The Best Damn Tour: Live in Toronto is a live music DVD from Canadian singer Avril Lavigne. It was shot at the sold-out Air Canada Centre concert in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on April 7, 2008[1] during the Best Damn Tour. It was released on September 9, 2008 in North America and on September 5, 2008 in Europe. In the USA there were clean and explicit versions of the DVD.
The Best Damn World Tour was the third concert tour by Avril Lavigne. It supported her third studio album The Best Damn Thing, and visited North America, Europe, and Asia. It was also her first concert in three years, following the Bonez Tour in 2005. The tour was announced on November 6, 2007 at the West Hollywood nightclub Whisky a Go Go. Lavigne intended for the tour to be "showy," commenting that the "theme is like a party!" The tour included backup dancers, outfit changes, and a moving stage, with Lavigne hiring three choreographers—Lindsey Blaufarb, Craig Hollaman and Jamie King—in order to achieve her intended theme and vision. The tour garnered mixed reviews from contemporary critics.
After the tour was over, industry reports presented that it earned US$12.3 million ($17.41 million in 2023 dollars)[2] in total, from 110 shows and eventually played in front of nearly 170,000 people throughout North America, Europe, and Asia averaging at $861,599 ($1.23 million in 2023 dollars)[2] per show. Despite the cancellation of the tour's final North American dates, The Best Damn Tour became Lavigne's highest-grossing concert tour.
Synopsis
The concert starts off with an anonymous source spraying "Avril" on the screen in black graffiti, and then is colored in with bright pink. When its fully colored, pink lights shine, stars flash on the screen and her back up dancers run on with pink flags displaying the logo of her third album. A short instrumental of "Girlfriend" plays, as the flags are waved across the stage. Lavigne comes up on an elevator to perform "Girlfriend". Lavigne briefly talks to the audience and introduces the next track "I Can Do Better".
Throughout the concert, Lavigne plays acoustic and electric guitar, drums and piano. A selection of tracks include "Sk8er Boi", "My Happy Ending", "When You're Gone" and the remix of "Girlfriend" featuring Lil' Mama.
Track listing
Taken from the back casing of The Best Damn Tour: Live in Toronto US DVD release.[3]
MTV Live premiered a condensed 54-minute version of the concert on January 10, 2009, omitting the performances of "I Can Do Better", "I Always Get What I Want", "Best Damn Dance Break", "Hot", "Everything Back but You", and "I Don't Have to Try".
Personnel
Credits adapted from The Best Damn Tour: Live in Toronto DVD liner notes.[3]
Avril Lavigne – main performer, vocals, rhythm guitar, piano