Movits - Bottom of the Hill, San Francisco, California 01/23/10

The thumping double bass, the steady rhythm of the floor tom and snare, the big-band sound of the horn section: the combination has entranced me. Obviously, I'm not the only one, as the couple in front of me enjoys themselves, cutting circles in the floor with their swing and hustle dance moves. Though limited in selection, their dance repertoire is enough for them.  It's apparently enough for me, since I'm the one watching them.  I snap back to reality and my gaze scans up, above the bouncing, sweaty crowd to the performers onstage. There isn't a double bass. There isn't a leopard print drum-kit.  There's barely a horn section, and that was up for debate as well. This isn't a swing band.

Three Scandinavian men in matching sport coats, fresh Adidas kicks, and thick black-rimmed glasses are giving their all up there, hopping to the beat and spitting rhymes in a language I can't comprehend. Meanwhile, their posse is pogo-ing behind them, swinging towels above their heads and working the crowd, enticing synchronized hand-claps.  This is Movits.

I'll be honest: I wish there had been a live band.  The video for their single, Appelknyckarjazz (which means Apple sniper jazz), features a full big band.  It's quite the entertaining video and I recommend watching it. However, in my pre-show research, I viewed live videos of the group and knew that the tour crew was limited to three guys. I suppose it is difficult, both financially and logistically, to do a world tour with a full swing band when you're playing clubs that have a capacity of 240.  They pulled the sound off, but my friends and I stood skeptic at the back, wondering if the saxophonist (the only live instrument for the bulk of the set), was actually playing.  He was most of the time, I think, but there were times when he would solo over the backing track that also had sax in it and the tonal qualities of the two (live and recorded) were clearly distinct. Oh, the questioning...

Here's what it comes down to, I suppose: They weren't misrepresenting themselves. Movits is a Swedish swing/hip-hop crew.  And as long as that's what they're advertising, they're doing a great job of it. The crowd loved it. A lot of the beats sounded the same, but the energy of the live show appeared to make that factor negligible. Be true to yourself, Johan Rensfeldt.  Be true to yourself, Anders Rensfeldt. Be true to yourself, Jocke Nilsson.

Near the end of the set, a gentleman walked by wearing an Eazy-E shirt. And so I close with a bit of his wisdom shining down on this scene:

Push play on the instrumental that's recorded
Step on stage and I'm suddenly awarded
Some sort of track appeared like a plaque
And some hell of a screen from the girls in the back
Takin' a bow cause I got style
Never at the bottom of the ways on the top of the pile