I'll Be Backstage After The Show: Avril Lavigne in Buffalo Concert Review

[Open Your Eyes]

Notice: For Photos from this concert please visit Avril Lavigne Bandaids: Photo Library - March 29 2008 - Buffalo



Hey everyone! On Saturday night Bandaiders Sharifa, Justin, Rachel, Bri, Jillian and I all attended Avril Lavigne's The Best Damn Tour Concert in Buffalo at the HSBC Centre. We were especially excited about the show because this is where Avril filmed the My World DVD five years ago As the day progressed we had even more reason to be excited. Long story short: Avril invited us backstage after the show, wrote a note to Bandaids, and gave us all sorts of exclusive info about everything she has going on right now!


Here's a play-by-play of what went down!


I decided only a few days before the concert that I would be able to attend, and it was quite possibly the best decision I have ever made. I drove from Detroit, Michigan to London, Ontario, where Sharifa goes to school the night before the concert. Sharifa's boyfriend Justin was still in town visiting her as well and early the next morning we all drove to Buffalo, New York. When we got there, we met up with three of Sharifa’s long-time concert buddies, Bri, Rachel and Jillian. They had been waiting outside in the cold for a couple of hours. When we arrived and met up with them, a security guy from the venue told us that we were able to come inside. It was the perfect timing! We went inside the venue and waited for a long time, but it was the most comfortable wait ever - it was the complete opposite of our last concert experience in Detroit. The security guards were nice and had conversations with us, it was organized, they were fair, and most importantly, they didn’t kick us out of the venue Good times.... good times.

Finally, around 6:00, they started letting us in. The six of us were in it together, so we made sure to save room for each other and scored front row centre right in front of the catwalk. The security guards made us sit down on the floor not near the barricade. Eventually a few people started standing up in the back, and they were for sure trying to scam their way to the front. Bri, being the smart girl that she is, stood up and went straight to the barrier and the rest of us were ready to follow. It was the most perfect spot in the house. We waited a bit longer and it was a little crammed in the front row, but we can’t complain about that. Before the show, Avril’s security guard came out and gave Sharifa an envelope from Avril of autographs and prizes to use for Bandaids! It was really sweet of Avril to do that, because we didn’t even ask for it! It just shows how much Avril and her management care for Bandaids.

Finally, Boys Like Girls came on. The show was running a tiny bit late, but I didn’t mind. They played a great set including “Hero/Heroine”, “Five Minutes To Midnight”, “Heels Over Head”, “Dance Hall Drug”, “On Top of the World”, “Thunder”, and “The Great Escape”. (For a more in-depth review of their set, click HERE). At the end of their set, they threw out a sweaty towel into the crowd behind us. There were about six girls holding on to it and they couldn’t decide who would get it. Eventually, a security guard at the venue pried it out of their hands. I thought it was really pathetic. I guess they all learned a lesson about sharing. After their set, one of their crew members came out and gave Bri and I guitar picks. It was really cool!

Avril came out a little late as well, but she could’ve come out the next day, it really didn’t matter to me! “Girlfriend” started off very energetic as the entire crowd yelled her name. “Complicated” was absolutely perfect and it was the one song that every single person in the venue knew whether they were a tag-along friend, a mother or father, a grandparent, a Boys Like Girls fan, or one of us. During “I’m With You”, they scanned the front row with the camera and put us on the big screen. That was a fun moment just to see our faces up there. During “I Always Get What I Want”, she came out on the catwalk and did this insane screaming thing. It was nuts! She waved to Sharifa, which was really sweet. “When You’re Gone” was flawless, she did such a great job. “Runaway” was by far one of my favorite performances of the night. She started drumming away and after the first line, she dropped the drumstick. She screamed “Ahh” and said “That didn't happen!” and just started the song over again. This proved a lot to all of the audience, and hopefully to the sceptics on Bandaids. She knows that she is not perfect at the drums or the piano or the guitar. She admitted it right on stage. Hopefully some people get past the whole “She thinks she’s good at everything” aspect, because that’s not what she thinks at all. “He Wasn’t” was a great crowd participation song. She did lots of stuff with us while we were waving our hands in the air. At one point she came onto the catwalk, while entertaining the crowd, and she said “Hey” to all of us around the catwalk without using the microphone. It was funny because even with all of the noise in the arena, we could hear her talking to us perfectly clear!

