Lily Allen - TLA, Philadelphia, 2/12/07


Lily Allen's first tour of the states came through Philadelphia tonight, stopping at the sold out TLA. The delightfully abrasive cheekiness that makes Lily's myspace blog posts so refreshingly funny seems impossible for an artist with the degree of success she has already amassed in her native Britain. In concert she spits, she drinks, she smokes, she belches, she dances, she bounces, she liberally uses the f-word, and she sings her heart out with joyful abandon; she does all this with such cuteness and charm that the entire package is both unlikely and compelling.


Smile CD Single

I didn't catch the names when she introduced her band, but this group of keyboard, guitar, bass, drums, trumpet, trombone and saxophone played the hottest reggae and ska groove for a group from outside Jamaica since the early days of the Hooters before they signed to Columbia. These guys killed it on every song. Lily was awesome too, nailing every song while dancing around the stage like she owned it, seeming as if she's been doing this forever. The songs which all sound good and catchy on the record really came to life in live performance, giving the sold out house a musical thrill ride. The crowd was even totally into the opening act DJ, to a degree that reminded me school dances in the junior high gym.


LDN CD Single

She opened with "LDN", which sounded just amazing with the live horn section. She did eleven of the twelve songs on Allright, Still plus two single b-sides "Cheryl Tweedy" and "Absolutely Nothing". Mid-set she did a pair of covers that she called her acoustic medley, the Keane song sounding really great in her reggaefied interpretation. She closed with "Smile" her big hit that is so addictive that it keeps on sounding great no matter how repetitively you listen to it. For her encore she came back with a great sounding Specials cover and closed with "Alfie" which also killed live. "Alfie" with it's humorous video seemed seriously goofy when I first heard it but I must admit it's growing on me by the day. Lily Allen is truly a unique talent and her show was great fun.

Myspace Photo

Setlist:
LDN
Nan You're a Window Shopper
Knock 'Em Out
Shame For You
Littlest Things
Cheryl Tweedy
Everybody's Changing (Keane)
Naive (Kooks)
Not Big
Absolutely Nothing
Everything's Just Wonderful
Friend of Mine
Friday Night
Smile
>
Blank Expression (The Specials)
Alfie

There would be photos from the show posted here but my camera didn't make it past the door; cameras were supposedly allowed, except for cameras with detachable lenses. The thinking behind a policy that allows cameras, just not good ones is a baffler. Photos ©Lily Allen.

Lily Allen's website.
Lily Allen's myspace.

Lily Allen - Allright, Still (Capitol)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Remembering the Main Point, 1964 - 1981

Image
WXPN Most Memorable Musical Moment #5 Begining in 1964, The Main Point in Bryn Mawr provided the Philadelphia area with one of its most enjoyable venues for live music. Although it started as a folk based coffeehouse, all styles of music were presented over the years. Financial problems continually plagued the Main Point, and in spite of frequent benefit shows by artists who loved the place as much as the audience, the club finally closed in 1981. The following brief history is contained in an obituary of Jeanette O. Campbell, one of the founders and owners of the Main Point who died on October 22, 2006, written by Philadelphia Inquirer Staff Writer Sally A. Downey as reprinted on the Save Ardmore Coalition website. Jeanette Orndoff Campbell, 89, former owner of the Main Point, a music hall in Bryn Mawr where young talents including Bruce Springsteen, Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt and James Taylor were introduced to local audiences, died of complications from hip surgery Oct. 22 at Stap
Read more

Cream and Blind Faith at the Spectrum, Philadelphia, 1968 & 1969

Image
WXPN Most Memorable Musical Moment #3 (L-R) Jack Bruce, Ginger Baker, & Eric Clapton I could not have foreseen it at the time, but looking back on a concert going history now entering it's fifth decade, my first three concerts were absolutely formative in the development of the music obsession that has driven life as we know it from that point forward. Attending a rock concert pre drivers license was no small feat, that I even got to these shows is the first indication that I knew I was onto something even if I couldn't quite explain it. I've already detailed my first concert (The Beatles at JFK Stadium) in my MMMM#1 . My second and third concerts took place at the Spectrum in Philadelphia, they were less than a year apart, and due to the fact that concerts never end at the time predicted, these concert experiences both ended with a very angry driver stuck waiting in the car outside the venue until the last encore had finished. I shot both concerts with the same starter
Read more

And We Danced - Filming the Hooters Video, 7/27/85

Image
WXPN Most Memorable Musical Moment #4 "And We Danced" (picture sleeve above) was released in 1985 as the second single from the album, Nervous Night , the Hooters' major label debut for Columbia Records. Here's the video. The call went out to the Hooters' mailing list the last week of July 1985 that an audience with cars would be needed on the coming Saturday for a video shoot. Participants would report to the Exton Drive-In by late morning and be prepared to stay all day until after dark. This stage set, early in the day, was a warm-up for the crowd and probably a dry run for the production team for the night-time performance to be filmed later. The banner backdrop does not appear in the video. Some of the antique and custom cars that were on hand for the shoot. The production crew prepares the ticket booth for its shot. This is the film crew shooting the acoustic intro part of the song. The acoustic intro was shot twice, first with t
Read more