DNCE Brings Their “Body Moves” to Montclair

Everyone has some kind of escape. It could be through creating art or going for a run, but for the hundreds of people at the Wellmont Theatre in Montclair, NJ on Feb. 7th, DNCE was their escape.

The night started out with Brooklyn pop/rock/hip-hop band, The Skins. The edginess of the band (consisting of drummer Reef Cole, bassist Kaya Nico and guitarists Daisy Spencer & Russ Chell) plus lead singer, Bay Li’s powerhouse vocals impressed the audience. They adored the chemistry between the band and went crazy over the talent of each member. The Skins gave a performance to remember and are definitely a band that you should keep an eye out for.

In the small break between bands, the excitement of the crowd grew as everyone became aware that Kevin Jonas was in the building. All of a sudden, the entire crowd shifted from facing the stage to facing the back where Kevin walked in with his family and everyone started to cheer. This energy was kept right until DNCE hit the stage.

You know that something special is coming when the Star Wars theme begins to play and the band has a lightsaber battle onstage. DNCE started this energetic journey with their risqué song “Naked”. The energy was kept up by the impressive vocals of singer Joe Jonas, the amazing guitar riffs of guitarist JinJoo Lee, the antics of bassist Cole Whittle, and the driving beat of drummer Jack Lawless. If Cole wasn’t jumping around while playing his bass, you could find him emotionally playing the kazoo or on the ground clapping his feet along to the song.

Throughout the night, DNCE performed hits off of their EP, SWAAY, and their self-titled debut album, DNCE, including “Body Moves”, “Toothbrush”, and ended the night with “Cake By The Ocean”. Although DNCE puts on a high energy show, they were able to turn down the energy by playing their slower songs, “Truthfully”, “Jinx”, and “Almost”. Their set also included covers of songs like “American Woman” by Lenny Kravitz, “Wannabe” by the Spice Girls, and “Oops!…I Did It Again” by Britney Spears.

As the band took their final bows to Queen’s “We Are The Champions”, you could sense the relief in the air from the audience. From the time DNCE stepped onstage to when they exited the stage for the last time, everyone had forgotten all of their worries.