Steven Adler / Adler’s Appetite
24th May 2018
Powerstation, Auckland, New Zealand.
Review by Sarah Kidd. Photography by Chris Zwaagdyk.
For any fan of the heavier side of music, Appetite for Destruction was a seminal album in every shape and form. Here was a record that was rock n roll at its purest. While some may argue the particular genre box it would slide into – hard rock, heavy metal – it mattered none as it spoke to all. It was raw, it was honest and it was in your face with a middle finger up while gurgling down a bottle of Night Train Express. Released on the 21st of July, 1987 it propelled Guns n Roses into the spotlight, taking them from the LA Club circuit and plonking them straight into some of the biggest world arenas. Fame, women, money, alcohol and of course the drugs; it was all there in excess. The trimmings of the rock n roll lifestyle yours for the taking. And herein lay Steven Adler’s downfall.Surrounded by drugs and with a bad boy streak coursing through his veins (Adler first getting into trouble when he was just thirteen) it was not long before Adler found himself not only deep within the clutches of a heroin addiction but in 1990, he also found himself fired. Fast forward a few…ok more than a few… years and Steven Adler is back and playing in Adlers Appetite, a band that few may know actually first started back in 2003. Appearing for the first time in New Zealand, tonight’s show sent ripples of excitement through any and all Guns n Roses fans as well as just anyone who spent their formative years growing up in the 80’s.
Promising to be an interesting and in some ways a rather informative evening it all began within the walls of the Powerstation with a Q& A held by Bryce Casey from The Rock. Arriving in a brightly coloured shirt and looking surprisingly youthful for a man who had lived the life he had, Adler took a seat on stage beside his Mum Deanna. Yes his Mum. Deanna Adler is seventy-six years old and currently on tour with her son. Having written the book ‘Sweet Child of Mine – How I Lost my Son to Guns n Roses’ she is accompanying Steven, participating in Q & A sessions at many of his shows. With Steven having been sober now for four years – a great achievement by any account – it was certainly sombre listening as Deanna explained how hard it was having a son who was more interested in drugs and celebrities than he was his own family.
While Adler himself did still come across as somewhat of a rebellious teenager, often telling his Mum to be quiet or speaking over the top of her he did acknowledge her love and commitment to him as a parent. He also thanked his wife of the last eighteen years who as he put it has probably only been in an actual “happy marriage” for the last four and a half. For the purists the Q & A session was fascinating but much of the crowd (and it seemed Adler himself) were there for the music. Soon the chatting amongst the audience members began to grow louder than what was on stage and with some pushes from Adler himself Bryce soon wrapped it up.
The promise was that the Appetite for Destruction album would be played in its entirety; one would assume with a statement like that the show would either follow the track listing faithfully or maybe mix it up a little. What no one expected was for ‘Reckless Life’ from the GnR Lies EP to come pouring forth from the stage. This surprise both delighted while simultaneously causing a pang of doubt – what exactly were we going to hear tonight?
While Adler was of course behind the drums the rest of the surrogate ‘Gunners’ was made up of a collection of actors / musicians, many of whom would look familiar to more than a few in the audience. With American Idol contestant and actor / vocalist Constantine Maroulis on vocals the night got off to a flying start; both Sean McNabb of Dokken on bass and Carl Restivo on rhythm guitar playing their parts well. But it was lead guitarist Michael Thomas who truly thrilled, his emulating of Slash’s guitar solos really quite inspiring.
Moving into the tracks themselves from Appetite and the audience were in full flight, beers raised to the air their voices rang out in unison with that of Maroulis who certainly played the role of front man dutifully, throwing in the odd (slightly cringe-worthy) joke about hot chicks in the mosh pit while working the stage and throwing some serious finger guns. Could he pull off the role of Axl? Well no, his voice in parts did struggle. But in many ways that what was one of the elements that made the Gunners what they were – the iconic voice of Axl Rose. So to expect anyone to pull off a perfect or even near perfect imitation of his would be barking up the wrong tree.
As the band continued through the set list Adler looked completely at home behind the kit, every so often standing up to wave to the audience or fist bump Thomas. A drum solo of three ‘mini’ parts was even delivered, while not one that will go down in history for its technical skill it was deeply appreciated by the audience because at the end of the day it meant that Steven Adler, the original drummer of Guns n Roses was still alive and kicking. And that was certainly something worth celebrating. ‘Civil War’ was yet another surprise, and one that was certainly welcomed by the crowd; as was the killer track ‘You Could Be Mine’ both from the Use Your Illusion double albums. Finishing on Rocket Queen (oh how THAT track still gets every single gunner fan, EVERY single time) and the fans, now happily ale fuelled, demanded more. An encore delivering two of arguably the biggest hits of the night; ‘Welcome to the Jungle’ and ‘Paradise City’
For those aforementioned die-hard fans the omission of both ‘Out ta Get Me’ and ‘You’re Crazy’ meant that the evening did feel incomplete, the promise of the Appetite for Destruction album to be played in full broken. But for those that had come to reclaim a little of their misspent youth, to take a walk down memory lane and bask in the glory of those hedonistic days and the soundtrack that accompanied them, tonight hit the spot… just right.
Setlist:
- Reckless Life
- It’s So Easy
- Nightrain
- Mr Brownstone
- My Michelle
- Sweet Child O’Mine
- Anything Goes
- Think About You
- Civil War
- [Drum Solo]
- You Could Be Mine
- Rocket Queen
- Welcome To The Jungle [encore]
- Paradise City [encore]
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