If one thing is certain about the Swedish hip-hop jazz band Movits!, it’s how they intimately connect to a crowd and keep them moving and entertained through the entirety of a set. While most artists’ main purpose for performing is to deliver their signature songs that fans came to see, Movits! went further to connected with the audience throughout their show at the High Noon Saloon.
As all of the songs of Movits! are in Swedish. Before each song, they explained what it meant in English and even asked the crowd how to translate certain words. In addition, the lead singer Johan Rensfeldt and saxophonist Joakim Nilsson often exchanged jokes, which the audience always responded to with a hearty laugh. The audience kept up the rapport by offering the trio shots, to which the band responded, “Mondays don’t exist in Sweden.”
Even though the band members themselves were entertaining, Movits! provided an interesting set comprised of an unusual fusion of rap and jazz. The jazzy rhythms of the saxophone were the highlight of many of their songs and provided an upbeat melody for lead rapper Rensfeldt. Sometimes rappers are not able to translate their lyrics into a live setting, but this proved no problem for Rensfeldt as he seamlessly translated his lyrics beautifully without missing a word.
While the set featured mostly highly upbeat songs perfect for dancing, like “Nitroglycerin,” Movits! snuck in a few slow tempo songs, which they called “iPhone” songs. “Halvvägs,” a song about only getting halfway in a relationship, was just that. The audience immediately related to it and, in unison, slowly swayed back and forth.
Throughout the majority of the concert, two diverse sets of crowds jammed out to the group’s rhythms. A handful of intense dancers were at the front, whose intricate footwork and spastic movements kept the rest of the crowd at a distance. However, during the band’s three-song encore, the entire crowd was jumping up and down, hands in the air. As this crowd featured mostly people in their upper 20s and 30s, Movits! was able to deliver a set that the crowd responded to surprisingly energetically.
Movits! continued its friendly nature after the concert as band members jumped off stage for their final song and exchanged high fives with the revved up audience. Rather than hiding in their dressing room as the audience filed out of the High Noon Saloon, they immediately returned to chill with the crowd and sign autographs.
Between the consistent energy provided by the band through music and personality, Movits! knows how to put on a show and deliver to a diverse audience.
