The EPIC Review -- Avril Lavigne Live in Toronto, Kingston & London

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The EPIC Review.
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Hey Bandaiders!!!
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On Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of this week I embarked on a road trip of EPIC proportions to attend Avril Lavigne’s The Best Damn Tour concerts in Toronto, Kingston, and London! This is the story of my trip (complete with getting Bandaids on the big screen for the DVD show, my car breaking down in Napanee, and meeting Avril at the London concert) and the amazing people I was with

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TORONTO
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</o> It all started on Monday afternoon when I headed to the Air Canada Centre to meet up with Heather, Bri, and Jill for THE Toronto show. The original plan was to get there at 11 PM the night before and camp on the road (it’s a bit of a tradition ) but we fortunately scored VIP passes which made things a bit more comfortable! I arrived at the venue around 4 PM and ran into a bunch of Bandaiders including Sarah at the front of the line! They quickly exhausted my supply of Bandaids pins () though I was happy to see them representing! I met up with Heather and an old friend (also) Sarah and we reminisced about the Montreal ’04 road trip we made to see Avril for Evan’s last Canadian date with the band and all our other Avril experiences. Bri and Jill joined us shortly thereafter and dutifully helped Heather and myself pass out a few (hundred) Bandaids promo cards and Black List Club stickers!





At around 5:45 PM we were let into the venue and we secure our spot in front of the catwalk. Because the VIP packages were sold out for this show, the GA barricade was 19 feet back from the stage and they had to let VIPs stand directly in front of the stage too. Everyone else started filing in soon after and Emily (Emmyrox) from Bandaids joined us up at the stage too! Emily made a kickass sign to help us rep Bandaids for the DVD. We were hoping to have Bandaids T-shirts ready, but the order didn’t come through in time so instead I wore the purple Abbey Dawn shirt that Avril gave me with a Bandaids sticker.




Avril hit the stage around 8:40 PM and as soon as she hit the catwalk we saw her looking over at Emily’s Bandaids sign . I don’t remember much from the actual show (except that it rocked) but that’s okay since it was all caught on DVD . Things to note about the show: Early on while Avril was on the catwalk performing I Don’t Have To Try, I waved at her and she waved back to me. At one point she mentioned that she had her mom, mother-in-law, and grandma in the audience and she had the entire crowd say hi to her grandma . Then during the Girlfriend Remix while the dancers were on stage, Emily and I held up the Bandaids sign backwards so that the camera would pick it up and we got “Avril Bandaids <3’s Avril” on the big screen! Here’s to hoping it makes it onto the DVD














After the show, we said goodbye to all the Bandaiders and hit up a Pizza Pizza (a bit of a tradition now ) to rehash all the details

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KINGSTON – THE JOURNEY


The next morning, Rachel and I hit the road at around 7 AM to make the 2 ½ drive to the K-ROCK Centre in Kingston. At around 9 AM we passed through Napanee and pulled off the high-way for what we thought would be a quick stop at the Tim Hortons.




And that’s when *it* happened: my steering wheel started getting stiff making it difficult to even turn the corner to get off the highway. My first thought was that the power steering was shot which would have *ahem* sucked real bad. I managed to pull the car into a parking spot and then I noticed that my battery light was on and Rachel calmly pointed out the fact that a billowing cloud of smoke was emerging from under my hood.


So I made the only logical move I could: Called my Daddy for help . He figured out that it was a problem with my cooling system and told me to go get it looked at. Fortunately, the Tim Hortons we were at was right next to a Canadian Tire (a place that, among other things, does auto servicing) and seriously, I hope that every time my car breaks down it happens in the parking lot of a Canadian Tire . They told me that I had blown a gasket on my water pump and it would take four hours and $450 to fix it. So we’re like “Okay fine, could be worse but we’ll still make it to Kingston for the show and probably still get front row.” And, you know, there are worse places for an Avril fan to be stuck than in Napanee


Rachel and I decided to walk around Napanee a bit to kill the time. We hit up the Napanee Mall which is TINY. Seriously, we went in and there were maybe five stores so I started walking down the main hallway and Rachel's like, “Sharifa, where are you going?” and I said, “Just to check out the rest of the mall,” and Rachel goes, “This IS the mall.” It was pretty awesome Next we walked to Rexall where I grabbed a copy of Hello Canada with Avril on the cover and Rachel and I gave ourselves makeovers. Hilarity ensued. After that, we checked out the Giant Tiger where I was sorely disappointed by the over-saturation of Hannah Montana posters on their poster rack and the severe lack of any Avril posters.




We then made the walk into downtown Napanee and, after getting seriously off-course, happened upon Avril’s old high school Napanee District Secondary School and her elementary school Westdale. With our backpacks on and camera in hand I’m sure we looked like we were on some “Avril Fan” pilgrimage . We eventually found our way back to the main street and made the obligatory stop at La Pizzeria. The Kosmopolouses were super nice and we chatted with them about the Toronto show which they had attended and I told them all about Bandaids.




