Wow, it took a good twenty seconds or so for that to sink in, LOL, and I even consider myself a "news junkie". Now I got it. Yes, certain commercial airplane makes are undergoing intense FAA scrutiny for safety concerns and are being grounded for inspections and repairs, resulting in THOUSANDS of cancelled flights over the past week or two. Choosing the type of plane when making online reservations is suddenly very significant. If that highly plausible scenario happened to the Avril concert-goer who must travel by air, then a cancelled flight could spell utter failure for any concert plans if there isn't a fair amount of temporal padding.
FWIW, we flew to Vancouver a few days prior to the concert to be sure that there would be no worry over bad weather, equipment failures, other unmentionable delays, etc. We had never been to the city before but had talked about it for nearly a decade, so we played tourist and had a great time doing so. (Does Avril get proper recognition from the Canadian Tourist Board for her contribution, eh?)
Since you ARE asking us here for our advice, then yes, if you are in a position to travel a couple of days before the concert, then do so. It's better to be safe than sorry, because flying the friendly skies isn't always so friendly. Being prepared for unforeseen circumstances definitely includes NOT flying out on the day of the concert or even the day before. It's just too risky, even if the majority of the time things work out just fine.
Like others have suggested, travel to Dallas a couple of days before the show and do some sightseeing. I've been to Dallas and can't recall seeing much "touristy", but I was there for work. Surely there is a tourism website for that area of Texas that will be helpful in giving you some great ideas for what to do in the two or three days before the concert.
Have fun and let us know what you thought about the show when you get back home!
