Lily Allen - Live, May 15th 2007
The Wiltern Theatre, Los Angeles, CA

Lily Allen had a bad week. The British pop-ska songstress admitted to the hyper and excitable audience at her Tuesday night show (at Los Angeles’ Wiltern Theatre) that she had regrets regarding a blog posting she had made earlier in the week. Allen said she had “fallen victim to the evil machine” and was getting down on herself concerning her weight and looks.

But midway through the evening’s show, the enthusiastic LA crowd helped push the singer’s distorted view of herself back into reality. Before leaping into her album track that lyrically deals with body image, “Everything’s Just Wonderful,” Allen said, “Thanks for helping me realize that [I was wrong],” adding, “LA audiences are the best!”

Allen’s self-image may have been set straight, but her reality of Los Angeles audiences may have been twisted in the meantime by the unusual amount of dancing and general roars of appreciation. LA crowds just don’t respond the way they did Tuesday. Folded arms and blank stares are much more common. Perhaps it was the lack of a hipster quotient. Possibly the audience members knew how lucky they were to be at an Allen performance, considering she canceled the majority of her US tour. Maybe someone slipped everyone E. Most likely, it was a real and sincere response to a joyful and down-to-earth performance from something America currently lacks -- a smart, stylish and candid young pop star. The Brits are churning out quite a few these days – Allen, Amy Winehouse, Jamie T, and Patrick Wolf. What is the U.S. of A. offering in comparison? Avril Lavigne? Kelly Clarkson? Ashlee Simpson? Hilary Duff? Uh, no thanks.

Dressed casual in jeans, a white T-shirt dress and trainers, Allen, with her six-piece band including horn section, charged onto stage and plowed through the entirety (save 'Take What You Take') of her sole album “Alright, Still”, while sprinkling in plenty of B-Sides and covers into the mix as well. Allen’s selection of covers was particularly top-notch, Kaiser Chiefs’ “Oh My God” hit hard with its soulful horn arrangement and Allen’s version of Blondie’s “Heart Of Glass” harkened back to its reggae roots. But the biggest treat of the evening was the appearance of The Specials’ Lynval Golding, who played guitar on a pair of covers originally performed by his former band, including “Blank Expression.” Allen pushed the audience to cheer louder for Golding when he exited the stage, saying, “You may not know it, but that man is a fucking genius.”

Allen’s vocal chops were surprisingly stellar live, but her candor was her real charm. After delivering a fiery version of choice B-Side “Cheryl Tweedy,” named after the British pop star and famous footballer’s wife, Allen explained to a mostly unfamiliar audience just who Cheryl Tweedy is. Allen likened Tweedy to Paris Hilton for the American audience’s scope on celebrity, then added “She’s a dick and we hate her!”

But Lily was hardly all spit and vinegar. She giggled after nearly every song and made self-deprecating jokes when she forgot a line to a song, all the while incessantly smoking Marlboro Lights and downing a few shots of Jägermeister. During an inspired rendition of the B-Side “U Killed It, “ she played guitar on stage for the very first time, joking, “Maybe I’ll actually know more than one chord the next time I play here.” She was somehow commanding of the spotlight yet all the while seeming like she could be the girl right next to you, asking, just a little slurry, “Heeeeeyyyy, Where’s the After-Party?”

So, now Lily and Los Angeles (or “Lowse Ann-ja-leeeze” as Allen repeatedly said) are in love. Hopefully, she won’t regret it in the morning.