LANY Tour Diary: pt. 3

Photo Journal by Steve Day 

Kira Wilber // Orlando, FL 

Samantha Slot // Dallas, Austin + Houston, TX 

WOW. A word I probably said a million times over the course of three days. Three days spent driving across texas seeing my favorite band with a few of my favorite people. 

As everyone knows, LANY by LANY released 06/30/17. Everyday from that point until my first show date was spent singing & learning the words to the songs that i’d spend night after night dancing away to. Let me just be the one to say, HURTS LIVE IS LIKE NOTHING YOU’VE EVER EXPERIENCED BEFORE. The feeling of hearing Hericane, and Purple Teeth live, something I can’t even explain. You’ve just got to head to a LANY show & experience it for yourself. 

The entire production of this tour is something you can tell the boys have put so much time and effort into. From the lights, to the order of the set list, the MERCH. It’s all perfectly executed to make it a night you could never forget. 

The first night in houston, I was so excited to finally hear these new songs performed live, but crazy enough, I was just as ready for the show to be over. A wonderful friend of mine, most of us all know & love, amy, flew in from LONDON! for the texas shows. HOW CRAZY! 

We spent the next few days and nights all together, creating the most beautiful memories I hold in my heart. Ending our adventure in Dallas at a coffee shop, saying our goodbyes in the parking garage, Moments i’ll never forget. I would never trade this experience for anything, and I can’t wait to do it again. We documented a tiny piece of our trip, you can find the link to it somewhere on this page. I hope you enjoy watching our memories as much as I loved making them. All my love forever to this band & these people. XOXO

Carly Clayton // Dallas, Austin + Houston, TX 

The Lany boys are like family to me. I first saw Lany at the House of Blues in Houston in 2015. After discovering them on sound cloud I fell in love and just HAD to go. The show was so amazing that I decided to drive to the Austin show as well. Thats when traveling for Lany became a must for me. Since then I've been on the Makeout Tour, the Kinda Tour, Lany Part 1, and even drove to Alabama for Hangout Fest solely to see them perform. Lany on a beach? How could I miss that. The crowd is insane for Lany (in a good way). I've been lucky enough to have photographed them for as long as they have toured. It's crazy to see their improvement and mine as well. I am so proud of my boys. I remember when the iconic Lany album came out I was inside a Canes on my lunch break and I sobbed. I knew right there that Hericane, Hurts, and Purple Teeth were 3 songs I had to see live. On this tour I probably cried more than 10 times and my thighs hurt from dancing so much (sorry for anyone who had to see that). In Austin, TX on September 27th I went to my 13th Lany show with my friends Sam and Baker, so we got a 13 tattooed in Paul's handwriting on our wrists and it's one of my favorite tattoos by far. Lany has come from 3 songs on Soundcloud to 33 songs and being signed to Interscope records. They whole-heartedly deserve the world. 

Juliana Boldrin // New York City, NY 

Hi my name is Juliana, I’m 21 years old and I live in New York, but not the city. I’m writing to you from the Metro North railroad, in my LANY merch, on my way into what Paul refers to as “the greatest city in the world” recalling my thoughts and experiences over the last 2 years. It’s crazy to think about how such a “little” band has made such a huge impact on my life. 

The first time I came across LANY was by music recommended to me on Spotify in 2015. “Walk Away” was the first song I listened to and I fell in love immediately. That song will forever hold a special place in my heart. Since then I’ve seen LANY as the supporting act for Troye Sivan, as the headlining act for their very first tour; The Make Out Tour, as well as the Kinda Tour, the LANY Tour Pt. 1 and of course, most recently the LANY Tour Pt. 2. It has been an incredible journey watching this band grow, and growing with them. 

We live in a generation where social media can make an enormous impact on our lives without us even realizing the power of it. I had no idea how much my life would change after searching for “LANY fan accounts” on Twitter one day and following as many as I could find. Almost 2 years later, I consider most of the people attached to these accounts as my friends, whether we talk every day or haven’t really spoken at all, whether we’ve gotten the chance to meet in person yet or not, they are family to me. The LANY fam is truly one of a kind, filled with some of the most creative, loving, and talented people. (Not to mention, we are also hilarious) We share a special bond and connect with each other like no other, and it’s all because we come together online to support a band we love each and every day. 

