The Boxer Rebellion – Live at Antwerp Trix.
The Boxer Rebellion – Live at Antwerp Trix.
It is a warm welcome back to Belgium for The Boxer Rebellion. I am fortunate enough to have attended a lot of these guys concerts. A lot! Sometimes front and centre, other times …..’from the corners of the room’. They always deliver live.
In the old days, The Boxer Rebellion gigs could be brooding and intense, matching the dark defiance of debut LP, Exits. Then came rallying comeback album, Union, a document to the bands ‘triumph from adversity’. Gigs were sensational. They once blew the venue fuse box and just carried on drumming, all four of them, until the power came back. I merely shone a light on them that night…
…and have done ever since.
With each subsequent release, The Boxer Rebellion’s material has become more nuanced. Through the airy, dreamy contemplation of The Cold Still, through to lighter, more optimistic, even pop- leaning albums and then onto the Americana-infused and deeply personal Ghost Alive, these guys have created a much wider spectrum of material than most of their peers. It is a body of work that lends itself to an interesting and varied setlist. Tonight this struck me more than anything – more than how good they are or how it had been a minute since I’d seen them. I just thought these guys could do anything now – pick any track, whether old or new, favourite or not. They make their own magic on the stage with their performance and the sheer feeling that goes into each song. To begin a show with material as varied as Semi-Automatic, Step Out Of The Car and Powdered Sugar proves it. They flow seamlessly and yet they encapsulate an entire career.
Nathan Nicholson remains charm personified. Our frontman is in perpetual motion, constantly bouncing on his toes – reminiscent of Ben Gibbard in that aspect. He’s a giver, folks! Belgian crowds don’t tend to be as rowdy as The Netherlands. Nathan notices and he kills us with kindness. “You’re very polite”, he says. “It’s nice”. I take it as code for ‘make some noiiiiiize Antwerp’. I cannot claim to be guilt free either. Being all elbows and knees if I jumped around people might get hurt. Yet if the band harboured any doubts whatsoever about the Trix audience it was likely neither stillness nor coldness on anyone’s behalf, but rather awe.
In my case it was complete happiness.
Mid-set Nathan plays an impromptu intro to Lay Me Down (a classic oldie) in response to a crowd request. “I only know the beginning of that one” , he ‘fesses’ bashfully. What a ‘beginning’ it is though and what a song – absolute chills. Then later on he’ll (slightly) mess up the start to Flashing Red Light. It didn’t matter. Actually it made the whole night more personal and fun.
The rest of the band remain as electric as ever – Adam Harrison, game face on throughout, striking all manner of bass poses, Piers Hewitt the human metronome and Andrew Smith wringing heavenly beauty out of lead guitar. A shout out to supporting artist (and friend) the singer-songwriter, Ry Cox whose earlier set of indie/alt-country was loaded with heart and humility. Cox then joined The Boxer Rebellion for a song later on and was spotted regularly with camera documenting the event.
The Boxer Rebellion closed their impressive show with a four song encore. My own highlights included No Harm, Evacuate, Both Sides Are Even, a heartfelt Here I Am, an incendiary Flight and an utterly magical, breath-taking Caught By The Light. I realise that I’m listing the entire evening! THAT’S the point. They are now, surely one of Britain’s best live bands. Miss them at your peril.
“And if I said I’d love you till I die,
well, it wouldn’t be a lie”
Snapshots by Carine Hubrechts.
Links below:
The Cold Still – archive review
Union – (with old wordpress formatting)