{image1} I am not an Avril fan. I joke with my friends about spelling words with numbers and have opinions on how "punk" she is. But after seeing Ms. Lavigne in concert on Friday at the Bradley Center, I realize I should not be so quick to judge. I asked Jade Mattner, 10, of Racine why she liked Avril Lavigne. She smartly answered "For her music." The music, which is so often not the context of Avril gossip, is actually quite good. And attending an Avril concert is actually quite fun.
A loosely packed crowd will attest to that after Friday's show. Bright-eyed fifth-graders huddled in giggly excitement while their parents looked over. A boa-toting brood of women enjoying "Girls Night Out" belted each song while a pack of frat guys -- Miller Lite in one hand, pumping the air with their fist with the other -- swayed to the quick-paced tempo. Nobody was looking for musical enlightenment, just a good time. The Avril Lavigne Bonez Tour 2004 delivers.
Producer by day, rocker by night, Atlanta-based Butch Walker opened the show with humor and energy. His animated stage presence resembles a younger, leaner David Lee Roth, sans the attitude. In a session he calls Scream Therapy, Walker orchestrates a fun, catchy sing-along that got nearly the whole crowd to its feet and thrusting small fists jubilantly in the air. With American Hi-Fi as his back-up band, Butch Walker did what he is supposed to do. By the time his 45-minute set was up, so were the spirits. Rowdy and ready, the crowd waits for Avril.
At first, all I could see of the stage was a tuft of blonde hair bobbing around behind the speakers. I figured it was the stage lights playing tricks on the perspective. And when she took center stage, I was taken aback. That's Avril? But she's so...tiny!
Within seconds, a powerful wail sailed over the Bradley Center, quieting her squealing fans. This pint-sized pixie, who at one time screeched about rebelling against the bubble-gum stereotype, has matured in tone and presence. Her voice was clear and practiced; her demeanor less Bart Simpson and more Little Rascals. She's having fun, just not in the annoying way.
The first half of the show was a fierce mix of popular singles from her first and second albums as well as the lesser-known "B-sides." The rowdy rendition of "Sk8er Boi" got the crowd to its feet and fists in the air. The pouty ballad "I'm With You" transitioned the mood seamlessly. A grand piano was ushered in for mellow yet mighty "Together" and "Forgotten." She capped it off with a three-song encore, including her debut single "Complicated" and a cover of Blur's "Song #2," in which the Canadian pistol hit the drums and Walker returned as front man.
Throughout the hour-and-a half performance, the smile rarely left Avril's face. It was obvious she was having a good time. Like her songs, her breezy attitude is contagious.
I'm not saying I am converted, but I will say this: Avril appeals to the masses. And she is good at what she does.
