Avril Lavigne concert review

What a lovely night for a show. Not too hot, not too cold. Beautiful fall day for sure and that weather lasted well into the evening. The hometown Eagles won that afternoon and are now the only undefeated NFL team this season. However, when I pulled into the Wachovia center parking lot, which doubles as tailgate party central during home football games, I decided I cannot root for the Eagles any longer. Not because of the team, mind you, but because of the fans. The parking lot looked like a friggin' landfill as Eagles fans apparently just left their trash in the parking lot. I'm not talking a couple of beer cans or bottles here and there, I'm talking garbage bags full of trash EVERYWHERE! I parked in the only spot I could find that I wouldn't have to move a trash bag out of my way to park in and made my way to the Wachovia Center thoroughly disgusted with Eagles fans and Philadelphia in general .
It was Halloween evening and many people dressed for the occasion. I saw many different costumes outside the venue, but it seemed like most of the teenage girls in attendance were dressed like....Avril Lavigne. There are, I think 4 entrances to the Center, but only one for the General Admission floor, so I wound up waiting in a long line to get in. It wasn't ALL teenage girls in attendance, but that was clearly the predominate demographic. It was basically teenage and pre-teen girls, their parents and/or boyfriends......and me.
Out on the floor of the Center, it was already about fifty people deep from the stage, I figured I could fight my way to the front, but why bother, I could see perfectly fine from where I could get to without being a bother. Is Butch Walker gay? I just ask this cuz his guitar cabinets for both him and his guitarist were pink and the backdrop with his name on it was pink. I really knew nothing about Butch Walker, so I had to wonder. After the show, I think the pink was more to appeal to Avril's fan base than any preference of his own.
I checked out the sound booth first to see what the schedule for the evening was and it had Walker slated for 7:30pm. Well, it wasn't 7:30 when he came on, but it was pretty close. The drummer started pounding a ferocious beat and Butch and his band took the stage. Walker immediately got the crowd into it with damn near every concert cliche in the book ("Put your hands in the air", "I wanna hear you people sing with me") For the young crowd, many of whom I'd bet were at their first concert, this was quite cool. For me, it was kind alike "Been there done that, let's see you play". After getting the crowd warmed up, they started into their first song, kind of a good rocker, but what impressed me was the twin lead guitar solo in it. Many new artists don't feature a guitar solo at all (Avril is one) let alone twin leads al a Iron Maiden or Molly Hatchet. The twin guitaring really wasn't worth comparing to Maiden or Hatchet, but I give 'em some points for the attempt. I really didn't know most of the songs he played, but they were good songs and almost all of them featured some kind of a guitar solo. Butch himself went a bit nuts on some extended lead breaks and the crowd just ate it up. To them, he might as well have been Eddie Van Halen or Ted Nugent. Me? I stood there scratching my head as I KNOW I could play rings around him, but yet, he was the one up there playing to a cheering crowd (Not jealous, mind you, just one of those things that make you go "Hmmm"). Walker was actually a very good frontman and good showman although, to me, it all seemed a bit forced, by the end I realized who he reminded me of: Bruce Springsteen! A comparison that'll either wet your panties or make you puke, depending on your opinion of Springsteen. I thought it was a bit corny, but fun. The crowd ate it up and that's what counts in the end, right? As I said, I really didn't know many of his songs, but I did know "Mixtape" and thought it was simply ok. The live version of "Mixtape" though, brought the song very much to life. Also, "Don't Move" (Heard this one before too) sounded really good. Overall, I'd say he was a great choice for an opening act. His band wasn't nearly as energetic as he was, but he more than made up for it. The crowd loved him, I liked him and I think I'm gonna have to buy his CD. By the end of his show, I came up with a name for the genre of music both he and Avril make. How does Arena Punk strike you? That's kinda what it is. It's basically punk rock with hooks played very enthusiastically...sounded great in an arena!Butch Walker, I'd give a solid 3 mixtapes out of a possible 5. I wish his band was as into it as he and the crowd was, but still a good performance from someone I really wasn't familiar with.

