Vancouver, BC - March 7th 2008 by The Vancouver Sun - The Best Damn Tour

[catatoniaone]

Lavigne rocks Vancouver



Despite having sold more than 30 million albums around the world by the age of 23, Avril Lavigne still seems to be unsure of her success.
She's had nearly a dozen top 10 hits and she sold in the range of 12,000 tickets to her Friday night show at GM Place, but the pop punk princess was initially uneasy on the stage, looking like perhaps she didn't really believe in what she was doing up there.
Lavigne's most recent album, The Best Damn Thing, received only lukewarm reviews from the critics who bothered to listen to it. And she is regularly the target of hateful jabs from mean-spirited celeblogger Perez Hilton.

But you'd think that the thousands of screaming fans in front of her Friday night would have boosted her confidence. They - the hardcore fans who were mostly young girls - frantically swirled glow sticks, screamed "We love you Avril," and proudly donned $60 pink and black Avril tee-shirts and hoodies to show their dedication.
But when the star of the night rose out of the stage at 8:30 p.m. to open the not-quite-sold-out show with her latest hit, Girlfriend - the one for which she was accused of plagiarism - she looked like she was awkwardly going through the motions of the performance. She sounded terribly off-key and her voice was weak as she half-heartedly marched around the stage with a superficial-looking smile plastered across her face.
Employing skull and crossbones as her signature emblem and wearing chains and patches, it's clear that Avril is holding tight to her original teenaged aspirations of being a rebel punk. But when said skull and crossbones are framed by a pink heart and the patches look like they've been attacked by a bedazzle-happy crafter, all punk credibility quickly flies out the window.
And when it comes to the music, Avril is unquestionably at her best on the belt-'em out ballads, rather than on the pop rock tunes.
The pride of Napanee, Ontario hit her stride and appeared most comfortable Friday when it came time for her five-song acoustic set. She played a pink piano for When You're Gone, a surprisingly stirring ballad about missing a lover. Her voice was clear and strong and she finally looked comfortable and confident.
She played acoustic guitar along with two of her band members for Don't Tell Me, one of the hits of 2004's Under My Skin. And she gave perhaps her best performance of the night when she did an acoustic version of one of her early rock numbers, Losing Grip.
Things slipped back to disappointing though when she got behind a drum kit - it was pink, of course - for Runaway and then a quick rendition of the 1982 hit Mickey, for which she asked the audience to sing along. Nobody seemed to recognize the song.
She rapped briefly for I Don't Have to Try, which again seemed unnatural and perhaps forced by some image consultant. And she returned to Girlfriend, but as a rap remix, for her encore, which did not play up her strengths.
Avril finished off the show after 75 minutes with her 2002 hit Sk8er Boi, during which she again sounded off-key and a bit like she wanted to sprint to the finish line.
There's no question Avril can sing when the song suits her. But perhaps it's time for her to shed her small-town punk aspirations and embrace her inner ballad diva. Maybe then she'd look more comfortable in her own skin.

[Sterock85]

Originally Posted by catatoniaone

Lavigne rocks Vancouver



Despite having sold more than 30 million albums around the world by the age of 23, Avril Lavigne still seems to be unsure of her success.
She's had nearly a dozen top 10 hits and she sold in the range of 12,000 tickets to her Friday night show at GM Place, but the pop punk princess was initially uneasy on the stage, looking like perhaps she didn't really believe in what she was doing up there.
Lavigne's most recent album, The Best Damn Thing, received only lukewarm reviews from the critics who bothered to listen to it. And she is regularly the target of hateful jabs from mean-spirited celeblogger Perez Hilton.

