Start the Bus is a rather odd venue. Instead of making the whole bar a venue they curtain off where the actual band plays so they can justify selling drinks to people who don’t have tickets. It also means that you just get the music of the band free because you’re sitting the other side of the curtain. Odd.
Anyway The Apples are a nine piece instrumental jazz electro band so before they come you probably already have figured that this isn’t going to a normal gig. As there are so many of them there is a platform set up by the side of the stage for the trumpeter, saxophonist and double bassist. The platform serves that all important feature that the band and the crowd cant be at eye level, because it would probably scare people having an over enthusiastic trumpeter in the crowd.
The Apples are amazingly talented; I think it would be hard to find another band with a saxophonist who can cover Nirvanas ‘Lithium’ so well. Live they transcend genres, they interact with the crowd, they create an atmosphere that can flash fire in your soul for a second but to be honest everyone was drunk. They fit into that category that at a gig you say ‘oh yeah they were great, tunes!’ and then you listen to them sober in the car and think you could have spent that fiver on another overpriced vodka and coke.
Overall, yah! Play at my birthday party but please don’t sell any cd’s.
Review by : Emily Waddell
