Concert Review: LANY Show The Power Of Pop At Webster Hall
LANY are a pop trio ready for stardom, in part, because of their lead singer Paul Jason Klein. Mr. Klein represents the sheer power a lead vocalist can hold over his audience, and why “bieber fever” swept millions around the world. With one sway of his hips or emotional note, Klein had the entire audience at his feet.
Last night, LANY played their biggest NYC show yet, at Webster Hall. The concert was packed beyond belief, and all eyes were on stage as if to move them anywhere else would be sin. The greatest part of this concert, for me, was realizing what fanaticism is by watching Klein go into the audience and seeing them welcome him like a piece of pure gold has been thrown it. As he serenaded fans and partially crowd surfed, people were eager just to get a high- five from this pop crooner. Moreover, Klein was eager to show the love back as he was completely moved and conscious of how big a deal it was for him to have Webster Hall packed.
Webster Hall is a major concert hall for youth, and Millennials lined to hear LANY’s surfy-pop. This L.A. based band is the epitome of California “good vibes”. From their accents to their demeanors, which had the usually “on-the-go” New York crowd enamored by their wavy, chilled personalities. It was as if their music was a giant wave to surf over the crowd, and it certainly did. Their songs had the perfect blend of tranquility and adrenaline. On one hand, they can make you feel like you are dancing under a beach cabana, while, in the other, they make you feel like you have pulled a chair on the sand and decided to lie out in the mist of nature. Either way, LANY’s sound was made for sunny days, which explains why they were so welcomed in New York’s cold chilly night.
Maybe it was the crowd or maybe it is that LANY is like a modernized version of the “boy band”, but their concert was a huge success. As you can see from my 1975 review, there is a new rise of talented, artful boy bands that bring more of depth and adult coolness to this once “kitschy term”. Through synthetic compositions and leading men that draw on 1950’s definitions of “manly swag”, these bands have created a cult following, that even with little radio airplay, guarantees them sold-out shows at Madison Square Garden or Barclays Center. Although LANY has yet to headline these locations, by next year, they will. Their Webster Hall performance showed that they can takeover a crowd, and help them escape the routine of life through the excitement of music.
Whether it was a sly, swift placing of his hoodie over his head or just a still glare into the stage lights, Klein was the physical embodiment of pop glory. He had the euphoric crowd in the palm of his hands. As an onlooker it was fascinating, and well-warranted because LANY has some really great music. Jake Clifford Goss on drums and Les Priest on everything else, as Klein stated, have created a sound that is contagious and rhythmically charming. For More Information on LANY Click Here.