At first LANY announced they were doing two nights at Irving Plaza in NYC and as if that wasn’t already gonna be wild enough they turned those two nights into three… and I knew I had to attend them all. Friday night’s show was the last to be announced but the most anticipated for me. Not only was this my first time seeing LANY since the debut album came out, but I was also going to meet two of my favorite twitter mutuals for the first time. Alyssa (@mykitchenlight) traveled by train from her college in upstate New York, while originally being from Colorado, and Noah (@noahxwitt) flew in all the way from Minnesota. It is the most incredible and surreal feeling to be able to have the opportunity to meet the friends you talk to online every day, in person. 

After waiting in line the entire day as per usual, we finally got inside and waited for the show to start. As the room quickly began to fill, I could feel the energy level rise. It’s one thing to watch the growth of a band online, but to see it in person is a wild experience. As someone who has been to every LANY show in New York, I was baffled by the amount of unfamiliar faces that the venue was consumed with.

Dagny opened the show with a bang and truly wowed me, along with everyone else in the crowd. I was pleasantly surprised with the amount of people in the room actually paying attention to her performance and jamming out instead of just blowing her off because she’s an opening act. She set the bar high and got the crowd pumped for the rest of the evening. Solid opener: 11/10 would recommend.

This show felt like a dream. It was hands down the happiest I’ve ever seen Paul, Les or Jake. The energy and the atmosphere in the room was at an all time high. Being able to finally see the new songs from the album come to life in front of me was the greatest experience. 

There is truly nothing that compares to the feeling you get when the screens light up with the pouring rain visual and the “Dumb Stuff” intro begins. Your heart races, your emotions escalate and you feel the happiest you’ve felt in a long time. If I could, I would choose to relive “Hurts” live every night for the rest of my life. That song goes off, Paul goes off, everything about it is perfect. 

Experiencing “Hericane” live is life changing. There’s so much power and emotion put into that song, it’s impossible for you not to feel something from it. Everyone in the room pours their hearts out while screaming along to the lyrics. Paul gives it his all with incredible vocals and an insane amount of emotion. The line “I know your heart hurts the most at 3am” is such a powerful lyric that I believe everyone can relate to and I could really feel that from the crowd during this performance.

Flowers on the Floor and Purple Teeth are perfect additions to the setlist this tour. High knees, roses flying through the air and smiles all around, these songs really brought the show together for the best vibes. 

WTHAMF was really special because it’s a song about not knowing where your friends are, and in that moment Alyssa and I realized that because of this band we really do have friends…and the two of us were finally standing right next to each other. We interlocked hands, threw them in the air and danced as hard as we could for the entirety of the song feeling nothing but pure happiness.

For Saturday nights show, it was the same routine as usual. Wait in line all day long to anticipate another one of the best nights of your life. I met so many people I knew from online at this show. It’s pure insanity the way the internet and a band can bring so many people together. 

I also got the opportunity to run the LIVELANY snapchat account created by Wendy (@WENDYFROMLA). I gave updates for both the Saturday and Sunday show and got to reach out to an audience of around 800 people around the world.

One of the best moments was when we were waiting for doors to open and we could faintly hear LANY sound checking through the wall. We all got really quiet trying to figure out what song it was and pretty much fell to the ground when we realized it was Bad, Bad, Bad.

Saturday’s nights show was just as incredible as Friday, if not better. LANY performed Bad, Bad, Bad a longtime favorite that everyone was dying to hear, as well as debuting their cover of Sign of the Times. The screams in the room were unreal as soon as the crowd realized what song was being performed. 

After the show, there was a huge crowd waiting to meet the boys outside and luckily I was able to get a quick hug and selfie from Paul before he had to leave. 

For Sunday nights show, I tried something I had never done with LANY before, and that was getting a VIP balcony ticket and arriving to the show at doors. This gave me such different outlook and experience on a LANY show. I got to see the wide variety of people who were in line for the show, including all ages and genders. 

