How fitting for an easter Monday that a nice, young christian girl from a small town came to visit the Winnipeg Arena. Yep We're talking about Avril Lavigne, the pop music pixie who might just be the most wholesome recording artist in ther music business. You think I'm Crazy? then consider this: The 18 year old signer who sold out the winnipeg arena last night sells ordinary girl, guitar-based rock n roll to a largely female, pre-teen audience that up until recently was lapping up vapid bubblegum pop laced wiuth hypersexual images. Avril is not the anti-briteny as she was bidded. As anyone who's follows Lavigne's story already knows the pop star is just as manufactured as any other pop star. Everything about her, from skater girl image to her decision to pursue rock music over country, has been steered by her managers and talent developers that began working with her when she was barelyu as old as her current fans. But the multipe juna winner is a welcomed changed idol because of her guitar based pop, very distantly related to punk rock is actually filled with a semblance of the energy fans of any age can recognize as rock n roll. Playing to 11,500 the largest crowd since Nickelback sold out in jan 2002--Lavigne proved she can handle a massive rock show even though she only has one album worth of material to perform. Arriving on stage amid the piercing screams of her young fans, lavigne took the stage at 9:15 p.m. and immediately launched into sk8te boi, the second single from her album "let Go" Avril spent 75 minutes set pacing back and forth the stage, backed up by a four piece band. She was dressed in a white tank, baggy jeans and blue sneakers the attire she always wears. She spent alot of time scowling but appeared to be enjoying herself, whether she was swaying along to numbers like losing grip or ripping her way though a cover of Green Day's Basket case. She invited two audience members on stage to help her perform complicated, delivering her biggest hit before the encore, after followed a shower of glitter followed by two more songs. But even the youngest, most impresionable music fans are in much better hands when energetic performers like Avril are their idols, as opposed to the musically ineffectual and unforgivable sexualized boy bands and girl groups that preceded them.

Credit: Jenn