PHOENIX, AZ | LANY and the “Beautiful Blur Tour” made their 24th stop at the Arizona Financial Theatre in downtown Phoenix. This is a large venue tour for LANY, taking to the 5,000 capacity theatre in Arizona.
While formed in Los Angeles, the name for the band is an acronym for Los Angeles New York—the inspiration for the name an idea that covers the entire country from LA to NY. The three-piece band formed in 2014 when the members met in Nashville. Merging from separate solo projects, LANY was formed amongst front man Paul Klein, guitarist Les Priest, and Jake Goss on the drum kit. The indie-pop band began releasing music on Soundcloud and immediately gained traction. They supported several large bands touring in 2015, and were off to the races.
The show was opened by a newer musical group The Junior Varsity. Initially releasing music in 2021, TJV has gained attention through their first two EPs, “Junior Varsity” in 2021 and “Side B” in 2022. Mixing pop, rap, hip-hop, and punk, the band pulls from a lot of different sounds. With the ability to draw from so many different genres, the band delivers a very unique and diverse performance—they’re here to prove something and totally bring the energy to kick off the show.
Between the break, a big white sheet went up fully covering the stage. Arizona’s Financial Theatre is quite large, so it’s rare to see the entire stage covered from top to bottom with just a sheet. Intro music brought attention to the stage, and using a spotlight, displayed the silhouette of every member of LANY as they launched into “You!” from their 2021 album Mama’s Boy.
It’s clear why they’re playing theaters as large as the Arizona Financial Theatre as seemingly everyone in the building knew the band’s lyrics. LANY plays with almost a stadium inspired stage where there is a walkway built into the front of the pit in general admission. It offers an incredibly intimate experience where the band truly is out in the crowd among the audience.
JUNIOR VARSITY
