Cued to perfection, as Avril pointed her microphone to the us, ten thousand electrified audience sang in unison, “I miss you!” And we did it more than once, as she performed “When You’re Gone”. Yes. We miss Avril. The last time she was in Singapore, it was back in 2008. At the end of the concert, I shared my reflection with Cynthia. I said, “Every time we go to Avril’s concert, the age of the younger crowd stays the same, but we are getting older!” It was scary, to be surrounded by so many young people. The atmosphere was entirely different from the Jolin Tsai concert we have attended merely 2 nights ago. The crowd for Avril was more international while the crowd for Jolin was more local and many girls dressed up and dolled up to look like Jolin. On that note, I would say I enjoy looking at the Jolin crowd better.
We were anticipating Avril to be late by one and a half hours, like her previous concert. Fortunately, she emerged from the stage after half an hour’s wait. When she did, the crowd was euphoric. The screaming was so loud that I could not hear what Avril sang or said. Like her last concert, we booked the seats at the premium area. Cost us S$165 per ticket but it was money well spent! The mood was fantastic. Everyone was on his or her feet and screamed like there was no tomorrow. The dude beside me attempted to record the entire concert with his e-pony (that’s how the folks in my Spanish study group pronounce that phone made by Apple). Initially I was apprehensive as in whether or not I should let go my emotion and screamed out loud. It would be quite bad if he plays back the recording some days later and all he hears is my off-tone screaming. But then, he was screaming just as loud, singing just as toneless directly into his e-pony. So I joined him, together with a stadium full of people, we sang each and every song, like an army of true Avril fans.
There were no dancers on stage this time. And it felt like more of a rock concert. Avril played the guitar and the piano. One song, she sat on top of the piano singing “Alice in Wonderland”. The smoke effect at times was so intense that we could not see anything on stage. After the song, she coughed a little and joked that she couldn’t see a thing. That was funny. And that was also the only time she said something other than “Singapore!” I wish she would interact the crowd more (like Jolin did). I wonder if she knows that people in Singapore can actually comprehend English. Maybe she is not the chatty type.
The concert lasted for about 1 hour and 20 minutes (compares Jolin who performed an extra hour longer). Especially for those who know nearly every song and every note, time flies. I hope that Singapore still holds a special place in her heart and she will be back for her next world tour. For sure, I am grabbing that Black Star Tour video recording when it is out.