Smashing Mag / Lily Allen @ Shibuya Club Asia (15th Nov. '06)

Lily Allen @ Shibuya Club Asia (15th Nov. '06)

Knock 'em out!!
Lily Allen is starting to attract real attention in Japan, as evidenced by the fact that this Tokyo gig was slotted in between shows in Lausanne, Switzerland, and Milan Italy. Lily drew in about as many as this intimate venue could hold, and although the crowd was mainly young Japanese, as you'd expect, there were more than a few of the more geriatric, foreigner fraternity in attendance, myself included, and I did spot at least one salary man, complete with suit and briefcase. His finger is obviously on the pulse. The set was short; let's face it, in her own words "I've only made one Album", but it was delivered flawlessly and with obvious enjoyment. She may be singing about her own personal experiences, with songs about artless and adulterous ex-boyfriends, annoying wannabe boyfriends and all manner of other joys of London life, amongst other things, but that doesn't seem to in anyway limit her appeal to young girls living in London. We can all empathize with the attitudes apparent in her witty lyrics, and the way in which she constantly slips what would appear to be unutterable sentences seamlessly over the top of bouncy rhythm patterns seemingly totally at odds with her subject matter never ceases to bring a smile to my face. I was grinning from ear to ear from the start of her show to the end, and I'm sure I wasn't alone. She appeared a little apprehensive at first, and I had spotted her before she took to the stage looking down at the crowd from the top of a flight of stairs as they were playing clips of her videos on a big screen, but that apprehension didn't last long. In fact an appreciative smile appeared on her face during a rare lull in the music when one wit in the audience, paraphrasing a line from Knock 'em Out, shouted out "Yeah! You alright Lily? You look alright still". The bass player and keyboard/sequencer band were obviously also having a good time, and there did seem to be a genuine camaraderie between the three of them, which must bide well for the rest of her European tour. Briefly returning to the stage after the show, but having no more tunes to deliver, Lily instead opted to win more friends by throwing a few copies of her "My second Mix Tape" CD to the crowd. I only know that's what they were because the guy behind to me managed to catch one, missing out myself as I was too busy smiling my head off, and am a bit of a short-arse. If you didn't get to see her on this flying visit, make sure you catch her next time, you can rest assured she'll be back.