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Lily Allen’s ‘West End Girl’ Brings a Theatrical, One-Woman Show to Toronto’s Massey Hall: Concert Recap
West End Girl brought Allen back into the cultural zeitgeist, peaking at No. 45 on the Billboard Canadian Albums chart. Last night (April 7), she took the stage at Toronto’s Massey Hall, performing her acclaimed album from top to bottom. In the second city on her biggest North American headlining tour, Allen embraced the only Canadian stop on her tour, visiting Niagara Falls, plus Toronto restaurants Milou and Sunny’s Chinese, on her day off.
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At the show, many attendees donned polka dot puffer jackets (à la the album cover), while young girls trailed behind their millennial parents — I secretly hope they don’t experience the type of soul-crushing heartbreak Allen is singing about.
It’s worth noting that West End Girl is only 45 minutes long. Allotting for Allen’s three costume changes, the show’s runtime bumps up to just under an hour. Despite being marketed as Lily Allen performing West End Girl, the concert has drawn some unfavourable reviews for being a shorter length than the average concert when Allen kicked off her initial run of shows across Europe.
While many fans had expressed concern that some of her biggest hits, like “LDN” and “Who’d Have Known,” would be missing, Allen had that taken care of. While no opening act was listed on the tour billing, three female cellists dubbed the Dallas Minor Trio (a reference to one of West End Girl’s songs, in which Allen details her dating app alias), took the stage at 8 pm sharp, sitting in front of a projector screen.
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The lyrics to Allen’s 2009 hit “The Fear” appeared on the screen, and the captivating strings swelled over the venue. Immediately, the crowd started belting out the lyrics. By the time they got to the orchestral versions of “Smile” and “F–k You,” the entire venue was engaged in a group sing-along.
An hour later, a pink ‘West End Girl’ neon sign lit up, descending into the crowd’s direct line of sight. A teal curtain revealed Allen standing timidly in a pink tweed skirt suit, evoking cheers from the crowd. As the backing track of the album’s namesake song played, she walked onto the stage’s pink fuzzy carpet and clocked into her role as Lily Allen, leaving her present self behind and stepping into a past version of herself.
Christina Bryson
The show felt more like a Broadway play than a standard concert. The stage is built to resemble an apartment — a bed, pink fridge, rotary telephone, velvet chair and a series of vintage lamps are meticulously placed and thoughtfully moved throughout the show to detail the narrative of Allen’s story. The crowd is brought right into the singer's disillusionment, as she finds out the scathing details and inevitable spiralling of her husband’s extramarital affairs.
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During “Ruminating,” moody visuals of Allen were projected onto the curtain, while she channeled frustration and confusion through s hyperpop-accented track. Later, she headed to a fridge — which shockingly worked well — and took a sip of water and a pass of her vape, before leading into the mellow electronic-infused “Relapse,” which found Allen anxiously pacing back and forth on stage, as if she just came to the shocking revelations in real-time.
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Christina Bryson
After returning from a quick costume change, the sounds of the New York City subway system filled the venue, setting the scene for “Pussy Palace," arguably the most dramatic set-piece track on the album. Allen hopped into a messy bed, showing the audience “a shoebox full of handwritten letters,” “long black hair probably from the night before” and a “Duane Reade bag with the handles tied.”
On “4chan Stan,” Allen wrapped herself in the lauded receipt dress, a nod to the purchased items made by her husband for his other lover. After making the rounds on social media, the dress received many cheers in person. Being crass isn’t new for Allen, but as she playfully pokes fun at a situation that caused her much pain and turmoil, it’s hard not to revel in the shock of airing out someone’s dirty laundry to so many people every night.
Christina Bryson
Allen puts on a captivating one-woman show full of theatrics and spectacle, but she rarely interacts with the crowd. Five songs in, Allen singled out a crowd member in the front row for “Madeline,” as she played the role of a scorned wife talking to her husband’s lover, while the chosen Madeline fought back laughter in a presumable fit of nervousness. During “Nonmonogamummy,” she cheekily stuck out her tongue at everyone during a little dance, which a few crowd members joined in on from their seats.
The album closer, “Fruityloop,” wraps up the West End Girl narrative as Allen realizes her former flame’s flaws are no reflection of her. As she appeared clad in a black leather dress, her present self returned as Allen moved through the song with newfound confidence. “It’s not me, it’s you,” she sang — a throwback to her 2009 sophomore record. She briefly left the stage, letting the crowd’s cheers ramp up. Allen returned to marvel at the audience, while a crew member handed her a bouquet of flowers.
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Christina Bryson
What made the performance land so well was how intimate the venue was, matching the themes of the album. As she gears up for a string of headlining arena and amphitheatre shows this September — which includes a stop at the newly updated RBC Amphitheatre, and two additional Canadian shows in Montreal and Vancouver — it’ll be interesting to see how the show will expand for bigger spaces.
But with Allen’s savviness, it won’t be a problem to expand the world of West End Girl, as she brings her charm and innovative ideas to the stage — after all, they haven’t failed her before.
Allen is set to perform a second sold-out night at Massey Hall on Wednesday, April 8.
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