So despite throat infections and a month devastated by doctor's notes and gig cancellation there was more than a few question marks hanging over Lily Allen's last headline solo gig for "a long time". Thankfully Lily was in remarkably good voice, with no signs of autotune and without a back track insight. Lily's voice may have lacked nuance but she never had that in the first place and she was powering out notes all night long. The prospect of a Lily Allen gig was always interesting to me, I've seen her at festivals three times in past, and each time she excelled and proved herself to be a festival favourite and accomplished live performer, but that was with a drunk rowdy and mixed crowd, how would she fare alone? Well firstly, she drew a crowd of mostly girls (surprise surprise) of all ages, with a fair chunk of men, but as a group of six guys and two girls, we didn't exactly fit in with the rest of the clientèle. So did Lily's act appeal across the traditional boundaries of sex? Of course it did, launching into a booming version of Everyone's At It Lily looked a natural on the big stage, and while she's certainly not a showman, you'll never mistake her for Lady Gaga or Beyonce, she gave a set that was remarkably honest and relatable but garnished with enough showmanship and glitz to appeal to those with poppier sensibilities. Lily was clearly a little drunk as she later admitted and looked rather stoned, but it only added to her carefree appeal, as she's glided and stomped across the stage. She created a sexy, charming, girly, tough and in your face vibe all at once, and her greatest skill remains her ability to make intimate connections with her audience, she has the stage show of a superstar but she feels like you sexy self deprecating best mate, a self assured but pleasingly humble star.
Musically this was undoubtedly the best performance I've seen from Lily, her voice was loud clear and true, and she let the music do the talking, often laughing at her own one liners, and with hits like Littlest Things, LDN, The Fear and a beefed up D'n'B inspired Smile it spoke volumes. Lily is certainly an act who cares alot about her live show and gives great value for money, whether it be pouring pints for her fans or creating big mixes and creative arrangements for her tracks, she gets everything possible out of her back catalogue. She also wisely chose her covers; the now established and thoroughly brilliant mix of Oh My God & Everything's Just Wonderful was given an airing, as was The Kooks Naive appealing to both her pop and indie fan base with room left for Britney Spears' Womanizer a track that's simply undeniable live. Each cover had Lily's unique spin and her intonation is always hilarious, the way she delivers the line "The Only Thing Growing Is Our History" always cracks me up, as if she's subtly mocking the Kaiser Chiefs clumpsy songwriting. Surprisingly for a final solo gig Lily decided to debut some new materiel, which was based around politics and her state of confusion at the world's big topics, built around the a simple but catchy piano line it pointed towards the future of Lily's song writing; as she retreats from London, settles down and enjoys being in a relationship the next big test will be in maintaining her connection to her audience as she becomes more detached, and moves to broader themes where she is perhaps less well informed (I'll be discussing this at lenght in a future article). Elsewhere we got a taste of the past as Lily decided to give Knock 'Em Out a rare airing, a track that defined her early sound but as she said herself seems like it was written by a very different girl from the one who stands in front of us today. It was a nice touch and Lily seemed genuinely reflective as she remember standing on this same stage all those years ago, and it served to illustrate how hear song writing remains a genuine reflection on her life, her age and her environment, giving her work and her live show the feel of a 21st first century social documentary.
Ultimately despite a her undoubted influence and strong albums Lily will always flourish as a live performer where she can make the direct connection to her audience, any cynical question about her act or her lyricism are instantly dismissed when you see the real Lily drunkenly staggering across stage like a goofy and irresistible sex kitten or grinding and giggling alongside UK MC Professor Green. Most of all, this possibly final Lily Allen show highlighted by her two greatest strengths, her winning and addictive personality and her mammoth back catalogue of hits, even the lower key introspection of 22 and the naive but surprisingly powerful Fuck You are transformed into huge anthemic and intelligent crowd pleasers, that are beefed up by a hard working band who really bring ooompfh to the table. BUT you can forget everything, the sexy outfits, the playful personality, the goofy dancing, the guest rappers, the drum and bass remixes, the hit parade, the tender touching ballads because even if you took all of that away it'd still be worth seeing Lily Allen for one reason: Not Fair. The track is an enduring anthem and it's one of those tracks you must hear live before you die, and how often do you say that about pop music these days? The track is transformed live into a seven minute disco plaided anthem, it bubbles, you can pogo, you can dance, you can singalong you can do whatever the fuck you want but this track will take hold of you (even if it's just a cheeky laugh at her gesticulating lying in the wet patch and giving head). It truly is a masterful arrangement, from the remix half way through, to the subtle dropping of the beat on the penultimate chorus to create a soul and booming final sing along, it's just the perfect live pop experience. So if this is the final time we see Lily's name atop the bill, it was one hell of a way to go out, with Lily harnessing her greatest attributes, her openness and honesty, letting us into her world, being and open book, creating an emotional connection and then wowing us with a plethora of the decades most subversive hits. A triumph.
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