Right as her encore was starting with “Girlfriend Remix”, Avril’s security guard came out to Sharifa and told her to meet him on the side of the stage after the show was over because Avril wanted to see us after the show!!!!. I was stoked, but chilled out for the rest of the show. She sang her last song, “Sk8er Boi”, with the words “I’ll be backstage after the show”. She was backstage after the show. And so were we!

[Open Your Eyes]

After she went off stage, we chilled for a bit to wait for the arena to clear. I noticed a guitar pick that Avril had dropped during “Don’t Tell Me” and asked a security guard to grab it. It’s now like my favorite thing ever. Some people had overheard that we were going backstage and kind hung out as well to try and pretend like they were with us. Avril’s security guard found us and flagged us over to the side of the stage. There were still about six people pretending they were with us, and it was really funny. Avril’s security guard told us to sit in some seats to wait for people to leave. There were two people that sat down in the seats next to us as well. They were like “Thank you so much for this guys, this is going to be awesome!” trying to get on our good side or something. A security guard came over and asked us if they were with us, because they knew there were only six of us. We told them no and the one girl said something pretty obscene as she left. That’s okay though! Avril’s crew started dismantling the stage really quickly. I was so surprised at how good they are at that. Nearly half of the set was taken down within minutes. Avril’s security guard went and got us some water which was really cool of him. After that hot concert, I really needed something to drink.

Avril’s security guard took us backstage to hang out. We were in a hallway and he told us that Avril would be out to see us momentarily. Seconds later I saw Avril and Deryck walking down the hall with Avril’s brother (security guard) Matt. You have to understand that Deryck is my idol. I’ve looked up to him for so long. It meant so much to me that both times we’ve hung out with Avril, Deryck has been there as well. They both walked down the hall the same way they walked out to greet us when we met them on her Birthday. They both held hands and had drinks in their opposite hands. I was so excited just to be able to see them.

Hey Avril!
They both came over to us. Right away, Avril gave Sharifa a big hug. Sharifa has met Avril so many times and knows her well. We all said “Hey Avril!” or some form of greeting and told her how much we liked the show. I was on the opposite side of Sharifa. She made her way around the semi-circle of the six of us and when she got to me she said “OH HEY!” She had remembered me from when we met her on her birthday. That was the sweetest moment for me.

Deryck was right behind her. Deryck also remembered us, which made things even cooler. I told Deryck how we had been hoping to see Sum 41 in Toronto a few days before, but it didn’t work out. I mentioned how I heard that Dave (a former member of Sum 41) came on stage during the show. Avril and Deryck were like “Yeah, that was by surprise” as they both smiled at each other. That was a really funny moment.

I went on to tell Avril that Sharifa, Justin and I had been at the Detroit concert as well. She asked us if we were going to the Toronto concert or any other ones. We told her which concerts we were all hoping to go to. She seemed pleased that we were eager to attend so many shows.

Avril asked Rachel, Jillian and Bri if they were also from Bandaids. They said how they weren’t with the staff but were members and they’ve known Sharifa. I also made sure to point out that Justin was Sharifa’s boyfriend. Avril was like, “Oh really?! Cool!” when we told her. It was really nice.

The Best Damn Thing Video
I asked her about the clips we’ve been seeing during her performance of “The Best Damn Thing” and if they were from the actual video. She said that they were in fact clips from the video and asked “IS THE VIDEO NOT OUT YET?!” We all laughed and told her that it wasn’t. She seemed really shocked. Avril approved the video a week before, so that means we should be seeing it anytime soon.

Bad Reputation
I told Avril how much our members love the “Bad Reputation” song and video and asked her if she might release it as a b-side. She responded with “Maybe! Deryck recorded it. He played the guitar and recorded it back home in like one day. So maybe! I’m sure it will end up being a b-side in Japan.” She laughed about that, because we all know that it’s so typical for her to release b-sides in Japan.

Toronto Concert
Since she’ll be shooting the Toronto concert to release on DVD, Sharifa asked her if she would be doing anything different for the show. Before she could respond, we suggested that she perform “Adia” because of how much we like that cover. She was really touched that we like it so much. She had the cutest response. “Um I don’t know. I wanted Deryck to play on stage, but he’ll be in Australia.”

