LANY Captivates O2 Academy

Photo credit: Anna Lee Media.

Last Tuesday night,American indie-pop trio LANY the Bristol captivated the O2 Academy audience with hypnotic tracks . The intimate but popular venue was filled with fans of all ages who had queued around the block for almost an hour prior to entering the venue. Strains of various LANY songs and snippets of lyrics could be heard while passing through the long line. As the venue began to fill, the crowd buzzed with excitement, hyped by the flashing screens and bass-heavy house music coursing through the room.

After a rousing appearance by London-based opener Colouring, the lights shut off and younger fans on the floor started screaming. The three members of LANY traipsed out onto the stage to rousing applause. After a quick greeting, the trio launched into their popular song Dumb Stuff. Over the next 90 minutes, fans young and old remained mesmerized by LANY’s synth-laden beats and emphatic lyrics. All of the tracks were accompanied by coordinated light displays from the screens hanging behind the stage. Flowers on the Floor featured footage of flowers opening and closing behind the band. In other songs, the drum beat was mirrored by flashing multicolored lights, smoke, or even multiple clocks counting down the time on the stage backsplash.

Energetic front man and lead singer Paul Klein kept the crowd transfixed and engaged throughout the set, even during the slower songs. He frequently reached into the crowd of screaming fans, trusting them with his full weight. Later, he grabbed a handheld video camera and filmed the crowd while he continued to sing. This footage was projected live on the screens behind the band and this instant gratification lent itself to further audience participation. When not directly interacting with the audience, he would dance and jump around the stage, using pieces of the set as podiums on which to dance. Throughout the set, Paul would speak to the crowd, talking about LANY and asking for the fans to sing along or trade off lyrics during certain songs, all as multicolored lights continued to flash and pulse on and off stage.

After their hour and a half set, the trio loped off stage to massive applause. The lights stayed dark and the crowd vibrated with energy, anticipating an encore. Quickly coaxed back by the crowd response, LANY returned to the stage to close out the show with Super Far and ILYSB, the latter of which was accompanied by flashing lyrics behind the band. LANY managed to entrance audience members of all ages with their hypnotic songs and accompanying light show, emphasizing the relationship between lead singer Paul and the crowd.