WINNIPEG - It's not so complicated to see why Avril Lavigne is such a big star to young girls.

She sings catchy pop-rock about things they understand (mostly boys), isn't a glamorous dresser, doesn't really know how to properly apply her makeup yet and seems like she could be fun to hang around with.

In other words, a little more real than your average pop superstar.

And for 75-minutes last night a sold-out crowd of 11,500 turned out to hang out with Lavigne at the Winnipeg Arena during her first tour, the aptly named Try to Shut Me Up Tour.

The audience was mostly made up of younger females (with the average age about 14) and their parents, who had the option to sit in their own special room away from the high decibel screams emitting from their kids' mouths during any prompting or break in the music.

Kicking off with the hit Sk8er Boi, Lavigne could do no wrong for her fans, playing most of the songs from her debut album, Let Go, a new song called I Don't Care, and a cover of the Green Day song Basketcase. Two thrilled members of the crowd were invited on stage to help with Lavigne's breakthrough single Complicated.

Live, the music comes across a little heavier and grittier than on her overproduced album, helping to improve the material slightly, while still showcasing her powerful pipes which act as a vessel for her less than stellar voice.

Dressed simply in jeans and a white tank top, the Napanee, Ont., born Lavigne looked comfortable and confident, paying attention to every corner of the stuffed-to-the-rafters hockey rink, bouncing up and down and playing guitar on a couple of songs.

The large stage consisted of a simple set of ramps backed by a video screen which played abstract images or close-ups of Lavigne and her four-member band. The screen was also used to complement the often dazzling light show, which consisted of multicoloured strobes lights and dozens of rotating blinders.

The floor was general admission, but divided into two separate sections with a few hundred fans allowed right up to the barriers in front of the stage, with the rest of the 1,800 on the ice surface kept behind a fence about 50 metres from the stage, making for a lousy view for some of the younger kids in the back.

Vancouver rap group Swollen Members -- Mad Child, Prevail and Moka Only -- drew the second spot on the triple bill of Nettwerk Management acts and got the people on the floor closest to the stage jumping up and down with their clever rhymes, catchy beats and boundless energy.

The trio, backed by a deejay, played a 45-minute set featuring all of their singles, including their latest, the Nelly Furtado collaboration Breath.

The group deserve their status as one of the country's best rap outfits, but still fell into the arena concert cliche of getting the audience to scream needlessly with inane comments like, "Who here is proud to be a Canadian?" which drew more ear-piercing screams.

Fellow Vancouverites Gob started off the show with a half-hour set of high spirited melodic pop-punk which was surely the first exposure some of the younger members in the audience had to the genre.

The young quartet made the most of the larger than average stage they usually get the chance to play, and looked like they were having a blast.

Nothing complicated about Avril's stardom (More on Avril Lavigne)

JAM! Rating: 4 out of 5