BOY CLOTHES, DOPAMINE AND MORE: NXDIA HITS IT OFF WITH GLASGOW FANS
LIVE REVIEW| NXDIA w/ GIRLBAND! | KING TUTS WAH WAH HUT, GLASGOW by Anne Kelly
I’m going to call it now, and declare that Nxdia is the future of alt-pop queer rock in the UK. Not only does the Egyptian-Sudanese born/Manchester raised singer know how to drop a banger, but she knows exactly how to intimately hold a room to surrender. Not a moment feels distant or aloof, every note, every exchange, laugh and smile feels deeply set in authenticity and relatability. Considering this is Nxdia‘s first ever headline tour – and only 3rd visit to Glasgow – you would never know it. This artist radiates in ways you can only really appreciate if you are in their presence.
For a Monday night, the air inside Glasgow’s iconic King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut was heavy with anticipation for Nxdia‘s arrival. Touring in support of their debut album, I Promise No One’s Watching, the famously intimate 300 cap venue was already packed shoulder-to-shoulder when I arrived just 20 minutes after the doors opened. And quite rightly so, as opening band GIRLBAND! were on stage at 7.20pm sharp.
GIRLBAND!
As a support band, the Nottingham based trio had nothing to fret in Glasgow, as the early crowd welcomed the band with headliner energy. Sporting a green and white stripe Celtic FC shirt, lead vocalist Georgie projected personality and confidence from the off. Highlights included ’21st Century Suffragette’, latest single ‘Thelma and Louise’ and final offering ‘Not Like The Rest’, which Georgie credits as a “coming out” song. A band already firmly on my radar, I look forward to seeing what this band do next.
As soon as Nxdia made their King Tuts debut, the small stage forced an immediate, electric connection. Flanked by a vigourously tight band, they commanded the room with a playful, yet almost riotous, confidence. For a debut headline tour, Nxdia‘s set was an extensive relay of their growing discography, performing for almost 90 minutes which went by in a flash.
Opening with ‘Boo, Nevermind’, ‘Jennifer’s Body’ and ‘Dopamine’, Nxdia‘s arrival hit hard, create a wave of joyous chaos. Their unapologetic sharing of queer experience and self-discovery resonated throughout, making the mostly young, female and queer Glasgow crowd feel seen, heard and accepted.
Taking time between tracks to engage and respond to the crowd, it’s hard not to warm to Nxdia‘s affable nature. Slotting in the “interesting facts” or “things I didn’t know” segment interaction with fans threw up a lot of laughs and made everybody feel part of the show. Admitting they never knew that “penultimate” meant second to last until today, Nxdia exuberated endearment in both gesture and tone. One fan admitted “they always thought you had to cut oranges with a knife to get the segments”; a confession that had the room in an uproar. Whilst another shared “I didn’t know that the high pitched part in ‘Teenage Dirtbag’ [Wheatus] wasn’t a woman until tonight”. Embarrassing? maybe. But we’re all feeling it and collectively we share the funny side together.
A true highlight of the night was ‘Ambulance‘, where Nxdia shared a very personal song of discovering their parents in a car accident. Placing themselves at the centre of the crowd, Nxdia‘s vulnerability flooded the floor around them. Some fun covers also made their way into the set list: first of all with a fun edition of sombr‘s ‘Undressed‘ and later, with Katy Perry‘s ‘I Kissed A Girl‘, which elevated the crowd even more. But ultimately, it’s Nxdia‘s own bangers which get the biggest buzz of the night.
Fan favourite ‘She Likes a Boy‘ hit like queer awakening, whilst penultimate offering (sorry Nxdia!) ‘More‘ left us desiring just that. Closing out on ‘Feel Anything‘, it was a real moment of collective joy, with fans bouncing, singing, hugging and just embracing every last moment. Of course, Glasgow doesn’t allow anybody to just say “Goodbye”, we demand an encore and that was delivered. Returning to a chant of “one more tune”, Nxdia launched back into a reprisal of ‘Feeling Anything‘, which hit even harder second time around.
By the time the final chords rang out, the room felt like it had been part of something genuinely special. For those of us who waited around though, Nxdia had even “more” to give. Returning to the now sparsely populated room to engage with fans, Nxdia thrives on that strong sense of community that has been steadily growing. Inviting questions from the crowd, one fan, excitedly sharing their experience, mentions, “I grew up in Cairo, and you’re the first person I’ve heard speak Egyptian Arabic besides my Mum,” before laughing with Nxdia about familiar phrases from their retrospective childhoods. Going above and beyond, Nxdia invites fans to meet them individually before departing the venue, a gesture often reserved for VIP packages but offered freely tonight to anyone willing to wait. While it remains uncertain how sustainable this approach will be as Nxdia’s popularity increases, tonight’s show and this inaugural headline tour will no doubt hold something special for all who are part of it.
