Gig review: The Boxer Rebellion at Rescue Rooms

The members hail from Tennessee and London and, as The Boxer Rebellion, have been making music together for coming up to 25 years now. This partly explains their incredible sound and how ‘put together’ their set felt at Rescue Rooms last week.

Being in a band for over two decades means they have really honed their craft and sounded so strong together. You could really tell they felt connected to one another in the way they played together. Together, they brought all the best aspects of indie music.

“I choose to be happy,” The Boxer Rebellion’s frontman Nathan Nicholson sang cathartically during one of the earlier songs of the set, Let It Go and it was a haunting sentiment about, in our interpretation, forgiving oneself and perhaps forgiving others who have caused you heartbreak in the name of freeing up space to allow happiness into your life. This idea came to Nathan while he was reading bedtime stories to his child, he has said in a previous interview.

We looked around the room during this song, especially as the words “let it go” were being repeated and there were people belting out the lyrics at the top of their lungs, right at the very front, very close to the stage - but then there were other audience members who had their eyes closed and were nodding along to the music, in quiet contemplation.

The band’s passion for music really shone through as the night’s performance felt emotive, a little melancholy and also strangely uplifting. The combination of wistful and introspective made for a great gig.

The band played another of their biggest tracks, Spitting Fire fairly early on in the set. This is a quietly uplifting song.

As this was the first night “back,” there were some tiny teething problems. For example, there was one song which had to be restarted because Nathan missed the cue. He laughed about “obviously” ‘messing up’ and they played the song again, but these minor offences were endearing, to say the least. However, Nathan wasn’t a big talker on stage. He much preferred to dedicate himself to his performances and could mostly be found standing on stage, near his microphone.

Dressed in jeans and a simple white t-shirt, his minimalist fashion sense was reflected in his stage presence, which - we have to be honest - suited the tone and style of The Boxer Rebellion songs which were being played.

He remained like this for further tracks: What The F**k and Both Sides Are Even. The former song was about being mistreated by someone and the feelings of loss and confusion which followed. The sense of heartbreak - felt through this song - was palpable. It almost hurt to listen to! Meanwhile, Both Sides Are Even was another of their slower song which built up to a heady chorus.

During the encore, they played their “biggest song", Diamonds. It is an optimistic song and a tad more upbeat than some of their others. It is a fan favourite. In fact, such a fan (whose birthday it was) yelled a request to Nathan to play Diamonds to which he obliged (joking that they were, of course, going to play the song on the night).

The Boxer Rebellion show was a truly memorable occasion. It was one of those magical experiences where you become so immersed in the music, the outside world and any worries you might have, simply melt away. The credit, no doubt, goes to The Boxer Rebellion - due to their magnificent skills on stage and mastering of the craft that is music. Their music, to be specific.

This was a show which won’t leave our thoughts for a long time and is just another example of yet another world-class band visiting Nottingham.

@theboxerrebellion

The Boxer Rebellion performed at Rescue Rooms on 7th March 2025.