“I’ve been away for a little while,” Lily Allen said during her show at Riviera Theatre on Tuesday. “I’ve had kids and [stuff].” If fans at her concert didn’t know about her five-year hiatus during which she got married and had two children, then the scores of light-up baby bottles scattered around the stage as well as Allen’s between-song banter would’ve clued them in. And though she’s spent a half-decade mostly out of the spotlight, her return to Chicago showcased that she’s gained more spunk and sassiness in the interim.
One of Allen’s charms lies in her ability to spit wittily worded venom juxtaposed in catchy pop. Few could turn a chorus of “[Expletive] you, [expletive] you very, very much” hailing from a song slamming George W. Bush into a sweetly melodic and joyful audience-as-choir anthem as she did at the Riv. And while some material on her recent third album, “Sheezus,” doesn’t hit that brash-sweet-wry mark of her earlier work in the same cheekily disarming way, she was convincing in the live setting. She also showcased her versatility as a singer and songwriter, sprinkling Caribbean influences, R&B (“Close Your Eyes”), dance, hip-hop and country touches throughout her set.
Backed by a four-piece band and with dancers joining in for several songs, Allen hit the stage in a sparkly jacket emblazoned with “USA” across it to deliver her return-to-the-pop-world song, “Sheezus.” The lyric’s seeming jabs on chart-reigning pop stars – Beyonce, Lady Gaga and Lorde among them – came off less as disses and instead proved she had a seat at the table with her charismatic demeanor and tongue-in-cheek delivery. The dancy “URL Badman,” was another new tune highlight. Its derisive lyrics took Internet trolls to task, as well as a laundry list of music websites and personalities, including Pitchfork and Kanye West, both of whom she called out during her stage banter. Some of her newer material and repartee crossed into over-sharing (she explained “L8 CMMR,” a song about she and her husband’s relations) but coupled with her infectious giggles it was all in good, campy fun.
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Her early material, such as “The Fear” and “Smile” were fan favorites and show standouts, but it was her two-song encore that best displayed one of Allen’s biggest strengths. She first rapped a cover of Ty Dolla $ign’s objectifying song “Or Nah” before sliding into her own female empowerment tune, “Hard Out Here.” Once again, she gets the clever final say.