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
