Photo Credit: James Todd Miller for The Music Universe
The punk superstar released her first greatest hits album earlier this summer
Avril Lavigne, the Queen of punk rock music, brought her Greatest Hits Tour to the Washington, DC area on Saturday night (Aug 31st). Despite a rain delay pushing the start times for both Lavigne and opener Simple Plan back half an hour, the concert was at capacity.
Lavigne’s soprano range was on fiery display as she rocked the opening with catchy ear-worm “Girlfriend.” A rollicking “What the Hell” featured the signature “La-La-La” chorus sprawled across her myriad screens.
“Complicated” instantly transported the millennial crowd back to their middle school dance era, as they sang at the top of their lungs. “Here’s to Never Growing Up” was another reminder that it’s ok to hold onto vestiges of bygone youth. The crowd responded with gratitude in their cheers and shouted choruses that seemed to thank Lavigne for permitting them to return to their youth.
Simple Plan opened the show with a half-hour packed with 12 of their biggest numbers. They commanded the stage like headliners in their own right, offering the crowd two bursts of confetti, beach balls, and even a Scooby pack! Drummer Chuck Comeau surfed the crowd during “I’m Just a Kid.”
Simple Plan joined Lavigne to duet on the former’s “Addicted.” During the song, Lavigne and Simple Plan lead singer Pierre Bouvier brought three fans on stage. And in a show of incredible generosity, gave them each a signed skateboard. Super punk-rock!
In another moment of selflessness, Lavigne brought the opening band Girlfriend up to cover Blink-182’s “All the Small Things.” As the first opener, they didn’t get to play because of the rain delay.
It’s obvious Lavigne puts a ton of thought and care into her production, just as she truly seems to care for her fans and tour mates. Pink and black were the order of the night, as Lavigne’s heart-and-crossbones took on many forms. There were the large plush-looking ones at the stage front and the massive cutout of the logo for her upstage screen. Stacked with square-angled LED panels and risers made out of pink-trimmed amps, her stage set looked luscious and full.
Lavigne’s stage show was as punk as her performance. Full of flames, fireworks, and some punctuating confetti, she dared you to look away, knowing you couldn’t. Lavigne put on what can only be described as an in-real-time early-2000s music video that would have been right at home on MTV.
Lavigne turned the dial down with an acoustic guitar and a gorgeous rendition of her song “Nobody’s Home.” In many ways, it’s the opposite of her sound, but fits her vocal style breathtakingly well. And, as far as this reporter can tell from available setlists, it was her first time doing the song on this tour.
Lavigne closed her main set with an epically over-the-top “Sk8r Boi” before returning for a two-song encore.
Avril Lavigne’s music has always spoken to a moment in time. Her stunning soprano provided a soundtrack for the anxieties of coming of age. Often expressed with an all-black wardrobe and the stoic personality to match. Yet, long after the eyeliner stopped being so thick, and the choker necklaces were left abandoned in the childhood bedrooms of her legion. Lavigne’s songs remained. The parents weren’t entirely right: the so-called ‘emo’ culture may have been a phase, but the music was not.
