O2 Academy Brixton // London, England // 12 March, 2019
By Rachael Dowd
Growing rapidly in popularity over the past few years, LANY finally brought their 2019 world tour to London last week. Playing the prestigious O2 Academy Brixton, the sold-out show of nearly 5,000 screaming fans marked a true milestone moment in LANY’s career, showing just how far and how much their music has impacted people around the world.
Kicking off their set with a countdown that helped to intensify the suspense and anticipation felt throughout the venue, LANY opened the night up with “Thick and Thin,” one of their most popular tunes, a performance that was almost completely overtaken by the screams of their fans.
As their biggest headlining tour to date, LANY brought their all to the O2 Academy Brixton and one thing they did not skip out on were the stage visuals. For the whole performance, the stage visuals and screens that illuminated behind the band put the audience in a trance, each song offering different colours and images that helped to enhance each moment in the set.
“Made In Hollywood,” off of 2015’s Make Out EP, was a highlight moment of the night. All of those diehard LANY fans in the building that have followed the band for the past few years were dying to hear the song and an explosion of energy seemed to beam off of the audience once the opening chords rang through the speakers. By the end of the song, vocalist Paul Klein had jumped down and walked along the barricade before throwing his body into the crowd for a momentous crowd surf that raised the energy levels in the O2 Academy Brixton to an all-time high.
“I Don’t Wanna Love You Anymore,” off of 2018’s Malibu Nights, was another true highlight performance. With Klein seated behind a piano, the crowd was singing so loud, it was like LANY had their own personal choir, most fans in the venue losing it when the lyrics “I remembered us in London, your chocolate-covered eyes” came around in the song.
With an 18-song setlist, LANY played songs that covered each of their releases, an aspect that pleased both new and old fans that were in attendance that night. Songs off of their 2017 self-titled album, the release that helped skyrocket them and their music around the world, brought some of the loudest reactions especially during “The Breakup” that was played towards the end of the performance. Some fans were crying, some were laughing out of happiness to finally be hearing the song live, but collectively, their voices rose well above that of Klein’s who held his microphone out to the crowd for most of the song.
Other tracks played in the set were “Pink Skies”, “Hericane” and “Super Far”, Klein returning to the piano for “Malibu Nights”, giving an emotionally-charged stripped-down performance that left many in the venue that night with tears in their eyes. With the sound of the fans’ voices echoing off of the walls, the band disappeared behind the dimly lit visuals of a starry sky, seemingly handing off the performance to the audience to make their own.
Closing out the night with “ILYSB”, LANY proved as to why they have been able to grow so rapidly in popularity over the past few years. With a live performance that offers moments to sing at the top of your lungs, dance and even cry, it also requires a lot of fan participation, adding an extra element that makes LANY sets so unique to their fanbase and music.
As they continue on their world tour and get their name and music out there for the world to hear, it wouldn’t surprise me if this time next year they are doing headlining arena tours, venues like Wembley’s The SSE Arena not feeling that far out of reach for the American band.
