The Boxer Rebellion – PRESHOW RITUALS

In this Preshow Rituals segment, the alternative band, The Boxer Rebellion, share what they do before every show. You can check out their rituals, after the break.

Andrew:
I love going for a pre-show bike ride before a gig whenever I’m able to. Adam and I are both keen cyclists and have taken our bikes out with us on a couple of tours. We developed a routine of going for a 10-20 mile ride in the afternoon before a show. It’s a great contrast to be out in tranquil nature for a few silent hours, then to dive into an incredibly loud rock show a little later on. It is my perfect way to prepare for a show. Then one or two drinks to loosen up so I don’t end up overthinking things on stage.

Adam:
Before every gig, we have a pretty tight food/drink ritual. We try to eat at least 2 hours before stage because a full stomach can really slow down energy output, in addition to impacting any vocals. When it comes to drinking there is definitely a balance that each of us tries to find. Like an amateur pool player, I find I am at my peak ‘performance vs accuracy’ ratio after one strong drink… in my case a jack and coke… and then one to take on to keep the buzz whilst on stage. Having said that, too much is worse than too little- something we’ve all found that out the hard way!

Piers:
The key to any good show is relaxation. In that regard, I enjoy feeling like I could be at home by quite often getting out and about in whatever city we are in, finding a bar (yes, quite often an Irish bar) and tucking into a good old game of English football. You can take the boy out of England…

It is a fine line between relaxation and drunkenness and it is my job as a musician to stick to the former, so I will hardly ever have more than 2 or 3 beers before heading on stage, and I will also try not to hit the said stage without a unique cuddle up with the lads, just to know we’re on the same page. It is regular to take a drink on stage and not finish it, but if you see me not drinking anything alcoholic at all, it might be because my pre-gig ritual got a bit too relaxed!

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