Avril Lavigne & Simple Plan Bring Early 2000s Nostalgia to Xfinity Center! [Photos]

On a hot summer night in late August, excited millennials showed up at a sold-out Xfinity Center in Mansfield, MA, to see their favourite childhood rockers take the stage! Avril Lavigne was performing on her sold-out tour aptly titled “The Greatest Hits Tour” after her most recently released album of the same name. Opening for her on tour was Simple Plan, the Canadian rockers who rose to fame in the early 2000s.

This concert truly felt like a blast from the past, with the average age of fans being around 30. I loved seeing all the women and girls with pink streaks in their hair, a signature look of Avril Lavigne from 2007, along with fishnet tights and tops. The parking lot was full of tailgaters before the show, and the energy there was palpable. For me, this night felt like an escape from regular life and a chance to reminisce on my youth and teenage years while listening to artists who were so prominent during that time.

The small two-person band Girlfriends took the stage first and got the crowd excited. Then it was time for Simple Plan! They came out with so much energy, first performing “I’d Do Anything” from their debut album No Pads, No Helmets…Just Balls, which came out now 22 years ago! The crowd went wild, and it was clear the band fed off this energy. They continued to play banger after banger, including fan favourites such as “What’s New Scooby-Doo” and “I’m Just a Kid!.” At one point, drummer Chuck Comeau even crowd-surfed, much to everyone’s enjoyment! They performed a 45-minute set and kept the crowd fully engaged and singing along the entire time.

Then, it was time for the main event! Avril Lavigne came on stage to a roaring audience as she played one of her all-time greatest hits, “Girlfriend.” Although the song was a success, I thought Avril’s stage presence seemed a little lacking to begin with. The first few songs felt as if she was going through the motions a bit, with minimal energy on her part. However, the crowd was loving her, and this was one of, if not the loudest crowds I’d been a part of in a long time.

It seemed that Avril picked up on the energy of the crowd, and as the show went on, she got progressively more lively! Her personality really began to shine through as she interacted with the crowd more. The longer the show went on, the more it looked like she was starting to enjoy herself.

Some highlights of the show included her bringing out her guitar to play a few songs and when she handpicked members from the audience to come up on stage and meet her! I also loved the fact that she brought Simple Plan back out with her on stage to perform “Addicted.” Avril finished the show with a bang, performing “Bite Me,” “Love It When You Hate Me,” and then finishing with “Sk8er Boi.” Seeing her performance of “Sk8er Boi” was my favourite part of the show. She was fully into it, running across the stage with confetti cannons blasting at the crowd. Everyone was on their feet!

At the end of the song, she left the stage, but that would not be the last the crowd saw of her. She returned a few minutes later for a two-song encore that featured “Head Above Water” and “I’m With You.”

All in all, I really loved this concert, and I would say everyone in attendance would agree with me! Avril Lavigne has been a staple in the pop-punk world since she released her first single back in 2002 at just 17 years old. Now, 22 years later, she showed us all that she still has that star power. Having Simple Plan be the opener for Avril was an incredibly smart decision. Both the band and her are Canadian and share a very similar fanbase, making this show such a hit! I will definitely attend another Avril Lavigne concert in the future, and I hope it will come sooner rather than later!

Avril Lavigne @ Xfinity Center (Mansfield, MA) on August 24, 2024

30 photos