Movements Pack a Full Punch at a Fully Packed Garage

Sunday night was my first show at The Garage, and after just one night I can already say this venue is definitely one at which I hope to spend more time. In comparison to most Twin City venues, The Garage is an outlier, but I definitely enjoyed not having to fight my way through traffic or drive around for hours in a desperate search for a parking spot. What’s more, they offer FREE parking right outside of the venue!

Once inside, the first thing I noticed was the large windows that lined the left side of the venue. They let in a lot of great natural light, which was different for an indoor show. It was neat to watch the room grow darker with each act. The room was small with no barricade in front of the stage, and I was pleased because there is nothing better than the opportunity to get up close during a show.

The night kicked off with Super Whatevr, who were highly energetic and quickly proved themselves a great start for any show. Super Whatevr is one of those groups that makes you wish that you had gotten to know their music before attending one of their shows so that you could sing along and experience their performance to its full potential.

I enjoyed the playfulness they brought to the stage. They were authentic, lively, and a definite highlight of the evening. It was easy to tell they simply enjoyed what they were doing, and that attitude was returned by those in the audience.

Next up was a band called Gleemer, which I had never heard of. They had a much more mellow tone, which set them apart from the other bands on this tour. I enjoyed their calming sound, but I’d been waiting to see Can’t Swim and Movements for so long that the slower pace was only making me grow more impatient as I waited excitedly for the headliners to take the stage.

That’s not to say that Gleemer was not enjoyable, just that it would have been a better experience if the bands on the lineup had a more serene and similar vibe to them. To get all that Gleemer has to offer, I’d suggest a “rainy day with twinkle lights, a lit candle, and a cozy sweater” kind of listening environment. When situations like that arise, I’ll definitely be paying more attention to them in the future.

 

When Can’t Swim finally took the stage, I was beyond excited because I’ve been a big fan for a while, and also because their album, Fail You Again, celebrated its one year anniversary the day before they played at The Garage. I was expecting some sort of a tribute to that fact, but it was never mentioned.

Unfortunately, I was not terribly impressed by their live show. They seemed to lack the raw emotion I fell in love with on their recorded material, which really took away from what their show could have been. Additionally, so many notes were changed during their performance that some of their music was unrecognizable.

It was sort of a let down. Regardless, they still played a lot of songs I adore, such as “Way It Was” and “Right Choice”. I was surprised to hear them slow things down and play “Death Deserves a Name” as well.

I wouldn’t say their live performance made me any less of a fan, I just probably wouldn’t go out of my way to see them in concert again.

I’ll be honest, once Movements took the stage, I wasn’t as observant as I typically tend to be when I attend shows. I’m usually very adamant about taking in all of the details around me, to make for better storytelling later on, but Movements is the kind of band that requires your full attention. So, instead, I found myself lost in the stories that they had to tell.

The first thing I noticed was the giant red fluorescent sign that said, “Feel Something.” This, of course, was in reference to their most recent album that absolutely blew up this past year. Beyond appropriately titled, this album is guaranteed to make you do exactly what the title suggests. It is moving, relatable, and emotion-filled.

I am the type of person who places lyrical value over rhythmic value. which is not to say that Movements does not effortlessly incorporate both elements; but it was definitely their deep, descriptive way of talking about their experiences that drew me to them in the first place. Throughout the night we were graced with songs like “Full Circle” and “Suffer Through”, which put their ability to be poetically and powerfully descriptive on full blast.

Movements sounded exactly the same live as they do recorded, which was a definite plus. There is so much emotion packed into the vocals that their songs would be tremendously dulled down if that same punch did not carry over to live shows.

As the night went on, frontman Patrick Miranda enticed and urged the crowd to do more, suggesting that there was potential for the energy in the room to be much bigger. There was energy that was not being used. Eager fans responded accordingly for the rest of the show by crowd surfing, moshing, and stage diving.

One of the highpoints of the night was when they played “Nineteen”, a passionate and powerful song about the pressure to find a high-paying job and our parent’s approval, even as we are still growing up. Everyone screamed out the lyrics, backed by the built up rage felt during our teenage years. As we did so, in harmony, I could feel every ounce of teen angst I held within me back in high school reawaken and come to the surface.

The most hard-hitting moment of the night was when they played “Deadly Dull”, a song about watching someone you know and love lose themselves to Alzheimer’s or Dementia. Miranda wrote this song about his grandfather, and before starting the song he spoke about how these diseases aren’t a widely discussed issue in the music scene. He mentioned the band’s current efforts to bring more attention to them, so that one day a cure could be found.

Before closing the night, they joked around by saying, “We don’t really do encores, so if you want, you can just pretend that was our last song”. Soon after, they eased into their hit song, “Daylily”, and the night ended in contented solidarity as everyone sang along to a song about someone dealing with a deep depression, and wanting them to know they are deserving of more.

Overall, Movements are ridiculously talented, wonderfully genuine, and severely underrated. I’m expecting big things from these guys in the future, for obvious reasons. Their musicality and artistic ability are strong, and they’ve quickly been gaining a committed following in just the past year.

Be sure to catch Movements this summer on the last run of The Vans Warped Tour. Don’t miss your chance to experience all that they have to offer!