Dominic Fike, Auckland NZ, 2019

Dominic Fike performing live in Auckland, New Zealand 2019. Image by ZED Pics.

Dominic Fike
8th October 2019
Powerstation, Auckland, New Zealand.

Review by Sarah Kidd. Photography by Chris Zwaagdyk.

Columbia records latest signing Dominic Fike rolled into town last night delivering a set that showed glimmers of talent but overall left one feeling wanting.

The predominiently under twenty-five crowd showed up early to soak up Njomzas’ on point set; the German born but American raised co-writer of some of Ariana Grandes biggest hits ‘thank u, next’ and ‘7 Rings’, proving that she can also hold her own as a performer. Originally signed to the late Mac Millers’ label REMember in 2017, Njomza has released two EP’s, the majority of her set list being pulled from 2018’s Vacation.

Expertly working the stage and making a connection with her fans, Njomzas’ whimsical baby blue wig fluttered out behind her as she knocked out tracks such as the popular ‘Lonely Nights’ and ‘Me & You’, advising all that she had only just flown in from LA the night before and was already in love with our beautiful country. Taking it back to her first EP Sad for You with ‘Baggage’, Njomza led the fans in a shout out to Miller before laying down her version of Frank Ocean’s ‘Thinking Bout You’ which hails back to her roots of uploading covers on YouTube from libraries before being discovered and carving her own path as an artist; sadly the song was somewhat tainted by a heavy-handed bass beat. Finishing with Party Favors’ ‘Caskets’, Njomza demonstrated just why her star is on the rise in a big way.

Keeping the crowd hyped in between sets, the house music proved to be a hit with the under eighteens, tracks such as Sheck Wes’ ‘Mo Bamba’ and ‘Sicko Mode’ by Travis Scott the standard go to; some Young Thug, DaBaby and A$AP Rocky thrown in for the more seasoned listener.

By the time Fike hit the stage, sporting a Red Hot Chili Peppers t-shirt and accompanied by a live drummer, his fans were frothing at the mouth; Fike’s energetic opening with ‘Phone Numbers’, ‘Babydoll’ and ‘Once in a While/Plastic People’ seeing the crowd back him one hundred and ten percent.

At times it’s easy to see why Fike caught the eye (and rather lucrative deal) of Columbia records; despite his somewhat distracted performance which seemed to haphazardly jump from one track to the next without any real flow, solid vocals with outstanding range would often find their mark; his skills on the guitar far more accomplished than most would have first given him credit for. Fike is a well-versed, multi-instrumentalist and this was further demonstrated when he sat down at the keyboard for ‘Rollerblades’.

Recently venting his frustration at playing live with such little material to his name, it was good to see that Fike genuinely seemed amped to perform his self-appointed favourite, ‘Acai Bowl’. Teasing his audience just beforehand with a statement about the kiwi bird being endangered due to the fact it has no arms, saw a soft toy one being tossed to Fike; thrilled by the gift, it then took pride of place on his keyboard for the remainder of the show.

While he skipped his cover of the Bachman-Turner Overdrive classic ‘You Ain’t seen Nothing Yet’ which was noted on his set list, he did still perform his cover of Kevin Abstracts’ ‘Peach’ which was definitely the right choice for his audience last night. An extended intro into ‘King of Everything’ ushering in the single that put Fike on the map, ‘3 Nights’ soon turning into a gigantically joyous, karaoke session.

With an encore that saw Weezers’ ‘Say it Ain’t So’ sandwiched in the middle of ‘Westcoast Collective’, the combination of which worked surprisingly well, Fike disappeared into the night, a mere forty-five minutes after taking the stage.

Was Auckland short-changed? Maybe just a smidge. Judgement reserved until Dominic Fike drops what is sure to be his highly anticipated debut album and has a little more material with which to really flex his talent on stage.

Were you there at the Powerstation for this excellent alternative hip-hop moment?  Or have you seen Dominic Fike perform live somewhere else before? Tell us about it in the comments below!

Dominic Fike Set List:
  1. Phone Numbers
  2. Babydoll
  3. Once In A While/Plastic People
  4. Socks
  5. Rollerblades
  6. Acai Bowl
  7. Peach [Kevin Abstract cover]
  8. King Of Everything
  9. 3 Nights
  10. Westcoast Collective [encore]
  11. Say It Ain’t So [Weezer cover – encore]
  12. Westcoast Collective [reprise – encore]
Njomza Set List:
  1. Lonely Nights
  2. Me & You
  3. Baggage
  4. One Foot In The Water
  5. No One Is Spared
  6. Thinking Bout You [Frank Ocean cover]
  7. Caskets

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