Avril rules day at mall

Robert Chacon

Skate-punk and teen rocker Avril Lavigne rocked the Glendale Galleria

on Monday, giving several thousand squealing fans a taste of her

upcoming second album “Under My Skin,” which will be released next

month.

On a small stage in front of JCPenney, Lavigne and guitarist Evan

Taubenfeld played an intimate six-song acoustic set that included

favorites “Sk8er Boi” and “Complicated.”

Fans, some of whom lined up as early as 6:30 a.m., were well

mannered, and movement in and out of the stage area once the show was

over went smoothly. Glendale Police, as well as additional security

hired by Galleria owners General Growth Properties, reported no major

incidents.

The show was part of a 21-date mall tour to promote the new album,

production manager Brian Rohloff said.

“This is Avril’s opportunity to give back to the mall rats that

made her famous,” he said.

Up against the stage, Glendale resident Alan Tarian, 17, had been

waiting since 9 a.m. for the show to begin.

“This is unbelievable. I missed her the last time she played [in

the Los Angeles area], and this makes up for it,” he said. “I flipped

out when I heard about the show.”

General Growth officials had known about the show for two months,

but kept it under wraps until a few days before the performance, said

Janet LaFever, senior director of marketing for the Galleria.

Fans found out -- some as late as Monday, others as early as

Friday -- about the show from Lavigne’s website, the radio or other

friends.

Jason Baculima, 17, drove from Montebello to watch the show.

“This is such a good idea. It came out of nowhere,” he said.

The idea to play in malls across the country came from Lavigne

herself, Taubenfeld said.

“The malls give fans great access, it’s free and there is less

coordination involved than in playing a regular show,” he said.

“These fans were great.”

Many shoppers walked by the stage, gawked for a while and walked

on, intent on not interrupting their shopping session.