Post by Jimmyzz on Oct 15, 2019 3:29:31 GMT
timesonline.com
Avril Lavigne shines in McKees Rocks
Avril didn’t make it complicated
Scott Tady b| Posted Oct 13, 2019
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Last Tuesday might have been the first time I’ve seen a guy with a Mohawk haircut playing piano.
It’s a good look.
Canadian pop-rock star Avril Lavigne surrounded herself with all kinds of interesting-looking male bandmates, including one with pink, asymmetrical hair and a buff guitarist in a muscle shirt.
With Lavigne chiming in on electric guitar and a bit of piano, they ripped through a high-energy, crowd-delighting set of 15 songs last Tuesday at a nearly sold-out Roxian Theatre in McKees Rocks.
Yeah, the Rox was bustling, with many of us in the crowd of 1,400 needing to park in the shopping center across the street despite the free and ample parking lot behind the 5-month-old concert venue. Afterward, a handful of parents idled their vehicles on Chartiers Avenue waiting to pick up their kids, though there were a good number of 30-somethings in the audience, too, curious to see Lavigne on the comeback trial.
Lavigne, 35, started with the weighty new song, “Head Above Water,” where her booming voice declared resilience, inspired by her Lyme disease diagnosis. Wearing a long, white gown and a floral/jeweled looking garland, the visual effect was Sarah Brightman-ish.
But soon enough, Lavigne shed the ethereal threads for a sleeveless-except-the-shoulder-puffs black top and matching leather pants, as she got down to the business of rocking out, with the sardonic punch of “My Happy Ending,” then the stomping celebration of “Here’s to Never Growing Up,” which has always been a twang or two away from being a country-pop anthem. It prompted Lavigne, in her pre-song banter, to mention that Tuesday night is as good as any to drink beer.
“Complicated” got everyone swaying to the “why’d you have to go and make things so?” chorus. Lavigne took a backstage break as her band raged through the instrumental “Hello Kitty.” She returned in time to get fans hopping and bopping to the “hey, hey, you, you” pop-punk glee of “Girlfriend.”
The Nicki Minaj vocal part was piped in on “Dumb Blonde,” which Lavigne had revealed in an interview with The Times was a song of defiance and empowerment that drew its origins from an insult slung her way. Well-intentioned but silly, “Dumb Blonde” went over well with the Roxian throng.
A song later, dozens of fans aimed their smart phones stageward to capture Lavigne and the band pop-punking their way through the ear candy of “Sk8er Boi.”
With her face bathed in angry red lighting, Lavigne launched her encore with “I Fell in Love With the Devil” (insert your own she-was-married-to-the-Nickelback-singer punchline).
Lavigne went back to her 2002 debut to end with the Grammy Award-nominated “I’m With You,” a final treat for a crowd one-quarter the size of McKees Rocks itself.
Some of them may have been disappointed it was a short show — just 15 songs lasting roughly an hour.
But Lavigne stayed in her lane and didn’t make any missteps, sounding solid in that time on stage and building momentum on her first North American tour in five years.
Meanwhile, people keep asking me about the Roxian, and I tell them go check it out. With a mix of reserved seating and general admission floor, it’s an enjoyable place to see a show. And no Pittsburgh/Green Tree/Parkway traffic to get there.
Scott Tady is entertainment editor at The Times and easy to reach at stady@timesonline.com.
It’s a good look.
Canadian pop-rock star Avril Lavigne surrounded herself with all kinds of interesting-looking male bandmates, including one with pink, asymmetrical hair and a buff guitarist in a muscle shirt.
With Lavigne chiming in on electric guitar and a bit of piano, they ripped through a high-energy, crowd-delighting set of 15 songs last Tuesday at a nearly sold-out Roxian Theatre in McKees Rocks.
Yeah, the Rox was bustling, with many of us in the crowd of 1,400 needing to park in the shopping center across the street despite the free and ample parking lot behind the 5-month-old concert venue. Afterward, a handful of parents idled their vehicles on Chartiers Avenue waiting to pick up their kids, though there were a good number of 30-somethings in the audience, too, curious to see Lavigne on the comeback trial.
Lavigne, 35, started with the weighty new song, “Head Above Water,” where her booming voice declared resilience, inspired by her Lyme disease diagnosis. Wearing a long, white gown and a floral/jeweled looking garland, the visual effect was Sarah Brightman-ish.
But soon enough, Lavigne shed the ethereal threads for a sleeveless-except-the-shoulder-puffs black top and matching leather pants, as she got down to the business of rocking out, with the sardonic punch of “My Happy Ending,” then the stomping celebration of “Here’s to Never Growing Up,” which has always been a twang or two away from being a country-pop anthem. It prompted Lavigne, in her pre-song banter, to mention that Tuesday night is as good as any to drink beer.
“Complicated” got everyone swaying to the “why’d you have to go and make things so?” chorus. Lavigne took a backstage break as her band raged through the instrumental “Hello Kitty.” She returned in time to get fans hopping and bopping to the “hey, hey, you, you” pop-punk glee of “Girlfriend.”
The Nicki Minaj vocal part was piped in on “Dumb Blonde,” which Lavigne had revealed in an interview with The Times was a song of defiance and empowerment that drew its origins from an insult slung her way. Well-intentioned but silly, “Dumb Blonde” went over well with the Roxian throng.
A song later, dozens of fans aimed their smart phones stageward to capture Lavigne and the band pop-punking their way through the ear candy of “Sk8er Boi.”
With her face bathed in angry red lighting, Lavigne launched her encore with “I Fell in Love With the Devil” (insert your own she-was-married-to-the-Nickelback-singer punchline).
Lavigne went back to her 2002 debut to end with the Grammy Award-nominated “I’m With You,” a final treat for a crowd one-quarter the size of McKees Rocks itself.
Some of them may have been disappointed it was a short show — just 15 songs lasting roughly an hour.
But Lavigne stayed in her lane and didn’t make any missteps, sounding solid in that time on stage and building momentum on her first North American tour in five years.
Meanwhile, people keep asking me about the Roxian, and I tell them go check it out. With a mix of reserved seating and general admission floor, it’s an enjoyable place to see a show. And no Pittsburgh/Green Tree/Parkway traffic to get there.
Scott Tady is entertainment editor at The Times and easy to reach at stady@timesonline.com.
