Under the hot lights and smoky air of the Cannery Ballroom on Wednesday night, LANY filled the 1,000 person room with bone-rattling bass and their California-centric love songs. Despite having just entered the music scene a little over two years ago, LANY has managed to enrapture audiences across the country and build a dedicated fanbase.
LANY’s set started at 9 p.m.
Fans, however, missed that memo.
Groups of girls could be spotted before noon camping out for a front row view of Paul Klein and his fabulous hair, enduring one of the first chilly days of Nashville’s fall for the chance to see their favorite band up close and personal.
When doors opened at 7 p.m., girls clad in ripped jeans, ankle boots and LANY merchandise rushed to the barricade, where they stayed firmly planted through the entire show, eyes glued to the band’s every move.
LANY was born right here in Nashville, as Klein was proud to announce to the crowd, but the songs ring out lyrics about sunsets in Malibu and falling in love on the West Coast.
To start the set, the band played their song “4Ever!,” followed by “yea babe, no way.” Klein’s energy as he threw himself around the stage was matched by the audience yelling the lyrics back to him with their hands – and cell phones – waving in the air. Even the men who were begrudgingly dragged by their girlfriends to the show cracked smiles at the love songs, and teenage fans danced their hearts out to the third song on the set.
The band played a 15-song setlist straight through, only pausing once to introduce themselves to the audience. Paul Klein, lead singer, Jake Goss, drummer, and Les Priest – who, according to Klein, is the best kept secret of Nashville and a former employee of the Belmont post office. All three men are former Belmont students and formed LANY while living in a small house in Nashville.
LANY used both their music and their manufactured aesthetic to capture a distinctly California feeling for their show. During their song “like you lots,” screens onstage showed images of Cadillacs by the Pacific Ocean and sunsets over Malibu beaches. With the colorful imagery and dreamy pop sound, the band managed to transport the audience to sunny Los Angeles for the three-and-a-half minute song. Fan-favorite “pink skies” was naturally accompanied by hazy pink lights and a soft blurry image of the skyline over Point Dume beach.
After roughly an hour-long set, LANY ended the night with the hit “ILYSB,” which the audience crooned back with scratchy voices and captivated eyes. Klein, Goss and Priest threw their arms around each other for a final bow before the lights went out for the night on the stage of the Cannery Ballroom.
Article and photo by Emily Allen.