Movements gets Portland moving, live at the Roseland, April 1st 2025.

Photos and review by Jax Lamont

The last time I saw Movements was at a 300-capacity no-barricade venue in Latin America, and while that was honestly an experience that cannot be matched, seeing Movements fill a 1450-capacity venue on April 1st, 2025 was nonetheless spectacular. Fans arrived early for the three opening bands on the bill — alternative rock band Downward, Southern Californian hardcore band Scowl, and indie rock band Citizen. By the time Scowl, the second act of the night, took to the stage, the Roseland Theater was already packed.

Downward, a band from Tulsa, Oklahoma, opened the evening. Their sound was light and airy with shoe gaze elements. Their music was much softer than the acts to come but still complemented the indie elements of both Citizen and Movements.

After Downward’s melodic and chill set, I was surprised when Scowl entered the stage. The first thing I noticed was vocalist Kat Moss’ electric green hair. That, coupled with the name “Scowl”, were my hints that this band would go much harder than the last. And sure enough, as soon as I heard the beat from their opening song “Bloodhound”, I knew my presumptions had been correct. Moss flung her bright green hair and kicked her legs back and forth as she jumped around on stage. The band blew me away with their energy and I appreciated how the members shot glances at one another while performing and frequently changed up their position on the stage. Though I had heard of the band before, I hadn’t listened to them, and I came away a new fan after their performance.

Following Scowl, Citizen took to the stage, and while different, they maintained the energy in the room that Scowl had brought. Vocalist Mat Kerekes started the set with impressively high jumps, and the crowd followed suit. Opening their set with “The Night I Drove Alone”, fans immediately joined in singing. It was clear that despite supporting Movements on this tour, Citizen had a large fanbase in the crowd as well. The crowd sang along for pretty much the entirety of their set and the crowd surfing picked up throughout. Admittedly, while I was familiar with some of Citizen’s singles, I hadn’t actively sought out listening to them prior. During the performance, I thought their music reminded me of some of the more shoegaze-y and post-rock songs from Title Fight. Upon further investigation, I later discovered that their current drummer, who joined the band later, is Ben Russin, formerly of Title Fight. After their performance, Citizen will definitely be making more of an appearance in my playlist rotation.

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After much anticipation, Movements took to the stage. Large LED letters spelling “MOVEMENTS” in the band’s signature font lit up the back of the stage. Vocalist Patrick Miranda donned his signature baseball cap and firmly grasped the microphone with both fists. The crowd cheered. “Bounce!” he instructed as he started jumping and went right into their first song “Afraid to Die”. The room bounced and the crowd surfing started right away. Throughout the set crowd surfers came in waves, almost faster than the security manning the barricade could keep up with. After “Afraid To Die”, Movements went right into hits from their 2023 album RUCKUS! before playing their latest single “Where I Lay”. I had been eager to hear this one live since it hadn’t come out yet the last time I saw them and it was just as beautiful as I’d envisioned it would be. Movements played other fan favorites, including “Skin to Skin” from their 2020 album No Good Left To Give and RUCKUS!’s “I Hope You Choke!”, which the crowd went wild for. Miranda announced about halfway through the set that after this tour the band would be taking a break from touring in order to write new music, and while many fans were saddened at first by the news they wouldn’t get another opportunity to see them live for a while, they cheered and clapped at the promise of new music. After the release of “Where I Lay”, I am certainly excited to hear what else the band has in store. And after selling out a majority of the dates on this North American run, they certainly deserve the break from touring as well.

Finally, Movements ended their set with their biggest hit, arguably the one that led to their fame, “Daylily”. Fans lifted their phones in the air to record the melancholic song and sang along as the chorus rang out “I think it’s time you had a pink cloud summer.”