Juno Awards
This coming week will be very hectic for Avril. She’ll be going to The Juno’s on Sunday, Toronto on Monday, Kingston on Tuesday and London on Wednesday. Those are three of her biggest concerts plus an award show all in one week. Not to mention Deryck will depart for Australia sometime in there. She said, “For performing, I wanted to perform ‘Girlfriend’, but I also wanted to perform ‘The Best Damn Thing’ so we’re doing kind of like both of them”. Yet another big award show where she’ll be performing more than one song.

Abbey Dawn Pt. 1
I wanted to tell Avril how much Bandaids is following her Abbey Dawn Clothing Line. She was really happy to hear that, especially since it’s such a new direction for her. “I have some stuff from Abbey Dawn but they’re not from the line, they’re just like made for me. Like this isn’t from the line, they just made it for me so I could walk around with my logo.” This means that most of the clothes that she’s wearing on stage are not going to be sold. They are simply just for promotion during her tour and for her own personal enjoyment.

Are You All Canadian? (Eh?)
Avril went to go talk to someone from her management really quick about getting some Abbey Dawn shirts for Sharifa. While she walked away for a second, Deryck asked if we were all Canadian. Being the only American I had to let him down by telling him my nationality. I told him that I was from Detroit and that’s why I was at the Windsor show the week before. Deryck seems so interested in Bandaids and Avril’s career. I just wish he was able to ask more questions, because I could tell he was intrigued.

Message to Bandaids
Avril was kind enough to write a message to our members at Bandaids. Yes, that means you. Sharifa asked her to write one, and she was really excited to. Sharifa asked if she had a pen and she was like “Yeah I have one. Always!” Avril skipped right on over to a chair by her brother Matt and really put some thought into the short note. We didn’t even tell her what to say, so the fact that she knows that we’re known as “The Best Damn Website” was really great. I also really like how she thanked Bandaiders for their support over the years. It just shows that she recognizes how long Bandaids has been influencing her and how we’ve all loved her since the beginning. Here's what she wrote:



The Dancers
I made it a point to tell Avril how much we love the dancers. They really bring a huge element to the live show, and you can tell how passionate they are during the songs. I also told her how Sofi is really passionate about Bandaids and important it is to us that our members feel like they know the dancers, and the band, when they go to see the tour. She was really happy to hear that her fans are getting to know the dancers a little better.

Steve Who?
Sharifa asked Avril what Steve’s last name was (Avril’s new guitarist). She seemed really embarrassed that she didn’t know. We don’t blame her because they’ve only known each other for about a month now. I knew we had it somewhere, but it was really cute that she felt bad for not knowing that.

Another Single…Not
Even though we already had received news that there wouldn’t be another single, I wanted to ask her anyways, just in case there would be a radio release. She said that there wouldn’t be another single, and it seemed to us that she was a little disappointed about that. We mentioned to her that "Innocence" has been getting a lot of radio play in Toronto and she did say that if there was going to be another single, it would have been “Innocence” but she didn’t want to put out another slow song from this record.

Favorite Songs to Perform
Bri then asked her what her favorite song was to perform. It took her awhile to come up with answer. You could tell that she was putting some thought into it. She said, “I like ‘Girlfriend’ and I like ‘When You’re Gone’”. I told her how much we loved the smoke effect during “When You’re Gone” as it rolled off the stage into the crowd. She said, “I didn’t know it was going to do that, like the first show” and laughed about it. Sharifa added that we all liked the beginning of “He Wasn’t” where she gets the crowd all pumped up. Avril said, “It’s interesting because like playing that song in America doesn’t get the same reaction because it wasn’t a single in the States but it was in Canada. It was everywhere in the world but here.”

Abbey Dawn Pt. 2
Someone from Avril’s management brought out some shirts from Abbey Dawn to give to Sharifa. Avril was really excited to give out some shirts because she hadn’t done that yet. She said, “They just made these for me in case I wanted to wear them on American Apparel, but it’s not the cut, this isn’t even a shirt that they’re going to have and it’s not going to be from American Apparel. I just thought I just really hadn’t given anyone anything and I wanted to give them to you.” It was so sweet of Avril to do that! She gave Sharifa a red tank top with the Abbey Dawn logo in purple and a purple shirt with the gold logo.