Then we made our way back to the Canadian Tire where I found out I needed ANOTHER part repaired on my car. I may or may not have started getting a tinge stressed out (Rachel claims I was “freaking out”… but she’s prone to exaggeration as Adam will attest to ). Finally, six hours and $650 later, we got my car back and made the rest of the drive to Kingston.
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KINGSTON – THE SHOW


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We managed to get front row dead centre for the show, but the venue was so much smaller than what she’s used to playing that I’m sure there wasn’t a bad seat in the house! This show had a bit of a different set-up as there was no VIP standing area at the front. As more people entered the venue, we could see the Lavigne clan filing into the first few rows of seating on the left.


Boys Like Girls took the stage around 7:20 PM and put on their best performance yet. They interacted with the audience way more and at one point the lead singer said, “This is our first trip to Kingston, and I have to say we’re in love.”


Then Avril came on at 8:30 PM. The show was EXCELLENT! Again, probably my favourite performance of this tour. You could tell that Avril was pumped for the show. She was all over the stage giving major love to the catwalk and she added in extra screams and harmonics throughout most of the performance. Even the dancers kicked it up a notch – the break dancing sequences were unbelievable!


At one point in the show she asked to get the lights up so she could see everyone in the crowd. She said, “Well it’s about time they built a venue so I could come and play here!” She mentioned that she had her mom, dad, sister, and brother in the audience. Then she said, “It’s nice to see some familiar faces in the audience” and looked over at me which was pretty gosh darn awesome. And then she pointed out some guy in the audience and was like “And this guy over here, Scotty, was my neighbour where I grew up.” Another highlight: as she was introducing Losing Grip she was like “I don’t even know what to say, I get so shy up here.” Waaaaaaay cute


After the show we went back to my car and as we were getting ready to jet a MASSIVE collective scream erupted back in the direction of the venue. We figured we’d go back over to see if Avril came out and say hi to her. There was a large crowd assembled at the fence so at first we couldn’t even see her, but she was dutifully going down the line and signing autographs for everyone. We tried to find a spot near the end of the line but the crowd was so large and they kept moving down that we eventually decided to step back from the fence and just watch. After a while she went back into the venue and we headed back to my car. Then, about five minutes later as we were driving past the venue to make the trek back to Toronto, we saw her out there AGAIN signing more autographs for some exceptionally happy fans The drive to Toronto was fortunately uneventful, though we did finally get to make that stop at the Tim Horton’s in Napanee

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</o> LONDON – PRE-SHOW ADVENTURES & MEET WITH AVRIL


Next came the London concert at the John Labatt Centre. Rachel, Bri, and Lauren lined up at around 9:30 AM and Adam joined them shortly after. I stopped by the line for a bit around 11:30 AM but had to leave to attend my last Special Topics in Logical Theory class of the year. It sounds like while I was gone the gang had some interesting times in line. I’ll let them elaborate on what went down if they choose


I went back to the venue around 4:30 and Adam and I made sure to hand a Bandaids promo card to everyone in line. The line was HUGE compared to Toronto and Kingston. While we were chilling we also spotted Avril driving by in a limo and sneaking a peak at the line! She had the window rolled down half way – it was soooooo cute.


At around 6:00 PM we left Bri, Rachel, and Lauren to head over to the meet & greet. We met Lizzie the VIP coordinator (who is exceptionally good at her job ) and went in to the pre-party. We also ran into two Bandaiders at the pre-party which was way cool to see! They had a decent array of food at the event and handed out a few raffle prizes and then at 6:45 or so the Hot package people were escorted to the floor to take their positions leaving everyone for the meet & greet (close to 70 people) behind.


Lizzie then explained what would be happening for the meet & greet. She was like, “Okay so we’re doing the radio and TV winners first, then the platinum package holders, and then the Bandaids, and then family and friends.” So awesome! They walked us over to this other hallway and we waited for our turn to see Avril. In the meanwhile, we heard Boys Like Girls starting their set on stage. Adam was a bit bummed that he didn’t get to see them again, but I think we got the better end of the deal!


After about half an hour, Adam and I got into the room to see Avril. She gave us both big hugs right off the bat. The room was only separated by a curtain from the main part of the arena and I commented that it was loud. Avril said that they had never done the M&G like that before, but that it must have been the only room available. She asked me how I liked the show in Kingston and I told her that she definitely stepped it up a notch for her hometown! I also mentioned the story of my car breaking down in Napanee :P. Then I asked her how her Grandma liked the show in Toronto and she said that she was worried it might be too loud for her but her Grandma thought it was a good show.


Next we gave her the package from Bandaids including a bunch of stuff from Invisible Children, two Bandaids shirts, a copy of Writers Block by Peter, Bjorn, and John, and the package of Avril fan letters that you guys sent in . Adam put it all in a cool African satchel bag which rather fittingly completed the Invisible Children theme. Adam started talking to Avril about our fundraising efforts with Invisible Children and she was really interested in finding out more about the organization. Adam made this neat 3-D booklet to commemorate the initiative which Avril totally loved. She seemed pretty darn proud of us and said, “That’s awesome that you guys raised money for them!”


