The first day of Movement was everything you could ask for in a music festival.
After picking up our press passes and making our way into the festival we were immediately greeted with mixed drinks made by the Bullet Bourbon team from the back of a teardrop trailer converted into a mobile bar. While drinking our drinks and figuring out which stage to go to first next to a tent that was doling out massages, a dreadlocked young man came up to us and inform us that he had just lost his glasses. This was an interesting problem considering that his glasses were perched on top of his head while he complained about having just arrived to the festival and couldn’t believe he had already lost something. He had, most likely, just found us after visiting JARS, Ooze, or any of the many other cannabis sponsor tents that had been giving away free merchandise and pre-rolled joints to anyone of age.
After finishing our drinks we met up with the rest of our crew and started the day off strong, sitting side stage for Joe Kay’s performance on the Waterfront Stage. Kay’s set had people dancing to 90s and early 2000s rap and R&B hits that he mashed up with some pumped up Reggaeton rhythm. It was the perfect tempo for a summer day next to the water, getting the people moving and dancing, while still remaining chill enough with the BPMs to not force an anxiety attack on the crowd this early in the day.
After Joe Kay ended Partiboi69 took the stage and immediately changed the vibe. The DJ came out looking like a young Kid Rock and instantly ripped off his shirt and began swinging it over his head, bouncing up and down, and blowing up the speakers with cosmically intense base. After getting our ears blown out and our insides vibrated for a while watching Partiboi69 do his thing for a while, we decided to wander around the festival and find some food in one of the many food carts littered throughout the festival. After making our choice it instantly became clear that there is absolutely nothing better than staring at Canada from Detroit while eating a corn dog and listening to electronic dance music. Nothing.
On the Pyramid Stage Claude Von Stroke performed for an amphitheater of glittered out fans as the sun began to set. During his performance more people wearing VIP wristbands clambered on stage next to him than I have ever seen at any other concert… and I have seen The Flaming Lips perform on numerous occasions.
We left Claude Von Stroke’s set with just enough time to fight the crowd for a position back at The Waterfront Stage in hopes of getting a good spot for 2Chainz. As expected, 2Chainz set was a four-alarm fire. Initially we were worried that we would be left wanting a lot more out of his performance, as he had been given a little less than an hour of stage time, but the rapper lit the night up and did not disappoint from his first song to his last. He had the crowd eating out of his hand, turning the whole festival into one giant sing-along as he performed hit after hit after fucking hit.
Day 2’s Djs are gonna need to pull some pretty wild stunts if they want to top Day 1. Pretty sure we are not going to be disappointed though when acts like Will Clarke, Justin Martin, Adam Beyer, and the godfather of techno, Juan Atkins take the stage later tonight.
Written by:
KALVIN LAZARTEPhotography by:
JIMMY GOLDFINGERS