Joy

>THE BOXER REBELLION
TUNBRIDGE WELLS FORUM, 4/10/03

They say you can never go back, and so it was the last time that I returned to The Forum, home of my first ever gig (The Dandys back in the heady days of 1996) and the overwhelming majority of the following 50 or so. To then return after

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a year or two's absence and find the place almost completely changed came as a bit of a shock - where were the bare brick walls? Replaced with garish, brightly coloured paints; and what about the faint smell of piss and general feeling of squalor? And why does everyone look so much younger than me? I was not impressed.

So it was with a slight sense of foreboding that I returned, six months later to cover this gig. Fortunately, this time I was prepared. The walls didn't seem quite so bright, the crowd didn't seem quite so young, and although the odour appears to be gone

for good, they've still got the burned out shells of old guitars decorating the mixing desk, and the walls are still adorned with the works of local artists (although they seem to have improved notably in my absence, as well as getting over their obsession with blood and genitals).

Plus, there was the music to look forward to. I had received The Boxer Rebellion's forthcoming single 'Watermelon' (out 6/10/03) for review a couple of weeks ago, and its seductively dark mixture of PJ Harvey and Jesus & Mary Chain augured well for tonight's performance.

And the band didn't disappoint tonight, giving a display of soaring indie rock, which had me captivated from the opening notes to the final shrieks of feedback.

At their worst tonight they were at least the equal of such hyped up chart toppers as Coldplay and The Verve, but at their best, they moved on to a different plane altogether, Nathan Nicholson's angelic vocals buoyed along by the sky-scraping beauty of the music building around it, flitting from gorgeously fragile to breathtakingly huge to devastating effect.

Even the b-sides, which I had rather hastily dismissed in my review shone tonight, with 'In The Empire', an insipid acoustic time filler on record, particularly incandescent.

But it's 'Watermelon' that steals the show tonight, giving a masterclass in the dynamics of a true indie anthem, showcasing Nathan's girlish vocals to their full potential.

The Boxer Rebellion have it within them to become a band of huge importance. If they are not playing to packed out stadia and lighter waving festival crowds by this point next year, I shall be demanding to know why not.

www.theboxerrebellion.com

More pictures from tonight's show here

Read my review of The Boxer Rebellion's 'Watermelon'

	>THE BOXER REBELLION TUNBRIDGE WELLS FORUM, 4/10/03

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		They say you can never go back, and so it was the last time that I returned to The Forum, home of my first ever gig (The Dandys back in the heady days of 1996) and the overwhelming majority of the following 50 or so. To then return after

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a year or two's absence and find the place almost completely changed came as a bit of a shock - where were the bare brick walls? Replaced with garish, brightly coloured paints; and what about the faint smell of piss and general feeling of squalor? And why does everyone look so much younger than me? I was not impressed. So it was with a slight sense of foreboding that I returned, six months later to cover this gig. Fortunately, this time I was prepared. The walls didn't seem quite so bright, the crowd didn't seem quite so young, and although the odour appears to be gone

for good, they've still got the burned out shells of old guitars decorating the mixing desk, and the walls are still adorned with the works of local artists (although they seem to have improved notably in my absence, as well as getting over their obsession with blood and genitals).

Plus, there was the music to look forward to. I had received The Boxer Rebellion's forthcoming single 'Watermelon' (out 6/10/03) for review a couple of weeks ago, and its seductively dark mixture of PJ Harvey and Jesus & Mary Chain augured well for tonight's performance. And the band didn't disappoint tonight, giving a display of soaring indie rock, which had me captivated from the opening notes to the final shrieks of feedback. At their worst tonight they were at least the equal of such hyped up chart toppers as Coldplay and The Verve, but at their best, they moved on to a different plane altogether, Nathan Nicholson's angelic vocals buoyed along by the sky-scraping beauty of the music building around it, flitting from gorgeously fragile to breathtakingly huge to devastating effect.
Even the b-sides, which I had rather hastily dismissed in my review shone tonight, with 'In The Empire', an insipid acoustic time filler on record, particularly incandescent.

But it's 'Watermelon' that steals the show tonight, giving a masterclass in the dynamics of a true indie anthem, showcasing Nathan's girlish vocals to their full potential. The Boxer Rebellion have it within them to become a band of huge importance. If they are not playing to packed out stadia and lighter waving festival crowds by this point next year, I shall be demanding to know why not. www.theboxerrebellion.com More pictures from tonight's show here Read my review of The Boxer Rebellion's 'Watermelon'