Lily Allen Stays Sober For A Change

The Phoenix Concert Theatre

Toronto, ON

on Apr 5 2007

Cameron Gordon (CHARTattack)

04/09/2007 4:30pm

Lily Allen has been mainlining in North America for months now, so it's surprising that her most recent Toronto appearance didn't take place in a bigger room. Luckily, the girlish bounce of Allen's music would probably get lost in a plus-sized venue, and the Phoenix proved an apt stage for the performance in question.

With just a single full-length under her belt, Allen doesn't have a ton of material to draw from. But with showbiz in her genes and an obvious lust for the spotlight, she managed to parlay her slight back catalogue into a performance that was a lot of fun any way you slice it.

Opening with Alright, Still's brass-fuelled "LDN," Allen pranced and preened through a 90-minute set. Every track seemed somewhat jet-fuelled, with even the teenage balladry of "Littlest Things" racing by in no time. Thank her six-piece backing band for the tempos; they did well to keep things light and lively, although you'd never know by the crowd's sadly stagnant reaction. You'd think people would have been a bit more upbeat given the danceable nature of Allen's music and the Easter long weekend on the horizon.

Allen's between-song banter consisted of a lot of giggling and some blatant disregard for Toronto's non-smoking bylaws, sloughed off with a chuckle and a swish of her straight-laced plaid jumper. Allen proclaimed this to be her first sober performance in months. She even went so far as to move two cautionary shots off-stage.

In concert, the reggae influence of Allen's music plays a far larger role. "Not Big" and "Shame For You" became skank-o-riffic blowouts in the process. Allen threw a few covers into the mix to beef up her set, including stripped-down versions of Keane's "Everybody's Changing," The Kooks' "Naive" and Blondie's "Heart Of Glass." Paired with B-sides such as "Nan, You're A Window Shopper," they took the show a bit beyond Alright, Still. But make no mistake, it was the album tracks that got the biggest rise out of the crowd, especially radio smash "Smile" and the THC romp, "Alfie," which closed out the encore in style.

While Allen's not the most energetic performer, she impressed big-time with effortless vocals that seemed to float out stress and pretense-free. At the age of 21, this bird can definitely sing with the best of them.