But you'd think that the thousands of screaming fans in front of her Friday night would have boosted her confidence. They - the hardcore fans who were mostly young girls - frantically swirled glow sticks, screamed "We love you Avril," and proudly donned $60 pink and black Avril tee-shirts and hoodies to show their dedication.
But when the star of the night rose out of the stage at 8:30 p.m. to open the not-quite-sold-out show with her latest hit, Girlfriend - the one for which she was accused of plagiarism - she looked like she was awkwardly going through the motions of the performance. She sounded terribly off-key and her voice was weak as she half-heartedly marched around the stage with a superficial-looking smile plastered across her face.
Employing skull and crossbones as her signature emblem and wearing chains and patches, it's clear that Avril is holding tight to her original teenaged aspirations of being a rebel punk. But when said skull and crossbones are framed by a pink heart and the patches look like they've been attacked by a bedazzle-happy crafter, all punk credibility quickly flies out the window.

And when it comes to the music, Avril is unquestionably at her best on the belt-'em out ballads, rather than on the pop rock tunes.
The pride of Napanee, Ontario hit her stride and appeared most comfortable Friday when it came time for her five-song acoustic set. She played a pink piano for When You're Gone, a surprisingly stirring ballad about missing a lover. Her voice was clear and strong and she finally looked comfortable and confident.
She played acoustic guitar along with two of her band members for Don't Tell Me, one of the hits of 2004's Under My Skin. And she gave perhaps her best performance of the night when she did an acoustic version of one of her early rock numbers, Losing Grip.

Things slipped back to disappointing though when she got behind a drum kit - it was pink, of course - for Runaway and then a quick rendition of the 1982 hit Mickey, for which she asked the audience to sing along. Nobody seemed to recognize the song.

She rapped briefly for I Don't Have to Try, which again seemed unnatural and perhaps forced by some image consultant. And she returned to Girlfriend, but as a rap remix, for her encore, which did not play up her strengths.
Avril finished off the show after 75 minutes with her 2002 hit Sk8er Boi, during which she again sounded off-key and a bit like she wanted to sprint to the finish line.

There's no question Avril can sing when the song suits her. But perhaps it's time for her to shed her small-town punk aspirations and embrace her inner ballad diva. Maybe then she'd look more comfortable in her own skin.

Exactly!

[Pure Intuition]

hm.....

i think i'll still ove the show even though the most reviews are negative now

[XxLoki]

Newschool Avril, and her show, have my full support, as long as she stops messing around with the vocals. I shouldn't be reading about her sounding "Off-key", yet I have, twice, and I have a feeling that somebody's "dancing" might have something to do with it.

Also:

the pop punk princess was initially uneasy on the stage, looking like perhaps she didn't really believe in what she was doing up there.

...she looked like she was awkwardly going through the motions of the performance. She sounded terribly off-key and her voice was weak as she half-heartedly marched around the stage with a superficial-looking smile plastered across her face.

Wtf...
The show suffers when you seem like you don't want to be there, or you're not enjoying it...So man-up, Avril, and start having fun. I'm going to, despite the fact that I'll be surrounded by screaming little girls...

[Captain Barbossa]

i have to say that i love her balads too...

[DanieL LavigNe]

thanks, not a very good review,and I think the show is very short, only 75 minutes? she said it was going to be like 1 hour and a half, she did 75 mins of show on the promo tour...

[Lewymocha Original]

Yeah we had like 90-100 minutes on Bonez tour. She done around 25 songs..... No shortening of songs please Avril!!!!!!!!!

[kenza]

This is only her second official show after a year of recording so I think it's just a case of the nerves getting the better of her...I don't think rehersals can prepare you for the actual show...

Also, I think she still trying to adjust to the hectic schedule she's got ahead of her...maybe she's not getting enough sleep and rest with all the excitment?

Which ever way the reviewers look at it, I'm sure she'll be on the improve the more show she does

About the drums...I think she should ditch it and concentrate on showcasing her voice rather than on her 'other' skills. I mean I can accept her for playing guitar but anything else is just not adding any benifit I think.

[:.britt.:]

She's said she doesn't get nervous. She could just be tired.

Thanks for the review. I'm not really going to believe any of the reviews because I can't be there to judge for myself.