Applespiel make a band and take on the recording industry

Image by Lachlan Woods. 

Building a successful band in today’s music environment of one-hit wonders and manufactured sound is no easy feat. Fictional group, Applespiel, are one band that have stepped up to task and into the spotlight in a part-theatre-show and part-live-rock-concert that traced the group’s meteoric rise to fame, and inevitable demise. In the process, Applespiel sampled every rock cliché imaginable, from drugs and sex overkill to egotistical band-member clashes, break ups and reunions.

The work was enriched by the mix of performance and live-to-air moving image that offered a unique experience to the audience who had the option of watching the band in live in the flesh or behind the facade of the camera lens as displayed on in-house screens.

What Applespiel contributed that was different to other performance groups was not only an ensemble of performers and musicians but also technicians and moving-image makers, where the band became the rockumentary crew and the crew soon became the act. This collaboration is pieced together by a collective of young and emerging artists: Simon Binns, Nathan Harrison, Nikki Kennedy, Emma McManus, Joseph Parro, Troy Reid, Rachel Roberts and Mark Rogers.

Each performer excelled in their own individual way, representing the varying folds of rock band dynamics. While the rock-star antics could have felt over-acted and contrived, the ensemble cast maintained a feel of raw authenticity and organic subtlety.

Performers that remained in the mind long after the band held their final encore were Reid, Binns and Roberts. Reid’s character development could not be faulted, performing as the unifying force in the bands longevity. Binns drew constant attention not just for his long locks of hair but his stage presence and perfect rock-star parody, in keeping with a Spinal Tap style caricature. Roberts’s strength and inner resilience shone through, acting as a perfect contrast to her often vulnerable and fragile vocals.

The songs in their own right were catchy and contagious rock hits, yet in keeping with the indie/alternative vibe in genre. The song that appeared in the introduction and conclusion was a stand-out, not only for it catchy hook but its classic rock sensibilities, drawing inspiration from bands such as ACDC and Black Sabbath. The breezy almost hymn-like ballad performed by Roberts as part of the band’s ‘getting back to basics’ timeline, was beautifully raw and sung with great control and tone.

While remaining light and comical in its storytelling, Applespiel also conveyed some harsh truths of the industry, from the battle of receiving compensation from music distribution in today’s era of iTunes and Spotify, to the power of social media and YouTube in gaining and sometimes losing fans along with plagiarised song scandals.  

While veering off at times into unnecessary storylines, needless raunch and the meaning of the whole rockumentary becoming somewhat muddled in the mix, these missteps can be forgiven for a thoroughly entertaining evening with each audience attendee leaving a dedicated Applespiel fan.