Lily Allen- O2, Dublin
Day one of the extended Luas line to the O2 – a red letter day for the Dublin transport system. Combine it with Lily Allen at the venue, part of her largest headline tour to date, and the atmosphere on the tram is certainly a celebratory one. Lily’s acerbic lyrics and tales of relationship woe obviously strike a chord with the female masses of the city as the Luas is packed with stiletto-heeled ladies clutching cans of cider and singing ‘Fuck You’. This is before the gig has even started.
Once ensconced in the 02 we can see that the crowd is a little more mixed than the journey suggested. Amidst all the vindicated young women there are a few bored boyfriends, middle-aged couples and quite strangely lots of young kids with their parents. When Lily finally emerges in thigh high boots and cowboy(ish) hat she launches into ‘Everyone’s At It’ swiftly followed by ‘I Could Say’ and ‘Never Gonna Happen’. At this point she looks a little dwarfed by the stage as she dances around the vast space on her own. After a bit of banter she introduces ‘Oh My God’ and appears to relax a little and settles into the set.
Since this a much bigger venue to her last visit Lily announces that she gets much more money for this gig and has asked for a keg of Guinness as a result, she then proceeds to pull pints at the side of the stage and offer them out to the nearest audience members. Professor Green makes a cameo appearance for a duet, before she finishes off with a raucous trio of ‘Smile’, ‘The Fear’ and ‘Womanizer’. Returning after an outfit change she says hello to her small cousins in the audience who know the next song as ‘Banana You’, dedicates it to Thierry Henry to much applause and cheering as the crowd happily sings along to ‘Fuck You’ before the night is rounded off with the ladies’ favourite ‘Not Fair’. All in all a triumphant gig in a dauntingly large venue.
Photos: Claire Weir
Stunning photos!
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