Lily Allen christens the Fillmore NYC

Okay, screw you.  The photos are total shit (I was way in the back, my digicam doesn't really DO low light, it was packed) but whatever.  Nothing's really changed to the Irving Plaza/Fillmore NYC takeover except the ugly sign outside, tons of posters lining the stairs up to the stage and a slightly larger awning VIP area overhang.

Openers The Bird & The Bee were amazing.  They were so unbelievably cutesy it was almost unbearable.  And when frontwoman Inara George admitted that she was so not as cool as the kids in the crowd, it was so endearing that the kids didn't think twice to question her authenticity.  I don't think it was meant to be ironic, but there you go.  The crowd ate them up and though it wasn't nearly as packed for them as you'd expect for a concert of this supposed magnitude, it didn't seem to bother the band at all.

Lily Allen.  Just saying those words makes some folks cringe and others coo.  What was most impressive to me was the sheer number of girls of the 18-25 bracket who donned their best "chav" gear for the show.  I mean, it almost seemed like Debbie Harry was coming (if it were '82) or something.  But Allen commanded the crowd from start to finish and I applaud her for that.  And aside from some woes in the sound department, the show came off without a hitch.  Glad to see Allen wrap her U.S. tour here in the NYC and I hope she had as much fun on stage and the sold-out crowd seemed to be having as they watched the show.

Godspeed!