The best nights always seem to end with the chill midnight air of Denver as I walk out of a concert venue with X’s on my hands and wristbands on my arms. This scenario is not uncommon for me and out of all the concerts I go to, LANY did not disappoint. In fact, their show was one of the best ones I’ve been to.
LANY are a trio based out of Los Angeles, including Paul Klein, Jake Goss and Les Priest and are nothing shy of dreamy. The word “dream” is even in their genre. They’ve been called many different genres, but “dream pop” is the best one I’ve heard. Their songs take you to the beaches under the sun or Sunset Boulevard if you listen to “Bad, Bad, Bad” enough, but their home shines through all their songs. They are California in a band and everything I could ever ask for when I want tunes to cruise around town with.
Paul Jason Klein of LANY during “Bad, Bad, Bad”.
They came to the Bluebird theater in Denver on Oct. 2 and I have changed ever since. I knew the second the tour dates dropped that I’d be front and center (which is mostly true). I bought my ticket with stars in my eyes and couldn’t wait for the day to roll around.
I waited in line for six hours, which is nothing compared to other shows I’ve waited out in the sun for. Denver was 80 degrees, which doesn’t seem too bad until the sun is directly on you and you’re in all black. Needless to say, I got hella sunburned but it paid off to be right behind one person from the stage, but still close enough to touch the lead singer (which believe me, I did). When the show started and the opening band, Transviolet came on, I was elated. Though they were good, I just remember feeling so anxious for LANY that the butterflies in my stomach felt like a herd of elephants.
It was 8:45 p.m., the lights went down and the intro to “4EVER!” started; I could only freeze and feel sick out of nerves and excitement. “4EVER!” is one of my favorite LANY songs so I was living for this moment. Les and Jake come out first, then I see Paul with his natural curls that always look flawless and I just smiled. When Paul gets to the microphone, I can see nothing but him and I’ve never been more at peace. He looks down in my direction to see I’m singing my heart out, of course, then waves at me while he laughs. Right then I knew, this show is going to be a good one.
Paul being cute in “4EVER!”
They go into “yeah, babe, no way”, “WHERE THE HELL ARE MY FRIENDS” and everything is so good, then “Bad, Bad, Bad” starts. Paul is grabbing fans’ hands and singing to them and I remember sticking my hand out and he hi-fived it, which was enough for me…for that moment.
More songs are played and leave me in a blissful state, until they began to play “Made in Hollywood”. Paul lays on the stage with his hair within my arm’s reach. Maybe it’s weird of me, but I ran my fingers through it, taking the opportunity I had and running with it. I took some photos and continued to sing along. At the very end of the song, he’s grabbing hands again and finally, he holds mine. It was maybe five seconds, but it felt like years. This is the connection I live for at concerts. I love feeling like I’m a part of the music I love so much. I couldn’t believe he actually took the time to hold my hand as he finished out the song.
Fast forward to “current location”, their last song before the encore and Paul turns to his piano that’s set on top of his box that says “LOVE SUCKS SOMETIMES” and I can only stare in awe. He looks my way a few times and I realize how important these moments are to me and how I’ll never see their songs the same way after this night.
They play the encore and the front row hands Paul roses during “ILYSB” and the crowd is so in love with LANY and each other and I can only think about the sense of joy and peace this band has brought me. The show lasted ten minutes it seemed, but it had been an hour and a half. I wasn’t ready to let them go. When they walked off stage, I turned to my friend and sighed as the lights came up. All I could say was, “that was too quick.”
We went outside, the air cooler than it was before and waited. We waited 30 minutes then Paul came out. It was rushed, but I hugged him and said, “how are you?” He told me “good! Let’s take a picture!” I took my picture and he said, “is that good?” then just like that, he was gone. Though I didn’t get a chance to thank him and the rest of the band for being such an important part of my life, I couldn’t help but smile and head to my car for the long drive home. On the way home, my car was blasting their songs and I was wearing a grin the whole two hours back to Wyoming, running on adrenaline, even though I had to be up in six hours for class.
The night may have ended faster than I could blink, but as I continue to think about that night, I can’t believe that this is my life. I spend so much time listening to LANY in my car, on Spotify, on my phone on the way to class, work or basically anywhere I can and I got to experience it live. I will not forget the way Paul treated me like I was important or how the songs sound live or the people I met that night that made me feel like I belonged. LANY is a must-see if you haven’t already. The second they announce more tour dates, I’m going to more than one, there’s not a doubt in my mind.
Paul stopping for a picture with me after I nearly missed him because it was so rushed.