Avril Lavigne

If the late, great Joey Ramone was reincarnated as a 5-foot-1 Canadian skater-chick turned MTV wunderkind, that little bundle of energy would be called Avril Lavigne.

At the tender age of 18, Lavigne has established herself as the resident pop-chart mega-fixture and reigning queen of the FM dial virtually worldwide. Having sold four million copies of her debut album in the U.S. alone, the oft-touted “anti-Britney” had The Point Theatre packed full of baggy-pantsed and fishnet tank-topped Avril clones, squealing along to every radio gem. And why not?

Lavigne has a commanding stage presence and great set of pipes. But where live performance is concerned, she is still on a learning curve. Her between song patter was of the insipid “Uh this is, like, a new one” variety, better than which she will undoubtedly do as she develops confidence and authority onstage. In contrast, her underrated backing band provided plenty of onstage attitude and the diminutive Canadian won out in the end, delivering the hits with her trademark bubblegum angst and adorably snarling attitude.

One sombre moment came when she retook the stage for an encore in tears, playing an acoustic number dedicated to her grandfather, who had died earlier that day.

This proved to be Lavigne’s most powerful performance of the night and hinted that there is a deeper talent in there preparing to come out.

Keep your ears peeled.