Getting Intimate With Lany — Tape and Glue Magazine

On November 13,2016 Los-Angeles based trio Lany blessed Austin,TX by bringing their Kinda Tour to Antone's Nightclub.

I arrived to the venue at around 5:30pm and was surprised to see a line of teenage girls wrapped around the building and halfway down the block. I made my way to the front entrance where I was greeted by venue staff, all clearly stressed and slightly amazed by the turnout. To be completely honest, I didn't understand it myself.

Putting it all out there, I am somewhat of a fraud. Before Sunday's show, I only knew a handful of Lany songs, and an even smaller number I confidently knew the words to. I had no idea that this relatively unknown band (that doesn't even have a full album out yet) had such a massive following.

The venue staff led me into the lobby where they told me all about the intensity of the fans outside. There were fans that had been there since 9pm the night before, not even daring to move from their post without having a relief to save their spot. Girls had been rotating in the same position for hours upon hours, all in hopes of being right up front for their favorite band. The staff were clearly out of their element, discussing amongst each other how to control the crowd coming into the venue as well as for the meet and greet set for after the show.

About 15 minutes before the floodgates were opened, I was escorted along with a few other photographers into the room. I found a perfect spot in the front and prepared myself for the show- saying a silent prayer that I wouldn't be trampled by the 400 teenage girls that were waiting outside.

At 8 o'clock on the dot, the opening band, Transviolet, took the stage. I am genuinely saddened by the fact that I didn't listen to them before the show. The lead singer performed with such conviction and a passion that was almost tangible. They performed as if they were singing to a crowd of thousands, while still maintaining such a strong engagement with the audience that at some points it felt as if I were the only person in the room (although, during one song, she was almost nose-to-nose with me while singing and I have never wanted to jump out of my own skin any more...... it was the most intense experience, y'all).

After Transviolet's set, a soundtrack of Michael Jackson's greatest hits filled the room- building the excitement until finally, the lights dimmed and a video of Whitney Houston singing The Star Spangled Banner appeared on the screen, which, according to the girls around me, is a signature start to any Lany show.

Once Lany took the stage, it was automatically clear why these girls were so galvanized. The opening chords of 4ever! began and the room was flooded with screams and greeted with a wide grin from lead singer Paul Klein whose presence overwhelmed the stage and immediately set the high-energy tone for the evening. This was my first no-barricade show and let me tell you, it's EVERYTHING. I am a massive fan of smaller venues, but the lack of space between the stage and the crowd was a whole new experience. The intimacy of this show is what made it so special, with Paul addressing the audience as his family and assuring everyone that it was ok to dance and sing as openly as they want.

Lany's Where The Hell Are My Friends is by far my favorite song off of their multiple EPs and was undoubtedly one of my favorites of the night. The energy level in the room was at its peak by the third song and not a single person was standing still (literally, even the parents in the back were bopping). I even unleashed my signature drunk-grandpa-at-a-barbecue dance moves and sang along to every word- relishing in the fact that I was less than a foot away from the band, who were enjoying it every bit as much as I was.

In the middle of the set, fans brought out multicolored balloons, beach balls, and glowsticks, sending them around the venue- a few even landing on the stage for the band to throw back playfully. This coupled with the impressive light-show created a contradictory experience. On one hand, it felt as if we were all in the band's garage listening to our friends play some of their music (not too far off, given the band's DIY beginnings), where on the other we were witnessing the beginning of something polished, professional, and extraordinary. Paul danced, and held hands with his adoring fans, even saying hello and serenading some lucky fans at home by grabbing the phones of girls who were facetiming with their friends during their favorite songs.

The best moment of the night for me, however, was not one that I was expecting. Towards the end of the show, Paul took to his piano (that was literally right in front of me, like if I turned my head too fast I could have surely hit my nose on it) and performed a song called Walk Away. I will try to do my best to describe how this all went down, but tbh I kind of left my body and went to space because I couldn't handle how personal and intimate this song felt. I was completely entranced. Maybe it was the fact that I held eye contact with Paul for a bit, or the proximity to everything, I don't know, but what I do know is that it was remarkable how someone who had once seemed enigmatic and out of reach was suddenly wide open, utterly vulnerable.

By the end, the stage was covered with roses, fan gifts and in my little corner, the polaroids I had taken throughout the show. They closed with ILYSB, a fan favorite, and maintained the same energy and passion that they started with, something I haven't seen out of a band in a while.

After the show, fans who purchased the band's tour-exclusive zine filled with images, hand-written lyrics, and even some art, all lined up for the meet and greet. I can't even begin to explain how freaking cool this is for a band to do, guys. For $10, fans not only got the zine (that had an exclusive presale code to download the new album for free), but got the chance to meet the band. I've been to my fair share of meet and greets, and I can say with absolute positivity that these guys are special. They didn't cut off the amount of people that were allowed this opportunity where as most artists would allow maybe 50-100, if they even offer a meet and greet in the first place. They met (from what I could see) maybe 300 fans, giving each one the time to say hello and chat for a second. When it was my turn, I handed Paul my zine and one of my polaroids to sign and he noted how I was right in front of his piano the whole time and the three of them collectively asked about the vintage Planet Hollywood jacket that I was wearing (see y'all, I told you it was cool!)

I encourage everyone to go and see this band during this tour, because I know with 100% certainty they're going places and this small tour will be one that everyone will look back on and wish they had the chance to be a part of.

You can catch me at Lany's next tour, probably camping outside with the other hundreds of girls.

- Marissa

P.S. thank you to Lany's manager and publicist for being crazy enough to give me a press pass. Thank you for being the first to take my little site seriously. I'll never forget it.