Los Angeles isn’t for everyone.
The traffic is terrible, the seasons never change, and the city itself is sprawled out and stretched so thin that even long time inhabitants are often overwhelmed by its immensity. Drinks are expensive, friends are fleeting, and half the town’s deepest desires are dashed as quickly as they are dreamt up. In a place known for its warm weather, so many still find it so easy to feel left out in the cold.
Fortunately for them, The Boxer Rebellion isn’t everyone.
Like countless artists before them, the London-based four-piece has been more than willing to get pulled out into the high tide of Tinseltown. Unlike their similar-minded predecessors, this willingness hasn’t left them washed out at sea. From having several songs featured on prominent television shows to sharing the spotlight with the likes of Drew Barrymore and Justin Long in the 2010 romantic comedy Going The Distance, Hollywood has no doubt helped raise The Boxer Rebellion profile beyond its humble indie darling beginnings. To be honest, the marriage makes perfect sense. With a knack for churning out lush cinematic sounds, not to mention an underdog back story seemingly cribbed straight from a studio script; it should really come as no surprise that the city has embraced them as eagerly as it has.
That eagerness was clearly evident last Saturday night (4/30) at the Roxy Theater on Sunset Boulevard. Maybe it was the excitement generated from their recently released album The Cold Still, or maybe it was just the heavy hum that comes along with any sold-out show, but there was an obvious electric energy in the air that had little to do with whether or not Barrymore would be spotted in the crowd (she wasn’t).
Opening act We Are Augustines capitalized on that energy from the start, pumping out an emotionally charged, stumble-free set of big sound and even bigger conviction. Formed from the ashes of Brooklyn stalwarts Pela, this fairly new group continues along the same path, mixing the expressive ambition of an Arcade Fire with the stripped-down sensitivity of understated Americana. 
Although the trio did blend together to keep the crowd buzzing, it was singer-guitarist Bill McCarthy who really carried the moment. Whether he was hushing the entire venue for a solo rendition of Tom Petty’s “Even The Losers” or ratcheting up the volume and intensity during the compelling “Chapel Song”, McCarthy made it quite clear that his voice and vision were fully capable of filling out an outdoor festival, let alone a cramped club.
Soon after, The Boxer Rebellion took the stage and wasted no time picking up where We Are Augustines left off. The curtain rose and before the audience could blink the band broke off into “Step Out Of The Car,” the hard driving single off the new album. While the simple yet sweeping guitar line of the opening number definitely got things going, they didn’t really get off the ground until a few songs later when drummer Piers Hewitt snapped into the complicated percussive intro to “Flashing Red Light Means Go” from 2009’s Union. Supplanting a steady backbeat for a series of meticulous drum fills, Hewitt’s razor-sharp precision forced half the crowd to clap along before the rest of the band eventually took it to another level.
Known more for assurance in approach than for inventiveness of sound, The Boxer Rebellion still went a long way to show off a wide array of musical technique. Frontman Nathan Nicholson switched back and forth from electric to acoustic guitar, dabbled with keyboards and tambourine, and continuously shifted his vocal range from a Bends-era Thom Yorke falsetto to a post-Smiths Morrissey baritone. Lead guitarist Todd Howe frequently swapped subtle Edge-like delay for axe-up-behind-the-head blind dissonance, while Hewitt and bassist Adam Harrison went from up-tempo to down-tempo to no tempo in locked unison. The spacious gospel folk of “Caught By The Light” and “Doubt” may have been heartfelt and haunting, but the fast-paced angular alt-rock of “Evacuate” and “The Runner” was also alarming and energetic.
The Boxer Rebellion may not have broken any boundaries with their set, but they sharpened enough edges to keep the room animated and involved. Guys pumped their fists, girls swooned, and the roar was loud enough to prompt Nicholson to remark that they were rarely that well-received back home in London. The band then ripped into “Watermelon”, a distorted rocker from their largely overlooked debut Exits. Nicholson ditched every instrument and jumped into the middle of the crowd with the microphone. Howe handed off his guitar to a fan in the front row before walking off stage. The whole scene was the most memorable moment of the night.
(Watermelon)
Or maybe not. The most memorable moment may have come minutes later, when the band walked back for their eventual three-song encore. Before playing, Nicholson introduced a guy who came out and proposed to his girlfriend at the edge of the stage. She climbed up to meet him, he went down on one knee amidst a mass of cheers, and one couldn’t help but wonder if Long was going to stroll into the shot to deliver the closing lines (he didn’t).
Regardless, any other band wouldn’t have seemed so prepared for such a dramatic and distinctly Los Angeles-like conclusion. For The Boxer Rebellion, it just seemed like business as usual.
Beau De Lang
Photos: Paul Treacy
