LILY IN HOLLYWOOD
As the president of the Lily Allen Fan Club, Valley Glen Chapter, here's a quick report on her gig last night at the Henry Fonda Theatre in Hollywood: The girl can really sing, but she relied way to much on a backing vocal track that was more distracting than helpful. She did a way cool cover of the Specials' "Blank Expression." She wore a fairly large chai around her neck, which warms my Jewish heart. Her closing song, "Alfie," rips off, wholesale, the intro to one of my faves of all time, Sandie Shaw's "Puppet On a String," which I think is a very cool thing. My companion for the evening, the esteemed Steve Hochman, astutely noted that she should sing the theme for the next James Bond film, which I think is a fine idea.

Mostly, though, my doubts about Lily's pontential short shelf life I believe are unfounded. When she strayed from the teeny-bop nasty-girl ska that's been her calling card, she showed some real depth and potential. Stay tuned kiddies, and buy that album. It's called "Alright, Still."