Lany
31st June 2022
Shed 10, Auckland, New Zealand.
Review by Alexis Brook. Photography by Brenna Gotje.
It’s been a while since LANY last visited NZ, but last night at Shed10 they had the crowd hanging off every word as they completed the first tour leg promoting their new album “gg bb xx” – a tour of many dates which is scheduled to end this September at home in the USA.
Warming up the chilling evening hailing from Adelaide was Braeden McKee, or as he is known on stage – Bjéar, who played a smooth blend of ethereal storytelling songs that the fresh from work and university crowd soaked up like a sponge in the wet Auckland evening. Bjear has toured with LANY for the entire leg so-far and tonight felt a little like a family farewell. Recent single “Hymn” is quite cathartic and soothing. I’m definitely going to be looking into his catalogue more.
The darkness of the shed reminded me of the old boiler room gigs, crowds sardined in as close to the artists as they could, dancing the night away. Kudos to the engineering team for a well-crafted intermission playlist. Coldplay’s ‘Yellow’ singalong crowd pleaser waiting for technical reset and the crowd screams as the red digits of a wall of alarm clocks ticks over like a strange airport arrival board as the band arrives to screams of delight.
Coordinating visuals with each song whether a wall of digital clocks counting down, or fluorescent backdrops displaying lyrics, ensuring whether you knew the songs or not you still had the opportunity to participate in large-volume karaoke as lead singer, Paul Klein paraded across the width of the stage, staring into the eyes (and camera phones) in the crowd. His energy is non-stop, and the band performs a polished set of 22 songs spanning their career much to everyone’s enjoyment.
Framing the mass of LANY enthusiasts were clusters of parents and chaperones, grooving along quietly as the band performed without any breaks or mid-set chatter. Just hit song after hit song taking all on a continuous journey through the rollercoaster repertoire of love, friendship, heartbreak and breakups. Recently, LANY experienced their own breakup, with founding member Les Priest stepping back to focus on other musical pursuits, however the touring musicians Puff Scarborough, and Kim Vi kept the crowd satisfied as Jake Goss pounded away on the drums, while Klein did his masterful crowd interactions as the band’s visual and vocal frontman.
It’s hard to not find yourself swaying along and tapping your toes to their formulaic catchy hooks, and it’s clear to see how easily the crowd remembers such lines and delightfully shouts back through the call and responses within the choruses, with their faces finding it difficult to choose to look through their phones making sure they’re recording every moment to watch with friends later. Towards the end of the set, Klein leaps into the front rows to commence a traditional crowd surf, however he ended up slipping down to stand in a circle of phone cameras pointed his way. Taking all in stride, he quickly returned to stage, where he shines, and all fans can get another glimpse.
Despite the rain falling on everyone as the evening ended, many choruses of “I Love You So Bad. I Love You” echoed across the waterfront and I’m certain many a lunchroom and lecture theatre was filled with happy hums this morning, recalling a great evening watching a very performance polished band.
Were you there at Shed 10 for this high energy pop gig? Or have you seen Lany perform live some other time? Tell us about it in the comments below!
Setlist:
- get away
- Thick and Thin
- Super Far
- cowboy in LA
- never mind, let’s break up
- I Don’t Wanna Love You Anymore
- heart won’t let me
- Hurts
- 13
- ex i never had
- pink skies
- up to me
- care less
- Hericane
- If You See Her
- dancing in the kitchen
- Thru These Tears
- Malibu Nights
- you! [encore]
- ILYSB [encore]
Note: Ambient Light was provided passes to review and photograph this concert. As always, this has not influenced the review in any way and the opinions expressed are those of Ambient Light’s only. This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase a product using an affiliate link, Ambient Light will automatically receive a small commission at no cost to you.
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