Friday’s Homecoming concert by duo Nico & Vinz marked their third time performing in Houston. | Justin Cross/The Cougar
The crowd was slow to show for the Homecoming concert held by the Student Program Board at Cullen Performance Hall Friday featuring Norwegian pop duo Nico & Vinz.
By the time opener Nathaniel De Jesus, a.k.a. “Peanut,” began, only about a third of the performance hall had been filled. Despite the low turnout, de Jesus managed to get the crowd dancing by his third song.
Students left their seats to stand closer to the stage at the barricades that marked off the soldout pit section. De Jesus took a moment to introduce the fourth song of his set, “59.”
“I know it can suck with traffic, but this is about cruising windows down with your crew or your girl, y’know we all unite with love,” De Jesus said.
Most of De Jesus’s set list was pulled directly off of his most recent seven-track EP, “A Little Change.”
By the time De Jesus’s set was finished, the performance hall was still only about a third full. The crowd shifted back to their seats, eagerly awaiting as a crew prepared the stage with multicolored lights.
An energetic Nico & Vinz jumped on stage to a cheering crowd. By the duo’s second song, the crowd had returned en masse to the barricades. Vinz even donned former-Astros pitcher Nolan Ryan’s jersey.
Friday night’s performance marked the duo’s third time in Houston and first time performing at the UH.
Business sophomore Angelical Aigbokhan, who danced at the front of the crowd for much of the show, was happy to have gotten to see the performance.
“It was amazing,” Aigbokhan said. “They really put a positive energy in the room, and that’s something we needed.”
Several times during the set, Nico & Vinz stopped to interact with the crowd, the highlight of these being a dance off between the right and left halves of the crowd near the end of the concert.
Nico & Vinz each commanded half the crowd. The dance battle went back and forth for several rounds before culminating in Vinz instructing the right side of the crowd to raise their middle fingers and chant “F*** the left side.”
In the spirit of fun, the crowd and duo then came together for their finale, the 2013 hit song “Am I Wrong,” which is arguably the most familiar song for members of the audience.
Graduate student Karoline Melstveit, who was seated in the front row was excited to hear her favorite song from the duo. She said it was a reminder of her home.
“I’m from Norway, and they are, too, so it’s really cool to get to see them here,” Melstveit said.