Following this, we presented her with the two Bandaids t-shirts and she got a kick out of the “My Fansite Can Beat Up Your Fansite” one . I asked if she would mind taking a photo holding it up and she ended up just throwing it on and posing for a photo with it! She also took a photo holding up the second “I’m not a Groupie… I’m a Band-Aid” shirt. Then she signed a bunch of autographs for the site and Adam and I jumped in for photos with her as well!


















Adam then asked her about the rumoured “Control Room” Tour EP and she said that it’s not true, but don’t worry I told her that she should release one . Adam also asked if there were more tour dates and she said that all the dates so far have already been announced and told us a bit more about what the next few months will look like. I asked if she would be visiting Australia at all and she said probably not because she’d be way too tired. Adam and I both said that’s too bad, but that it made sense. Then I mentioned that even after following her for just three days I was already worn out and it must have been crazy for her to do Calgary, Toronto, Kingston, then London in just four days!


Then *BEST PART RIGHT HERE* she chuckled and said, “What did you think about me not winning any Junos?” Adam and I both started laughing and said that she should have definitely won. She said that her manager Terry McBride had told her that most of the Juno voters are with Universal and that’s who Feist is with which is why she ended up winning so many awards and she said it’s the same deal with the Grammy’s. Then I said that I take it as a personal offence when she doesn’t win a fan voted award and she was like “Terry tells me that sometimes the fan choice awards aren’t even picked by the fans.” So uncool!


She talked about performing Girlfriend at the show and I asked her why she decided not to do The Best Damn Thing. She said that she did the song in soundcheck and something didn’t feel right so she flew her dancers in that night and did Girlfriend instead. Then I mentioned that the host Russell Peters really liked her and talked about her so often that it was practically the Avril Tribute Show at times and she was like, “Good! At least I got some airtime :P”


Adam also told her that we were thinking of going to the Fairfax show with the Black List Club and she seemed pretty excited to hear that! She asked me for my phone number to get in touch closer to the show. Then she asked if she would be seeing us in the front row again tonight and I said “Hopefully!” After a little bit longer we said our good-byes and left the room.


As we were walking down to the GA floor, we ran into one of Avril’s male dancers Venom. Adam and I introduced ourselves and told him about the site and how amazing we thought the break dancing sequences were! Adam told him that basically all the tour reviews mention the Linkin Park routine and he was pleased that the reviews were so positive! He seemed really interested in the site and we asked him if he would be cool with doing an interview some time and he hooked us up with his contact info. He told us that he’s also performed with Janet Jackson and Gwen Stefani and that he got the gig through a private audition and that he knew Lindsey before. I then asked if he and Casper (the other male dancer) had done stuff together before (because seriously, on stage they look like twins) and he mentioned that they would compete against each other a lot in dance contests around the US. We eventually let him go and wished him good luck on the show .
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LONDON – THE CONCERT


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Adam and I then made our way to the VIP section of the floor. It sounds like things were pretty disorganized for the GA admittance, but fortunately Bri, Rachel, and Lauren all made it to the front row! We shared notes from the past hour and they told us how crazy the crowd was getting. Fittingly, as I was talking to them, security pulled someone out of the crowd for pushing. It seemed to be a steady stream of people being removed for either fainting or being too aggressive in the crowd. We were about 3 rows back from the stage (my three-year front row streak finally came to an end ), but the chicks in front of us were short so it wasn’t too bad! They had the same set-up in Toronto where VIPs were allowed to stand right in front of the stage and not just off to the side.


Anyways, around 20 minutes passed and then they turned off the lights and the show started! Once again, it was an excellent performance and Avril was even more talkative with the crowd. Right at the beginning my camera died though, so I grabbed Bri’s cam and snapped shots on it all night instead. Definite highlights include the beginning of I Don’t Have to Try when Avril asked for all the guys to scream and Adam was basically the only guy Also, during the last song Sk8er Boi, Avril waved at Rachel & Bri which I was so happy to see!


After the show, I had to jet to a work commitment so I left the gang for a bit but we met back up at 11 PM down the road from the JLC (yes, at a Pizza Pizza) to share all the details from the past three days. It was such a crazy experience that I kind of can’t believe that all of this happened in just 72 hours, but then again Avril always makes life more interesting Let me know if you have any questions about anything that went down!

Next stop: Fairfax!

[Lewymocha Original]

Awesome!! Couldn't have written it better!

OH.MY.GODDD!! At those pics!!!! Truly an epic review!!!!

[Lewymocha Original]

AMAZING!!!

The body language is just WOW!

It's like she sees you as a really good friend. She is very comfortable hugging into you! That is just awesome and I am so jealous!