Walker was done at around 8:15, I saw on the sound booth schedule that Avril was to go on at 8:45. I looked around the venue and noticed that it wasn't all that crowded. Now that is to be expected for an opening act, but there was nobody...and I mean NOBODY AT ALL in the second level of the Wachovia Center! As it got closer to start time, there was still nobody up there. The sides of the first level were mostly full, the floor was about 3/4 full and the back end of the first level (Furthest from the stage, but looking directly at the stage) was only about 2/3 full and still NOBODY in the upper levels! Kinda surprised me as I though Avril was more popular....perhaps if many of her fans weren't trick or treaters, or if she played there on a different night the place woulda been fuller. I think capacity for a center stage concert is about 21,000. She had an endstage which had to take away at least 5,000 seats. Nobody in the upper level or upper box seats...probably coulda got close to 10,000 there. I'm totally guessing, but I'd say there were about 5-6,000 in attendance. It might have been a better PR move to book 2 nights at the Tower Theater and sell out, than one night at the Wachovia Center and only have it 1/4 full, but what do I know?
As soon a s Walker got done, a huge curtain came down in front of the stage. Avril's equipment was covered up during Walker's show and now the curtain blocked the view, so it would be a total surprise when she comes on. Pretty cool IMO, Kiss, Metallica and Styx have all done similar things and I think it's neat...adds a bit of mystery and interest to the beginning of the show.
According to the schedule, she was to come on at 8:45 and, like Walker she was a bit late, but not too bad. I think it was 8:48 when the lights went down. She didn't start for another couple minutes. We started to hear some guitar playing, but with an incredibly annoying amp hiss, then it stopped and I guess they corrected the problem.
With the curtain still in front of the stage, powerful lights lit up from behind the stage to show Avril's silhouette on the backdrop and she started with the opening chords of "He Wasn't" from her "Under My Skin" album. (Don't know why, but I had a strong feeling she was gonna open with that song). She played through the first verse by herself with the curtain still in place, then as the band thundered in on the chorus, the curtain fell and revealed the show!
First things I noticed. Avril is a little shit! VERY short, VERY skinny, but MUCH better looking in person that ANY picture I've seen of her. They had big picture screens on either side of the stage and cameras all over to transfer what was happening on stage to the screen. Even though the screen showed Avril a lot closer than I could see, I still thought the cameras didn't do her justice. She is a very pretty girl and only wears the bear minimum for make up. As for the stage set up, each guitarist had 3 full stacks of Mesaboogie cabinets, the drummer was on a huge riser and there were ramps out to each side of the stage with small platforms at the end. The band was extremely energetic and were clearly not content to just be Avril's backing band, they were the show as much as she was.
After "He Wasn't", a capella Avril sang the line "So much for my happy ending" and the band proceeded into her most recent hit. You had to love it, the whole damn crowd was singing along to every word of it and though the place was but 1/4 full, you mighta thought it was a sold out show by the noise of the crowd. Next up was "Take Me Away", the ton of bricks opening song from "Under My Skin". Again, crowd was in a frenzy. It was during this song that I noticed a young girl sitting on her fathers shoulders BANGING HER HEAD! I thought, "YES! The head bangers are back.......although this time, they are teenage and pre-teen girls " Oh well, it was cool to see. During a couple songs I saw the "devil's horns, fists in the air thing'' going on all around me. Call her music what you want, earlier I called it Arena Punk, but there were several times last night I sure felt like I was at a Metal show. I don't know what songs of hers were released and how high they climbed on the charts, but from the fans reactions, I woulda thought every song was a #1 hit! She lit into "Sk8er Boi" and the crowd of young teeny boppers around me started dancing around, jumping up and down all the while rubbing up against me with their....er......teeny boppers. Hey, it was fun, I got into it myself!
About halfway into it, she slowed things down a bit with her hit ballad, "I'm With You". Shit, with lighters, cellphones and glow-sticks in the air and the crowd singing the last chorus themselves, hell I thought I was at an REO Speedwagon show in the mid-80's listening to "Can't Fight This Feeling" for a moment there! After a powerful version of "Losing My Grip" a piano was wheeled out for her and she played "Together" and "Forgotten", the latter of which sounded a bit Goth to me, but still pretty good. There were a lot of awkward silences in between songs. instead of talking to the audience between song, she usually got a drink of water. It seemed like forever in getting the piano on stage, but when she was done with it, she grabbed an acoustic guitar and rather quickly went into an acoustic version of "Tomorrow". Just her, no band. On songs with the band, I, at times, had trouble really hearing her voice. here, alone on acoustic, I heard her fine and she is one INCREDIBLE singer! Next she did "Nobody's Home" a song she said she'd written for a former friend who delved into drugs. Awesome haunting tune, sounding very majestic as the band came in at the end.
After playing the hit "Don't Tell Me" and "Unwanted" she and the band left the stage, but the night wasn't over!

The band came out for the encore in Halloween costumes. Avril and some guy (I first thought it was Butch Walker, but it looked too fat to be him) came out dressed as Hooters girls! Man, did Avril look fine as a Hooters girl ! Their drummer (dressed as a priest) was now on guitar and Avril went behind the drum kit and they played that stupid "Woo Hoo" song. I don't know the real name of it or who sings it, nor do I care, but it was fun to see her behind the drum kit.
After that song she went to change back into her regular clothes (DAMN IT!) I liked the Hooter Girl outfit!) and the band started into her megahit "Complicated". She came out to sing it, but apparently her pants weren't quite on yet, so she went backstage and sang most of the first verse from there while (I'm guessing) she was or had someone fix her pants. I always hated "Complicated" but live, it really proved itself. Sounded really good, gonna have to listen to it from a different perspective now.
She ended the night by herself on piano playing the moody ballad "Slipped Away" that closes her newest album.
Good show overall, but some bad points to note:
-Avril is not much of a frontman...er...woman. She didn't say boo shit to the audience until about the 5th or 6th song of the night. Many awkward silences between songs. After "unwanted" she left the stage without saying goodbye or anything, no one was sure if it was just another awkward silence or if we were supposed to be cheering for an encore.
-I knew on record that there aren't too many guitar solos to her music, but I thought in a live setting there might be....nope! When Avril played guitar, that gave them 3 guitarists.....seemed a bit redundant to me to have 3 rhythm guitarists and no lead players.
-She dressed in baggy pants and had a baggy sweatshirt on for most of the night. You got the goods girlfriend, show it off!

Good points of note:
-The band was awesome, very energetic, striking "rock star" poses as if they had gotten lessons on such from Ted Nugent
-Avril was awesome. No she wasn't a very good frontperson, but she was a great showman....er...woman during the songs. Very energetic, very capable of getting the crowd into it. Just seemed a bit uncomfortable when the music stopped.
-The fact that this type of music is getting noticed. No, the classic sounds of the 70's and 80's are not really gearing up for a comeback, but this is very heavy, very catchy, very real music. It was clearly live, as I noticed a few screw ups, and guitar-oriented, hard rock. The shame was that only young girls seem to get it. IMO, the dorks were not these young girls, but the people, male and female of all ages, who stayed home! There is a new hope for music and both Avril Lavigne and Butch Walker are at the head of it.

Avril's show: I'll give 4 "happy endings" out of a possible 5.

Dear Avril, if you're reading this, add some guitar soloing to your music, it is the only thing missing.

Jesse