Allen's show ran the gamut from electronic pop, flamenco-styled drama, sexy bops, classic string-laden ballads and backbeat-driven neo-soul.Christina Bryson/Supplied
I’m not sure how we should characterize what Lily Allen did on stage at Toronto’s Massey Hall on Tuesday. Concert? Theatre? Melodic psychotherapy? Let’s call it a sublime, unsentimental, semi-autobiographical one-woman show about a broken relationship, set to 21st-century beats.
The British pop siren received a standing ovation and a bouquet of flowers at the end of her first of two shows here. Honestly, it was the best work yet from the 40-year-old – and the local florist too.
Allen is touring her conceptual 2025 album West End Girl to nine North American cities. She presented her first record in seven years in its 14-song entirety, front to back. No band was used; she sang to tapes. With all due respect to Local 149 of the American Federation of Musicians, Allen’s aloneness instilled a necessary intimacy to the behind-closed-doors narrative.
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There were quick set switches and costume changes. Allen sang the album-opening title track in a hotel-room setting wearing a soft pink outfit that could have been plucked from Jackie Kennedy’s closet, minus more than a few hemline inches.
Christina Bryson/Supplied
The bossa nova lounge number West End Girl − the most danceable tune on the subject since the Pet Shop Boys were pups − reflects Allen’s marriage to actor David Harbour, their move to Brooklyn and the singer’s return to London for a starring role in the 2021 West End production of Danny Robins’s 2:22 A Ghost Story.
On stage, as on the record, Allen received a phone call. At Massey Hall, a man yelled out, “Don’t answer it!” It might have been the funniest moment at a Toronto concert since Steve Martin opened for the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band at the El Mocambo in 1973.
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Allen picked up the phone. It’s her husband, calling long distance to request an open marriage. We heard only her side of the awkward and unexpected conversation: “How will it work?” and “I want you to be happy” and “Okay, I’ll speak to you later.”
I recently spoke to legendary Canadian concert promoter Michael Cohl about the quasi-theatrical concerts of Lady Gaga and Sabrina Carpenter. While Cohl said those shows were “phenomenal,” he insisted “they’re not theatre.”
With her touring pop drama, Allen says hold my fourth wall.
She stayed in character, not acknowledging the audience − no banter, no asides, no “Thank you, Toronto.” And no encore set of past singles Smile, The Fear, Not Fair, Somewhere Only We Know, Hard Out Here and Air Balloon.
Conceptual concert or not, fans came to hear songs and she delivered. The show ran the gamut from electronic pop, flamenco-styled drama, sexy bops, classic string-laden ballads and backbeat-driven neo-soul.
At her Massey Hall show, Allen stayed in character, not acknowledging the audience − no banter, no asides, no 'Thank you, Toronto.'Christina Bryson/Supplied
Lyrically, Allen laid out her emotions: “I need a drink, I need a Valium,” on Relapse; “Something don’t feel right,” on Pussy Palace; “Why won’t you tell me what her name is?,” on 4chan Stan.
By the time Allen got to Beg For Me, the audience was on its knees, metaphorically speaking. After the 56-minute performance, the object of their affections walked away with a subtle, low-slung wave goodbye, her back to the audience. She briefly returned to bow, blow kisses and receive that bouquet.
Allen was preceded by a string trio who played her hits. (Hits in the United Kingdom, anyway.) The crowd sang lyrics presented on a giant screen, karaoke style.
I’d rather look at a cereal box than read the lyrics of most pop singers. But Allen is a master at raw tell-all storytelling that is superior to the girly diaristic efforts of, say, Taylor Swift. In a perfect world, Allen would be more famous and better paid than Swift. Then again, in a perfect world, Allen’s intelligent spitfire defiance and bluntly commentative pop would not be required.