world.
But through all that, she would still come home to visit, even after most of her friends and family moved away from Napanee.
The reason is now part of the Avril Lavigne legend - the pizza.
Not just any pizza, but that purveyed by Bill and Marina Kosmopolous of downtown Napanee's La Pizzeria.
"When I come to Napanee now, it's because I am stopping there. I am addicted to that pizza - it's so good. I know I am going to come and get some when I come into the Eastern part of Canada," she said.
"They've been so supportive, and they totally have my pictures and memorabilia up and stuff like that.
"In high school, I used to go there every day for lunch and get a slice. And that's where my parents would order pizza from. And you know when you grow up on something, for the rest of your life, you totally crave it. And because I don't live in Canada any more, any time I come to that part of the country, I have to pass by Napanee and go to La Pizzeria."
She said Napanee was a great town for a creative , rambunctious. young person such as herself to grow up in.
"I am sure that it's grown so much since I lived there, but Napanee always felt like a safe place. It's a small town, so everybody knows everybody, and you can play all sorts of sports, like hockey and baseball ... to me, it's a typical Canadian small town, and as a kid I did typical Canadian small-town stuff."
Lavigne played minor hockey with the boys for her novice and atom years, but her parents put her in girls hockey for peewee because, as she said, "there was body contact, and I was, like 84 pounds."
The last time she performed nearby was at one of the first big concerts at the newly-built K-Rock Centre in Kingston.
Although Kingston didn't make the agenda for this tour, she said she hopes to get back there on her next tour.
"I do remember the last time I was there, and the place was brand new. And I got to see a lot of familiar faces in the audience, which was really cool for me," she said.
Besides her music, and appearances in movies and television programs, Lavigne has her fragrance, and three years ago launched her Abbey Dawn clothing line.
"I always loved arts and crafts. I paint a lot, and I like to cook. I am a very visual person so I like to make things and create. So the clothes and fashion is a really big part of music and having a career and everything I have done with photo shoots and video shoots and red carpets and whatever, it became one of the things that I wanted to do. I wanted to have a fashion line. So I started working on it, and it's been out now for three years. And in the Spring of 2012, I will be launching my first full collection, so I will have men's clothes and swimwear, footwear, bags, glasses. So it's the first full collection like that that I've ever had in all those categories. So I am always working at extending and enhancing it," she said.
"I am totally hands-on, because the whole style guide comes from me and my personal style and what I like. And then I formed a team around me that understands that. I go shopping in places like Tokyo and get tons of inspiration from my travels all over the world. And it's one of those things where I am quick, when I see something, I think about things in my head and automatically think of fabrics and fit and following the trends, and making it super edgy. It's a rock and roll brand."
A couple of years ago, she also developed her own charitable foundation.
"I do a lot of work with the Make A Wish Foundation, and that was really special to me, and I just wanted to have my own foundation and take it to the next level, and I still do Make A Wish stuff, but I wanted to get involved with helping sick and disabled young people. So I partnered up with Easter Seals and am developing programs with them right now. It's one of those things that I am really passionate about and it's important for me," Lavigne said.
For more information, visit www.avrillavigne.com.
- Jim Barber is the editor of the Napanee Guide, and a veteran music industry journalist. Contact him at news@napaneeguide.com.

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