SWG3, 15/3/19
Los Angeles based trio LANY brought a perfect taste of California to Glasgow’s SWG3 on Friday. After seeing them perform in the QMU back in 2017, this is a gig I’ve been excited for since buying the tickets, and clearly this same excitement was held by the sold out crowd who screamed back every lyric without fail.
What was apparent from the beginning was lead singer Paul Klein’s newfound confidence, as he owned both the stage and crowd with his intimate eye contact and personal interactions, making the night feel like a truly lived experience. As they perform love song after love song the crowd is transported into a haze of emotion. Throughout the gig Klein praised the eager crowd and looked genuinely grateful for everyone’s support, making the night full of love and admiration.
The band perfectly fused electric dance numbers, like ‘Thick and Thin’ and ‘Good Girls’, with piano driven songs like ‘Malibu Nights’ and ‘Valentine’s Day’ (these songs always resulting in me crying). The crowd was a real mixture of people, and it was refreshing to see teenage girls as well as men in their 20s and older belting out every lyric to the band’s undeniably brilliant love songs. All this made the room feel like a safe place to let your hair down and feel all kinds of emotions.
The recent single, ‘If You See Her’, was an absolute standout as LANY demonstrated their skills in crafting catchy and relatable love songs whilst also highlighting Klein’s magnetic stage presence. He was never still, instead jumping off speakers and hanging into the crowd, providing an energy unlike any other.
The sheer brilliance of LANY is that they have switched the stereotypical, gendered roles of love and heartbreak by placing themselves as the part of the “girl with the broken heart”. Klein’s admission that “right now I can’t see nothing through these tears” perfectly encompasses what LANY are about and what fans love about them; the three guys, Paul, Les and Jake, don’t shy away from dealing with the intense emotions that come with heartbreak. Hence, their show was empowering and appealing to their diverse audience.
LANY never forget their throwbacks either, throwing ‘Made in Hollywood’ and ‘4EVER!’ into the mix, resulting in a sense of nostalgia for the crowd as well as evidently for Klein himself. Therefore, ending on ‘ILYSB’, a song pivotal for their growth, was the perfect choice for such a nostalgic, emotion-driven performance.
If their gig at SWG3 is anything to go by, LANY will only continue to impress and gain success. I had their lyrics stuck in my head for hours after and their songs now hit even deeper after experiencing them live (something I didn’t think was possible). If you get the chance, definitely go see LANY because they are truly like no other.
[Grace Richardson – @headcarz]
[Image credit: LANY Live in Singapore – Hype & Stuff]
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