Despite deep down being upset I wasn’t in the front, I still had an incredible experience viewing the show from the balcony. I got the full effect of the screen visuals and the stage production. Noah and I had the best time bopping out as hard as we could from up top and I’ll never forget how alive I felt. 

After the show I got to hug Paul again, talk quickly and get a photo with him which I’m extremely thankful for, because who knows how long he’ll be able to do that before skyrocketing into fame. 

My “weekend of LANY” was definitely the best weekend of my life and I will cherish the memories from those shows forever. LANY always has a way to make their shows feel intimate, like home, even though the sizes of the venues they play just keep getting bigger and bigger. Nothing can compare to the way a LANY show feels, the roses, the screens, the connection with the crowd and so much more. I couldn’t be more thankful for this band and for the experiences and friendships that have come out of supporting them. 

Until next time. 

Gracie Shanklin // Columbus, OH

Hello my name is Gracie Shanklin and these  are some pictures from the LANY concert Columbus! This concert was my 16th birthday present and it was such a moving experience. I’ve been to a lot of concerts the past year but this one was special. All summer long I listened to LANY and I felt such a love and connection for their music. Getting to be so close to the band and sing all their songs was so special to me. Their music has helped me through a lot so getting to hear the music live and being in a room full of positive and lovely energy was so amazing! Hearing ILYSB was my favorite because it’s one of the best songs I’ve ever heard. I brought my sister and my best friend and we danced and sang the entire night. I’m so thankful for LANY and this experience!! 

Baker Smith // Houston, TX 

Amy Mackenzie // Houston, Austin + Dallas TX

I first became a fan of LANY in October 2014 after hearing BRB in the background of a YouTube video I was watching and almost instantly, I was hooked. A year later the band then came to London to play a show which I went to and that evening I had this feeling that I was involved in something very special that is very hard to try and articulate and attach words that mean quite enough to explain it. I became quite involved online, chatting to other fans over Twitter as none of my friends at university had the same interest that I did. When chatting to people, we always talked and joked about how it would be so cool if we could all go to a show together but naturally, with majority of them being from the United States and me being from England, we would have to pull off something big for this to ever happen! 

Fast forward to 1 May, 2017 and LANY announce the North American dates for Part Two of their tour. I quickly scan down the dates and notice that they are playing a show on 27th September – my birthday, and more specifically my 21st birthday. A lightbulb goes off in my head and I think that it would be incredible if I was able to travel to see LANY across their three shows in Texas, see them on my birthday and meet some friends that I have chatted to for years. I get planning and before I know it, flights are booked and it’s official, I am going to see LANY on my 21st birthday on the other side of the world with some of my dearest friends. 

September finally comes and I find myself at Heathrow Airport sitting on a flight to Houston. As soon as I touch down I rush off the plane, just wanting to get to the venue and see the boys. I arrive at the venue and go find my friends in the queue, after greeting each other, we go and get coffee to help me try and tackle the jet lag that is creeping up on me. 

We got into the venue after what seemed like a very long day (I had woken up at 7am in England and it was now 7pm in Houston with a 6-hour time difference!!) Before I ran to the barrier, I quickly went across to the merch table to go say hi to Steve who was understandably a little shocked to see me there! I went back to the barrier to join my friends and waited for Dagny to grace us with her presence on stage and my goodness did she do that!!! I had seen her earlier in the summer at a festival in England so was really looking forward to seeing her again and she absolutely blew my socks off! Finally, the time had come…the lights dimmed…the rain sounds started to trickle into my ear drums…Jake walked on stage…then Les…and then Paul appeared…THIS IS LANY! The show was beyond incredible, listening to all the songs off the new album thrust them into having a whole new meaning and personal attachment. The highlights of this show were definitely Paul spotting me during Flowers on the Floor and saying “hello Amy” mid song which was totally unexpected and then during Made in Hollywood when he jumped down into the audience he came and gave me an extra hug! After this show, I went to the back to meet up with some of the other people who I knew would be at the show which was such an overwhelming experience. It is very hard to explain what it is like to feel like you know someone so well but never have met them up to that point – it is a feeling I will never be able to forget but will also probably never be able to articulate. After the show, we waited for Paul to come outside so we could say a quick “hi” but this lasted a lot longer than I would have ever expected him to be able to spend with us. He stood and chatted to me for such a long time which was so special and we saw in my birthday together as I was with him across midnight which was a super cool experience and something I did not think would happen.

