Lily Allen @ Hiro Ballroom, NYC 10/10/06
You've seen the promo shot: big smile, big arms in the air, just-a-bit-of tongue, and, don't forget, some really big shades. Lily Allen, a(nother) UK artist that rode to the top of the pops on the strength of a MySpace profile, was in Chelsea last night for her American concert debut. Well, if you consider eight-songs-and-out a concert, then yeah, a debut it was. The crowd -- comprising a good number of her female MySpace friends, her Capitol cronies, casual onlookers, a couple of bloggers, and the requisite Meatpacking contingent of the too-sleek-to-speak (wouldn't be a show at Hiro without 'em!) -- was excited (but not hysterical) and full (with door tix still available). After some DJ nonsense, Lily strode out, the mixtape crown princess, with some horns, a bassist, and a keyboard-computer dude. And it was so on.
Kind of. Not quite the confident wild cat the promo pic suggested but, in moments, fully engaging and fully possessed of the ever-elusive "It." Lily started with "LDN," and her face wore her nerves throughout; not in a deer-in-headlights way, but in a "holy fuck I'm playing in New York City, I hope this is going okay!" way (a sentiment she'd make explicit in some form or another throughout the night). But "Nan, You're A Window Shopper" allowed her to settle in with some comfortable, syncopated sing-speak, and her confidence grew with each swill of champagne. By the end of "Knock 'Em Out," she had us thinking unalterably good thoughts, even if she has far to go before she's a true "live act." The spirit would move her into wagging arms and booty-twirls for song intros, but those moves soon would be muted by the weight of her perception of our expectations. Alright, still, she was a good time. And if the past few months have been any indication, you can't keep the volume down on Lily for too long.
Photos courtesy of our shitty pocket cam:
SET LIST
1. LDN
2. Nan, You're A Window Shopper
3. Shame For You
4. Knock 'Em Out
5. Littlest Things
6. Friday Night
7. Smile
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8. Alfie
Posted at 11:53 AM in Concert
Tags: Lily Allen
*sigh*
i wish my friends loved her as much as i do, i would've loved to see that show. hopefully she'll tour NYC again in the near future.
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The flyer says Mark Ronson in effect for this mini tour? Was he the "DJ nonsense"? I know Aaron Lacrate wouldn't be a Stereogum fave -- what was his role in this?
Seeing her here ina few days... all questions will be answered then I suppose...
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"Meatpacking contingent"? WTF?!
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meatpacking district, it's the neighborhood that hiro is in.
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yeah, but was she hot or not in person? cute? or two-face like chic on Seinfeld?
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That seems strange to only play 8 songs. How long was the concert? 35 minutes? If it was as short as I'd expect, that seems pretty lame...even though her music kicks ass.
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saw her show in toronto, and it was more or less the same setlist, minus the horns. and yes, mark ronson & aaron lacrate are the opening DJ, and if anyone reading this is seeing a show on this tour, show up early to hear them. better yet, show up to the after party if your city has one. one the best DJ-related nights out ever.
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I'm with Derek. I also saw her in Toronto @ Lee's palace. same set. 28 minutes end to end. I was less than please with the shortness of the set. I have EPs longer. she was a gem while she was on stage but that alas was way too short
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I totally agree, go see the DJ's at the after party. You don't need to pay 5$ a song, to see her ass...
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That was one of the finest shows I have ever seen....Mark Ronson's DJ set too.
man. so good.
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Richard, after reading about your EPs on a number of blogs - did you not feel this wasn't funny the first time you made this comparison? was that your concert for the year or maybe you need a life?
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I thought the show was great. If you want to see more pictures, check out ZombiePolitics.blogspot.com (which was sadly left off the list of bloggers in attendance).
Drew
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EVERYBODY RAPPING NOW CONSIDERS THERE SELF THE KING BUT THIS KID FROM DOWN SOUTH IN LOUISIANA RAP SPEAKS FOR ITSELF. YOU CAN CHECK OUT THE TUNES AT MYSPACE.COM/15TOLIFESINTENCERECORDS FOUR HIT SONGS ON THE PAGE "KEEP IT STREET" FT. CHOPPER CITY RECORDS VERY OWN (B.G)/"IM BOUT COPPIN THE ROOM" FT. SOSO DEFS VERY OWN (KANSA)/"YOU DONT WANT NONE"/AND/ GONE ACT BAD. THE KIDS MUSIC HAS ITS OWN GANGSTA FLAVOR UNLIKE NO OTHER IN THE GAME. YOU HAVE TO SEE FOR YOURSELF. JUST LOG ONTO HIS MYSPACE PAGE AND LISTEN,AND I BET YOU WILL AGREE
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LETS SEE L.D.N. Nan your a window shopper, Smile Not Big, Everybody's changing, Naive, Blank Expression, Oh my god Heart of Glass, and Littlest things, half an hour sounds about right, I remember Lily Allen saying, that it was really hard, with only 10 songs every night, and then said thats what made her drink on stage, (I can understand that) after she finished in Sao Paulo (Brazil) she said that was it, because it's not fair to the audience. She'll have 12 count em' twelve songs on her next C.D. due out Feb 9 2009
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