Girls' night out

SHE’S KEPT HER Thai fans waiting for what seems like forever to perform in Bangkok once more but Canadian rocker Avril Lavigne finally made good on her promise to come back with a knock-out concert on Tuesday night at Impact Arena, Muang Thong Thani.
This was the first solo show in the Land of Smiles for Lavigne, who first performed here in 2005 as part of the “Big Rock Day” gig alongside fellow Canadians Simple Plan and local stars Moderndog and Paradox.
Since then, she’s released three albums, appeared in three movies, launched her own fashion line and married twice, with the first relationship with long-time boyfriend, Sum 41’s Deryck Whibley, ending in divorce.
The rocker had prepared well for her Bangkok gig, as had her fans, who were attired in fashionable punk-rock style clothes, mostly in black, a fitting tribute to the concert’s theme. Most of the teens had emulated their idol’s trademark look too, sporting smoky eye make-up and pink and purple highlights in their hair.
Screams and cheers erupted as Lavigne came out on stage. Rather than kick off her set with numbers from her newest album, 2013’s “Avril Lavigne”, which she is touring to promote, Lavigne tailored her show to her Asian fans, launching straight into a series of her older and much-loved hits. “Girlfriend” segued into “Sk8er Boi”, “Complicated”, “My Happy Ending” then “Smile”, drawing loud applause and showcasing her impressive vocal range and impossibly high pitches to best effect.
From there, the concert simply sped by with fans happily joining in the choruses and dancing in the aisles. All too soon, Lavigne was singing the closing number – the sad ballad “I’m with you” – prompting some die-hard members of her fan club to raise the small banner they had so carefully prepared before the show, which read “We’re With You”. Visibly touched, Lavigne thanked the fans, both for their support and for coming to the show though, perhaps sensibly, without making any promises about being back soon.
After a brief exit from stage and to a chorus of shouts of “Avril ! Avril ! Avril!”, Lavigne returned for an encore – the powerful rock track “What The Hell”. Fans wasted no time in getting to their feet, dancing, jumping and shouting out the chorus: “All my life I've been good but now I’m thinking ‘What the hell?’ All I want is to mess around and I don't really care about”.
A perfect end to the perfect night.