Teen star Avril skates into Odyssey

[Sharifa]

Title: Teen star Avril skates into Odyssey

Author: Damien Murray

Publication: Belfast Telegram

Date: 10.07.2004





Avril Lavigne, Odyssey Arena

Returning to Northern Ireland last night for the second time this year to make her Belfast debut, Avril Lavigne proved that good old guitar-based rock 'n' roll is still alive and kicking.

Together with her four-piece band, the teenager had no problems pleasing the large turnout of fans who ? despite their exceptionally young age (many children with parents and young girls in their early teens) ? knew each word of every song.

Although Lavigne featured many selections from her current album, Under My Skin, it was the pop/punk songs from her multi million-selling and Grammy-nominated debut album, Let's Go, that proved most popular with fans.

Her more recent songs, which were all co-written by the 19-year old singer, boasted teenage themes that her young and mainly female fan-base could identify with and showed a performer who has matured greatly in a very short time.

The single, My Happy Ending, easily came out on top of the new material for crowd reaction.

Old favourites like Mobile, and the slower paced I'm With You and Anything But Ordinary represented the good old days when Lavigne was a mere 17-year old and the new kid on the rock block.

Displaying her musical dexterity, the Canadian performer even took to the piano for some numbers and played some acoustic songs, including Tomorrow.

Surprisingly, her signature tune, Sk8er Boi, came early in the set and not during the encore, which was reserved for my favourite Lavigne anthem, Complicated.

I did feel sorry for the audience at the back of the arena though, as artists standing on what looked like crates was certainly no substitute for some live projection to help them see the stage action.

Despite her rebellious industry image, Lavigne is really a beautiful, petite and innocent young girl who provides other young people with music to be enjoyed ? exactly what rock'n'roll is all about!