MOVEMENTS AT UNION TRANSFER IN PHILADELPHIA, PA
“…It is socially acceptable, within reason, to do whatever the fuck you want to do,” Henry Cox of Boston Manor proclaims to the crowd. This advice was definitely taken to heart by patrons of Union Transfer in Philadelphia who enjoyed a night out for the Movements headlining tour. Supporting Movements on their 26 date tour were Drug Church, Trash Boat, and Boston Manor. Each band brought forth a lot of energy to get everyone pumped up, making this tour a non-stop room full of Movements (pun FULLY intended).
The openers for this tour did a really great job of getting fans energized and ready for the headliner. It was also a unique show that for the first time in a while, it seemed as though fans were quite familiar with each act that took the stage. For the past couple months, I could count on one hand the amount of shows I went to were the majority of the room shared the same amount of energy and excitement for the openers as they did for the headliners (I’ll save that soapbox rant for another day). It really filled me with joy to see the room light up with excitement; people jumping, moshing, and crowd surfing to Trash Boat. A very notable moment before Movements’ set was during Boston Manor’s set when the band had the room create a circle pit that spanned the width of the venue. Henry Cox jumped in the middle to sing while fans zoomed around him.
When Movements took the stage you could feel the audience ready to burst. As they started with “The Grey” I took a moment to look around. I watched fans scream lyrics with tears streaming down their face, other photographers in the pit bobbing their heads and mouthing words, people in the crowd grabbing each other to dance or to be thrown up to crowd surf; and for that short period time a feeling of warmth filled me. From the minute I saw this, I knew this show was going to be an atmosphere of community and passion. As Movements played through their set of tracks such as “Worst Wishes”, “Third Degree”, “and “Suffer Through”, fans gave it all they had in the crowd. The band have a very energetic presence on stage that encourages fans to let loose. When the band came back on stage for their encore of “Daylily”, there wasn’t a person in the crowd who looked like they weren’t singing along. As the last, “I think it's time you had a pink cloud summer/ 'cause you've gone too long without a smile and I think it's time you found another/reason to stay for a while.” was sung out, there was a roar of applause.
Nicole DiBenedetto is a photographer based out of New Jersey. She likes making new friends and meeting new people so catch her out in the pit and say hi!