As much as I want to be that person finding hidden 'indie' gems,
I mostly end up listening to the same artist over and over again,
because something needs to click within me: I need to fall in love with their songwriting, the clever musicality, and how the story in their songs moves me.
So once a song 'clicks' and resonates with me, I'm opening a door to a whole new world.
Would listen to albums front to back, over and over again, and from henceforth, engage with their music.
That's what happened with Niki.
I've heard of her for a while. I know a friend who is a fanatic fan of hers. HAHA.
But I hadn't really dove deep into her discography - that is until the movie Shang Chi came out, and 88rising did the soundtrack album. "Every Summertime" was one of the two singles, and the vibe of the song brought me to a time and place I want to stay in forever :") Both nostalgic and fresh at the same time, very summery and dreamy.
Almost a year later, she put out her second studio album called 'Nicole'. AAH all my chords were struck.
You know how I love melancholic songs? It's a whole album of that. Plus, that smart move of connecting the 3 music video into a short film? I bathe in the tears of this album. And the fact that these songs were written when she was younger - I think that part of me related hard. The heartbreaking, 'trying-to-move-on' phase. The turn of phrases. The melodies. My heart's symphony.
Unfortunately when she came to Jakarta for the Nicole World Tour in 2023, I didn't get to watch. I don't particularly remember why - maybe I was busy and felt like didn't know her wider discography yet?
But she definitely grew on me. The next year was spent listening to the live album and learned more of her songs.
In 2024, Buzz came around. Once again, this album became something I hold dear. The words spoke to me: this time a little lighter than Nicole, I feel like. Not as much in the trenches anymore - but the sweet contemplative songs like 'Magnets', 'Tsunami', 'Take Care', 'Paths' took me to new places that feels familiar yet novel.
I think what I love about her is that it's not that bright poppy songs. It's honest and vulnerable, but still very creatively said.
And then there are songs like the first track, "Buzz", which is genius.
That's why, when I learned that she was coming to Jakarta again in 2025, I put my name on the list!
I signed up to the mailing list and watchfully waited for news.
When the day came to 'war' for the ticket, I stayed in line (online) for almost an hour - trying to focus on work, but also holding my breath! And I was extremely happy to get my hands on tix!
A few months later, Buzz finally arrived in town. It came at such a perfect time - just when I needed a break from work.
And although I only bought 1 tix, a friend ended up watching the same show with another friend, and they were sat very very very close to my seat! So, yay!
Sunday 16 Feb, we went to Ancol - Beach City International Stadium. The open gate started at 12 pm, but what are we going to do there anyway? So, we arrived at around 4pm.
Niki had designated a dress code for each show she's playing. For Jakarta night 2, the dress code was 'mystic force' - a cyber-punk city girl vibe --> translating to: leather, glitters, funky braids, etc. Welllllll... it narrows down what I should wear - and I didn't want to be the odd one out. But cyberpunk is not really my style - I have 0 things in my closet for that HA! Fortunately, I also got the easiest dress code: the color black. So that's what I wore! My comfiest black top + jeans. I added a pair of glasses to add shape to my hair, and that's my outfit.
Once arriving, and due to where I was set, getting into the venue was extremely easy!
My seat was 'regular left' - which means: left side, second floor. It's quite far from the stage, but again, it's one of the cheapest seat anyway. I won't complain. And the bonus: the lines were extremely short. I practically just walked into the venue.
We scouted the waiting area: there were multiple photobooths, merch store, food stalls, and lots and lots of people queueing for everything. So we set our priorities: for me, first up, is merch!
I got myself a Buzz Around the World Tour tee. It was roughly $50-60. The materials were ok, the design was quite nice and unique. No one was queueing so it was so quick.
Secondly, food!
Well, I ate quite a late lunch (anticipating to not eat a lot or super late at night). But since we have time to kill, and the food vendors were actually quite decent, we lined up! It was a while before we got to ordering. But we chose an Indian food vendor, Masti, with one of the less queues, and I got Butter Chicken with rice. I got some poppadom crisps as well. We also got some water - since tumblers are a bit questionable, whether we were allowed to bring them into the venue or not.
We sat down and in one bite, I got so happy. It was so good!! The flavors were bold, the rice and chicken were steaming hot, the poppadom was crispy and delish. 9/10!
Ok, so then, we still had sometime to kill. It was approx. 6.20; seating started at 6, show starts at 6.50.
We were thinking, the show starting at 6.50 - meaning the opener, right? So, should we line up for one of the photobooth? And we decided to jump into the line.
Welp. We started lining... and waiting..
queueing...
it took a while HAHA. People got nervous as the opener band started singing.
I'm okay with missing the opener...
but looking at this pace, are we going to miss Niki's first song..?
We compared it to Niki's first night... maybe there's hope if the timeline fits night 1's schedule...
Meanwhile, we got further and further into the line, and since we'd been so committed, it got harder to jump out of the line - because we were so close!
But we decided to stick with it. AAA!
Best decision! Because the timeline fits just so perfectly.
After getting to the front of the line, we snapped our pictures, and rushed up to the seating area - just right in time for 3-4 songs on the playlist. I even got a bathroom break hihi.
Then, the lights dim.
The screen started displaying this news-like screen-saver with the word 'Buzz Air'.
And not long after that, the opening bumper began playing.
And not long after that, the opening bumper began playing.
The concept of the show: Around the world of buzz.
So, it opened with a kind of safety announcement - referencing her songs and lyrics to keep us 'safe' tonight from all the heartaches. LOL.
Then, the music picked up, and Niki came on stage!
The crowd roared before started singing with her.
What I noticed, the crowd (and me included) tend to let her sing the verses - especially with the newer songs or the songs that were not made into singles. When chorus come, they would sing-scream out at the top of their lungs.
She opened with the song 'Buzz' - the opening of her album as well. Followed by Colossal Loss, and Keeping Tabs.
I wonder why she seemed to skip 'Too Much of A Good Thing' in Jakarta Night 2?
She continued on with the upbeat songs first - before bringing the tempo down at a cozier 'Buzz Hotel' part of the set.
I loved this part.
Then I think she had 1 outfit change, that tbh I didn't really notice because the silhouette of both outfits were similar hehe but nice ones!
Aaahh I was singing my heart out, taking videos to help me remember this night for a long time.
I also ended up joining my friends - since the seat next to them were empty! lol.
I was so happy to hear her sang her songs. Their stories just got more vivid in my mind - and solidified that she is a solid storyteller! The words flew and painted images and probed my heart.
Her vocals were amazing.
The visuals were stunning. Nothing too too 'out of the box', but they set the right tone and took us on this beautiful trip!
The sound was decent - tbh I couldn't hear her very clearly when she was speaking - but it was fine when she started singing.
But the interaction with the fans, via camera & conversations were also done nicely.
The setlist ended with 'Nothing Can',
before she returned on stage for encore: "High School in Jakarta", "Backburner", and "Take A Chance with Me".
Ahh the sweetest of endings.
tbh - my last 2 concerts were Taylor Swift and Jonas Brothers.
Both of them happened to sang (almost) their WHOLE discography - 5-10 albums long,
singing & combining up to 40-50 songs.
LOL
So this one did feel quite short - 2 albums, around 22-25 songs in total.
But that's okay. Everything went super well & fun.
I was extremely fortunate to get a ride halfway home - at least I didn't have to queue or order taxi there :") and I ended the night with a hot cup of popmi and TV show Bones.
My heart is full.
Definitely will be going for a 2nd Niki concert!
And I plan to stay inspired by her, too :")
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