Lily Allen = Tour Zombie

Lily Allen rolled into Salt Lake half asleep in a seagull jumper complete with bed head. Initially I hoped the seagull outfit was a thought out allusion to the miraculous city she was visiting, but it was more likely on top of the tourbus hamper. And even though her consciousness was just stirring she captivated the her new fans who were already desperate to love her.

The crowd of young girls and their hormonal boyfriends were mostly naive to her music. Savvy queens, cool hairdressers, and old-music-hags like myself made up the rest of the crowd who could mouth the words to a few of her songs. She had the presence of a cool older sister, unpredictable, moody, and fascinating. She might banish you from her room in one moment or teach you something about sex in the next.

The first songs were upstaged by the screams for the fact that she was actually in Salt Lake. Her vocals were low and had to compete with the up energy of her band (four guys dressed in black who were obvious pros at matching her studio sound). But she warmed up, woke up, and her baggy sweater came off and her British cheekiness came out.

She interrupted a song to break up a fight. "There is none of that shit at my shows." And swore that the cigarette she was puffing on was helping her throat, just like your bad influence older sister would advise against doctors warnings. Her voice did get stronger throughout the show, and those who knew the words sang along, and those that didn't wished they did. It was fun and casual and certainly over when it was over.

She encored wearing jeans and hightop sneakers(my favorite), getting ready to get comfy back on the bus. She sang The Fear which her new fans were waiting for. Then she apologized but they had to leave quick because her manager heard it might snow and there was a looming terror of being stuck in Salt Lake. She ended with Brintney's Womanizer, which was great for the crowd because they suddenly knew how to act. But I admit it was a little dissapointing for her to leave right after her show's musical climax singing another woman's song. It made her introduction to American audiences too American. Especially when Britney herself played her song here just days later.