Best Damn Tour is the third concert tour by Canadian recording artist, Avril Lavigne. Supporting her third studio album, The Best Damn Thing, the tour played over 100 concerts in North America, Europe and Asia. The trek was recorded at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto for a live DVD set entitled, The Best Damn Tour: Live in Toronto. Demi Lovato was one of the opening acts for the tour.
Background[]
The tour was announced on November 6, 2007. Lavigne performed a private concert at the West Hollywood nightclub, Whisky a Go Go, where she announced her tour produced by Live Nation. The singer stated the tour would be "bright" and "colorful" in contrast to her previous shows. Lavigne told the press she felt her previous tours were "stagnant" and "dark". She continued to say she wanted her upcoming trek to be a big flashy production, with a party theme. She would also try to attempt to sing her latest single, "Girlfriend", in different languages. Commenting on her tour announcement, Lavigne elaborated:
"We finally get to go out [on tour] after a year of promo, a lot of hard work, so I'm excited to go out and play live. There's gonna be dancing; it's going to be really upbeat. I'm taking my show to the next level. It's still gonna be very me, and rock-influenced … but it's also gonna be diverse. It's going to open with a bang and dancers, and in the middle of the set [we're] coming down and doing acoustic stuff and me performing by myself. Being that it's my third album, I feel like I'm a lot better now. And I've got, like, 10 singles to play now, which makes it so much easier and so much better. When you play the hits onstage, it's the most exciting part of the show. And I have more to work with now … I have slower songs, songs like 'Sk8r Boi' and 'Girlfriend,' which are more upbeat. There's a lot to it. It's definitely not going to be boring."
The tour premiered in Victoria, British Columbia on March 5, 2008. On the same day, Kohl's launched Lavigne's clothing line, Abbey Dawn. and end in Beijing in which she was the first western artist to do a full tour in China. The tour faced slight controversy when the political group, the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party protested the concert. The group felt that Lavigne's "punk" image were not suitable of children and was not appropriate during Merdeka (Independence Day). The concert was initially cancelled but resumed according to plan a few days later. The tour faced additional troubles when Lavigne was forced to cancel the remaining nine show on her North American leg. The singer cited laryngitis for the cancellations while news outlets cite poor ticket sales. The singer posted an apology on her website and stated if possible, she would make the dates.
Tour Dates[]
| Date | City | Country | Venue | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North America | |||||
| July 22, 2008 | Maryland Heights | United States | Verizon Wireless Amphitheater | ||
| July 23, 2008 | Noblesville | Verizon Wireless Music Center | |||
| July 25, 2008 | Hershey | Hersheypark Stadium | |||
| July 26, 2008 | Hartford | XL Center | |||
| July 28, 2008 | Cincinnati | Riverbend Music Center | |||
| July 29, 2008 | Charlotte | Time Warner Cable Arena | |||
| July 30, 2008 | Raleigh | RBC Center | |||
| August 1, 2008 | Bethleham | RiverPlace on Sand Island | |||
| August 2, 2008 | Saratoga Springs | Saratoga Performing Arts Center | |||
| August 3, 2008 | Toms River Township | TR North Campus | |||
| August 5, 2008 | Sudbury | Canada | Sudbury Community Arena | ||
| August 6, 2008 | Toronto | Molson Amphitheater | |||
| August 8, 2008 | Saint John | Harbour Station | |||
| August 9, 2008 | Moncton | Moncton Coliseum | |||
| August 10, 2008 | Halifax | Halifax Metro Centre | |||
| August 12, 2008 | St. John's | Mile One Centre | |||
| August 13, 2008 | |||||