The next show was in Austin and this was my actual birthday. The day was pretty chilled but when we started to queue up in a more formal manner, I saw Carly, Sam and Elisa walking towards me with a cake and the whole queue started singing happy birthday to me. They gave me a card and some presents and then showed me a personalised Snapchat filter that they had made for me for the show. The show itself was again spectacular and it made me realise how grateful I was to LANY for giving me so many opportunities to see the world, meet new people and enjoy music. After this show we went outside and again waited for Paul to greet the crowd waiting which he thankfully did and we had another lovely conversation. 

The next day was the show in Dallas so we drove there and I had decided that for this show I wanted to just dance around at the back with my friends and not worry about being at the front. This lent itself towards a much more relaxed day where I was able to explore Dallas and hang out with more friends. At this point I was able to meet some other friends who I had spoken to for a long time. During the afternoon, we decided to go for coffee and walked into the coffee shop and saw Les sitting having a drink. He called us over and we had a very small conversation which was so lovely and I appreciated it so much because I did not get to chat to him the time before that I had seen them. During the show, I was able to see LANY in the way that so many other people see them, with space to move and a full view of the stage. That show was my 14th time seeing the boys and that was the first time I had ever not been front row. This helped me to appreciate everything the boys put into a show from the graphics, to the lights to the effort they give every. single. night. In that moment I was transported back to the first time I ever saw them and the feeling of ‘I’m in something special’ came rushing back. 

This trip was absolutely the best possible way for me to spend my 21st birthday and I could not have planned it to play out any other way. I want to say a massive thank you to every single person who I met on the trip and those I knew previously. LANY are three very special individuals surrounded by very special crew members and whatever part they play in our lives, they are loved, adored and deserve every single piece of success and love they are gaining.   

Anna Wilson // Columbus, OH

Amilee Nuzzo // Chicago, IL 

My name is Amilee, I'm currently 17 years old and a senior in high school. I discovered LANY my freshman year back in 2014. I think the first song of theirs I'd ever listened to was Made In Hollywood. The guys came to Chicago a couple times but I never had the chance to get tickets to see them. Tickets went on sale for The LANY Tour: Part 2 and I knew I had to go. After three years of waiting I finally got to see my favorite guys and it was the best night of my life. I warned my friend that we would be going downtown early so we could camp out, I needed to get close. We got to the House of Blues right around 10 am, when security was letting people begin camping out. My friend Lizzie and I were about 40th in line if I could guess. I could barely eat I was so excited. After the 8 hours of waiting, doors opened and I got a feeling I don't think I've ever known before. Lizzie ran to get us a good spot while I went to the merch table as quick as I could (I immediately regretted not taking a picture with Steve). We were third row and instantly made friends with all the people around us. Dagny came on at 7 and she was absolutely incredible. The boy standing next to me told me that "She stole your look! There can only be one tall girl with bangs." After her set we waited for another half hour or so. I heard the introduction and the rain at the start of Dumb Stuff started. My heart literally stopped. The energy of the room shifted and everyone was beyond hyped. Everyone was singing along to the beat of the song even before the guys came out. I get embarrassed so easily so whenever artists tell the crowd to jump I don't really jump i just dance a little but LANY was different. I jumped and screamed and danced like no one was watching. During Made in Hollywood, Paul jumped into the right side of the crowd and then came over to the left side where I was. He was just out of arms reach but with the back of the crowd rushing the barricade and my extremely long arms, I held onto him for like twenty seconds. It really was such an incredible feeling, I've never been that close to the stage of a concert and being able to hold Paul's hand was such an incredible moment. The highlight of the show was during Where The Hell Are My Friends. I wasn't filming at this point because I just wanted to enjoy the show (plus my phone was about to die) and Paul looked right into my eyes, sang "a life I wish I could forget" and smiled at me. I think I actually died in that moment. I never have had such a good time at a show but this concert was probably the best night of my life. I love these boys more than life and I decided, from this point on. I will never miss a LANY show in Chicago