Girlfriend Remix
I told Avril how great the “Girlfriend Remix” is during the encore. It is one of the coolest performances of the show just because it’s so different and it’s so Avril. She was really glad to hear that. I told her how surprised we were when we first saw it on the set list, but how it fits in so perfectly. Avril said, “I wanted to do the song twice because I know that people do that sometimes with like their big song. So we were like ‘Yeah, let’s do the remix, I’ll come out and rap and we’ll see how it goes.’” I told Avril that L'il Mama’s got some competition, and she laughed really hard about that.

Lil Mama
Avril told us how much she wanted Lil Mama to come on tour with her but it just didn’t work out. You can tell that Avril really cares for her, and they’ve obviously become good friends since they recorded the remix. We recalled how she mentioned she would have liked to have her on tour when we met with her back in September as well.

The Jonas Brothers
We transitioned from Lil Mama to the Jonas Brothers. Never did I think that would happen! I told her how that was an interesting choice and it would be good for the UK. She said, “Yeah, they’re really big for Disney. I haven’t really heard any of their songs.” We also asked her about that rumor that Avril is opening for the Jonas Brothers. She was so confused! Avril said, “What’s happening is I’m going to Europe and I come back to North America again and I do eight shows in Canada and then I do eight shows in Japan. And I’m on, they’re on before me.” We told her that’s what we though and she was like “No.” and laughed it off. It was really funny to see her reaction.

Boys Like Girls
From Lil Mama to The Jonas Brothers to Boys Like Girls. We asked her how she liked touring with the band and she asked us how we liked them. I think I speak for all of us when I say that we all really enjoyed them. She seems to be more interested in them than she did back in September. When we met her then, she told us that her management had suggested them to her, but she forgot the name of the band.

The Best Damn Members
Avril told us how a few weeks ago she met Rachel (LilStar) from Bandaids along with her husband Eric (GettinLuckyInKY) and their baby. If you don’t know, they are the original Bandaids couple. They first met on Bandaids and have since been married and had a baby. She was saying how funny Rachel was when she came to the meet and greet with her baby. Avril had recognized her from before. Avril said, “She had me like hold her baby and she said ‘Aww she’s fat’ and I was like ‘No she’s not!’ Her baby was really cute and she was like laughing the whole time.” I went on to tell her how we have the best members in the world. I mentioned to her how our members raised almost $3000 for Invisible Children. She responded with, “Wow!” The expression on her face showed that she was truly amazed. She went on to ask how many members we have and we told her that there about 95,000. She was amazed with that figure as well. We also told her that we had almost 100,000 photos of her in our gallery, which she thought was super neat.

Photos with Avril
Avril was gracious enough to take individual photos with all six of us and here are the photos of me and Avril, Avril and Justin, and Avril and Sharifa!







The End
Avril was so caring when she talked to us. It wasn’t an interview. It was us talking to her as if we are friends. She asked just as many questions about us as we did about her. It was crazy how much she cares for her fans and she was so generous even saying that if we ever need anything from her for the site that we should just ask! She knew when she talked to us that she was speaking to all of the members of Bandaids through us. Avril has been with Bandaids since the beginning and we’re so happy that she still loves being a part of our site The night was amazing, and we had the best time!! We hope you find all of this information really interesting. Keep in mind that Avril was not speaking to us; she was speaking to YOU! And that’s why Bandaids is The Best Damn Avril Lavigne Fansite!

[Sharifa]

Just wanted to say a huge thanks to Adam for writing all of this up!!! It was an amazing night and I'm thrilled to have Adam's account to look back on

Adam was awesome at keeping Avril talking about everything she's got going on right now - you can tell that Avril really feels comfortable talking to him!

Anyways, hope you all enjoyed the review!!

xoxox

[ktg205]

pretty damn amazing guys

[Prudence]

so. fucking. awesome.
i love reading your reviews Adam EPIC.

Those pictures are made of WIN.

Bandaids kicks ass.

Gotta love Avvykins.

[Soulreaper]

Wow..........Amazing !!!!!!!!

Thanks for that! It was a really cool read! LUCKKKKKYYYYYYYY!

[DanieL LavigNe]

omg! That was so awesome! Avril is so sweet! And it was a great idea that you suggested her to sing Adia, that would rock! U guys are so lucky! And I cant wait to see the video I hope its out this week. Oh and did u ask her why she is cutting the acoustic songs on the tour?