LA’s premier indie pop band LANY took over Enmore Theatre on Sunday night, with pop sensation Robinson on support.

When New Zealand-born Robinson walked out on stage, you wouldn’t have known she was the supporting act. She commanded the stage with such a strong presence; arms stretched out and a wide power stance. The only issue with her set was that a few times her foldbacks weren’t loud enough and she couldn’t hear herself (you could tell by her increasingly less discreet hand movements, and slightly strained facial expressions). She managed to recover from this on multiple occasions. Robinson gave us a beautiful rendition of Springsteen’s ‘I’m On Fire’ and ended with her popular dance track ‘Nothing to Regret’. 

After transitioning the stage to a split-level setup, the back wall went static and an electronic countdown began. LANY beginning their set in this way – with animated, bright, electronic backgrounds - was totally foreshadowing what was to come. Lead singer Paul Klein remained on the lower level, sometimes moving to a higher box for a chorus or two, and also moving to his keyboard. Drummer Jake Goss, guitarist Les Priest and new touring member Giuliano Pizzulo (Jules) all remained on the upper level for the set’s entirety.

LANY’s whole set was visually beautiful, and kept audience’s interest through some of their lesser known songs. During ‘Taking Me Back’, the lyrics actually appeared behind the band in a karaoke-style fashion, which cleverly aided the audience to participate and sing along. For their hit single ‘Super Far’ the music video played behind them. In the same fashion, ‘Pink Skies’ was sung in front of a literal sunset - making the lyrics all the more real. 

Between the split-level situation and large-scale graphics, it felt like you were at a bigger venue than Enmore Theatre. This was significant because while the venue still felt intimate, the energy level was lifted to that of a grandstand stadium. LANY bring an energy to the stage that is addictive. The majority of their tracks are synthesised and boppy, with each chord inviting you to nod your head and move your shoulders. All the band members are incredibly talented, and LANY produce high quality sounds, interesting chords and unique arrangements for each song.

However, it’s the band’s frontman Paul who steals the show every time. His voice is crisp and angelic, and he could definitely flex this, but he remains humble and quirky - which is super endearing. Each song he whips out the daggy dance moves and with each grapevine or dab, he becomes a little more human, and a little more relatable.

LANY’s energy is impressive on any occasion, but the fact that this was their 80th-plus show this year (in a massive world tour) made it all the more admirable. I thought this concert was in my all-time top three shows. I was entranced the whole time, to the point that I couldn’t pick a ‘fluff’ song to go to the bathroom or get a drink. There just weren’t any. This was the second time I’d seen them, and I would do it a third in a heartbeat. 

Rachel is a music, book and chai latte enthusiast studying Arts/Education. You can usually find her searching for the perfect gluten free feed, listening to Spotify (unaware of how loud she's singing along), or watching Netflix with her pup Winston.