Welcome to Kids Stuff. Today’s column includes a close look at Avril Lavigne, a talented musician who is kind of a one-woman band. Her North American tour began on March 5. Also included in this column are a few important safety reminders and a cryptogram.
ALL ABOUT AVRIL
What impresses me the most about Avril is that she is a composer, lyricist, pianist, guitarist and drummer. Many of the new musical talents are just singers. Avril literally made her piano, guitar and drums sing, while leaving the audience screaming for more.
In case anyone is unfamiliar with Avril Lavigne, she was born in Canada, specifically the province of Ontario, and started singing at around age 2 at country music fairs and in her church choir. She was discovered at age 14 singing in a local bookstore. Later that year, she won a contest to sing a duet with Shania Twain in front of 20,000 people. At 16, she had her first audition contract, and the rest is history.
The 23-year-old was only 17 when she released her debut album, Let Go, in 2002. Also, she lent her voice to the Dreamworks animated film Over the Hedge. Her genre in her music is so immense, to try to pinpoint one area, in my opinion, would be an insult.
In the past, I had a chance to catch up to her twice. However, she afforded me another opportunity on March 28 for a third encounter as she melodiously arrived at the Atlantic City Borgata Hotel for her new "The Best Damn Tour." I had a brief chance to meet her again. The last time I met her I was her height. Now, I towered over her about 7 inches. In my opinion, she is very warm and friendly and more importantly, she has stayed focused and grounded. However, there was not enough time during this tour to snag an interview. Oh well, maybe in the near future.
First and foremost, one would quickly notice Avril has a wide and dedicated fan base attending this concert, everyone from 3-year-olds to senior citizens. Mainly she had a young teen crowd. You could say she got Under your Skin. I met families who flew in specifically for this tour from Connecticut, Boston and Virginia, as well as people from the tri-state area.
Avril performed for an hour and a half with no intermission. Comparing her tours from years ago, she evolved with first-class modern technology by having three LED projection screens: one large screen in the center and two smaller ones on each side. Plus, I happen to like the setup at this venue, where everyone is in front, facing the stage.
No matter where you were sitting you were able to see the stage, not sitting in some obscure seats, watching an LED screen at a concert, in lieu of the stage.
Also, her stage has become more elaborate, housing a large black and pink checkerboard heart with a friendly skull within, which in one eye had a little white heart. Plus the traditional "I love you" arrow going through the larger checkerboard heart. Avril did not have to say "Chill out/whatcha yellin’ for?" She knew those screams were for her as she came on stage.
The concert began with her singing to her recent hit, Girlfriend, from her album entitled, Best Damn Thing. "The next song and I go way back," Avril said as she began to sing her hit Complicated, which was quickly followed by her upbeat tune of My Happy Ending, only to dedicate her next tune, I’m With You, "to anyone out there who has been a fan of mine since day one."
She dedicated her next song to any young girl out there who already gets "what she wants," as she started belting out the lyrics to I Always Get What I Want from the Under My Skin album.
Her next big surprise for the audience came when a pink baby grand piano was brought on stage as she played and sang to two songs, When You’re Gone and Innocence. Other songs that could be heard throughout the night consisted of Don’t Tell Me, Hot, Losing Grip, Bout My Reputation and Everything Back But You. Avril took a brief break from Everything to introduce the band to the audience before continuing with the song.
Avril then psyched the audience announcing she will be playing her pink guitar to Runaway, which made everyone feel ‘so alive.’ The next song was a remake that everyone recognized, Hey Mickey. This was followed by one of her recent hits, Best Darn Thing, along with her Go A-V-R-I-L cheer. Then Avril asked the audience, "How many guys here think you wear the pants?" And then she asked the girls, "How many of you know you wear the pants?"
Not a fair question, when there were more girls than guys at the concert. Anyway, Avril announced with a chuckle, "me too," and received a big applause from the audience before singing I Wear The Pants. With about 14 minutes left to the concert, she quickly finished up with: He Wasn’t, another round of Girlfriend, ending with Sk8ter Boi. By the way, Best Damn Tour was named after Avril Lavigne’s recording entitled Best Damn Thing. On this tour she had six professional dancers who perform unbelievable acrobatics and break dancing during her quick outfit changes.
Her goal of getting the audience on their feet dancing, singing and waving their cell phones was accomplished. What I personally like about her songs is that you can understand the words and everyone in one way or another can relate to a song. This is my Happy Ending. This column was so Uncomplicated to write.
PLAYING IT SAFE
With warm weather on its way, I thought this would be a great time to remind everyone of all ages to protect themselves from sports injuries. Wearing appropriate protective gear for the sport you are participating in is a smart move.
If you are not sure what exactly is needed to stay injury free, there are many resources one can turn to. Here are two that I found very informative: www.nyssf.org/safetyequipment.html and kidshealth.org/teen/food_fitness/exercise/sport_safety.html These Web sites mention bicycle helmets; mouth guards; eyewear; shin guards; a hard-shell helmet when facing a baseball or softball pitcher; a helmet and body padding for ice hockey; wrist, elbow and knee pads for skating and much more.
CRYPTOGRAM
FBZA GBXCRA AB SRIX I MRNORA IZF OBLAM CLIXF SMRZ JNIKDZC YJBXAY Hints: Z is N; M is H; S is W; A is T; X is R
Answer to last week’s cryptogram:
THANK YOU FOR READING MY COLUMN, KIDS STUFF
Columnist William Feldman can be contacted by e-mail at wmkidscolumn@aol.com