​THE dark diva of disaffected pop didn't let a little thing like

laryngitis detract from her performance as she dominated the stage at

Plymouth Pavilions on Saturday night.

If anything, Lily Allen's illness added to her act, the moments when

her voice cracked and when she had to stop to take a drink matching her

on stage persona of human vulnerability beneath a gritty, determined

front.

At times perhaps the hour-long show lacked energy, but whether this was

down to a sore throat or was just an understated Allen drawing the

crowd closer for a more intimate show isn't clear. It was enjoyable nonetheless.

Overall it was the well-worn classics from her two albums where she

didn't always sparkle, and maybe it was a little familiarity with the

material rather than anything else.

At other points she was up, full of power and passion and belting out

pure emotion - particularly when she covered tracks such as The Kooks

Naive, and the Kaiser Chiefs Oh My God. You could see then she was

enoying it as much as the crowd.

One of the most high-energy moments saw Allen tackle rap-battle master

Professor Green head to head in a version of Just Be Good To Me.

Brilliant!

The crowd had to wait an extra half hour for Allen to take to the

stage, and the whole thing was done just over an hour later, but she

crammed a lot in.

All the familiar tracks from the two albums were there, from Smile and

LDN to 22 and Littlest Things, as well as some of the album tracks that

haven't made radio play but are perhaps all the better for it.

At the start of the gig Allen was almost patrolling the stage, walking

up and down as if trying to personally sing to as much of the audience

as possible.

Impressive lighting, a well-practised band and excellent use of video helped this petite pop princess fill the auditorium.

But even when she stopped moving, such as sitting on the steps to sing

Littlest Things at the start of the second half, she still knew how to

fill the crowd's hearts.

Each track, whether it was a vitriolic attack or a heart-achingly beautiful ballad, was met with rapturous applause.

There were hands in the air, dancing and even singing along as Allen

engaged with her fans, even handing out pints of Guinness (claiming

there were 88 on each rider) while she sang a Ronson-esque funked up

version of Oh My God.

The final track of the main set was packed with power, and everyone was

up and singing along as she blew us all away with The Fear, an anthem

for the Naughties that everyone felt as they chanted along.

But the main energy was saved for the encore, where Allen came on

having ditched her gyspy dress and tousled hair for a punk T-shirt and

a hair-up crop.

She blasted out Britney's Womaniser, then got everyone up on their feet

for two more tracks finishing with Not Fair, which the whole auditorium

loved (though maybe the women a little more than the men).

After once through Not Fair was taken up-tempo into a

hard-house/electro rock mix reminscent of Pendulum, a perfect

high-energy end.

Overall, hugely entertaining and well paced with tracks to make you

smile, make you dance or make you want to hug this consumate

entertainer. A thoroughly enjoyable show that left you wanting more.