Avril Lavigne @ Paramount, 12/11/2013
By SethM
Well the picture above might not be clear but in this concertgoer/photographer’s opinion, the message was. This isn’t to say Avril Lavigne was bad live because she wasn’t! Fans turned out, on a Wednesday night, many/most of them young, ready to rock out with Avril and her band.
With doors opening at 7pm and a scheduled show start of 8pm, there were two opening acts: This Is All Now and Patent Pending. Both bands were good if you are into punk-pop music, with Patent Pending being the better of the two and featuring a singer that was willing to stage dive into the crowd to get them going.
After those two short sets that took up 90 minutes combined it was time for Avril. Apparently scheduled to play from 9:45-11:15 Avril came out to a packed house of screaming fans and played a hit-filled set that included “Sk8er Boi”, “My Happy Ending” and songs from her 2013 release Avril Lavigne including “17”. She ended the set with her breakthrough single “Complicated” then quickly returned to end her 45-minute set with “I’m With You”.
Yes, you read correctly… a 45 minute set!!!
I am no Avril hater but I can’t stand any headlining act that takes their fans’ money and doesn’t come out to rock for at least 90 minutes. Push comes to shove, 75 minutes maybe — but 45 minutes, really? I mean Avril Lavigne has sold over 30 million albums and she couldn’t give her fans a few more songs, maybe some stories, a little chit chat, something?
Sorry but as a music/concert fan this is unacceptable and I wasn’t the only one that thought so. Granted, many of the kids didn’t care and I am sure their parents were happy to leave but there were definitely some people that were surprised and even pissed off. Sure, it’s great to see an artist in a small venue but whether you see them with 15,000 people or 1,500 a show is a show and if you’re an artist taking a paycheck from fans then you should make sure they get their money’s worth. An insider told me that after it was all scheduled Avril decided she wanted to go on at 9:30 and off at 10:30 — but with 2 bands already scheduled she couldn’t do that. If that’s true, then I guess this was the solution (on at 9:45 and off at 10:30).
My take on this Avril Lavigne show is as follows:
As a photographer sometimes “rules” at a show get in our way. Rules like no access to the photo pit, having to shoot from “front of house” (aka the soundboard) or not being able to shoot the standard 3 songs. In the case of the Avril show all 3 of these constraints were in play which made for a disappointing assignment. But Avril is not the first or last to impose these restrictions so I get it.
As a reviewer I can say she sounded good and the crowd was into it. But most importantly…
As a live music fan I can tell you I wouldn’t invest my hard earned money on an Avril Lavigne ticket. Maybe these short sets work for all the radio shows she does and maybe she should stick to those because fans demand more value from a live set.
Avil Lavigne — Official Website
