May
27
5.16pm

ADLER’S APPETITE // Appetite For Awesome


ADLER’S APPETITE
Max Watts, Sydney
Saturday 26th May, 2018

What was intended as a touring homage to one of the greatest rock albums ever written turned into something much, much more. Famed drummer Steven Adler, one of the men responsible for creating Guns N’ Roses’ historical album Appetite For Destruction, didn’t just give us a taste of how it would have sounded back on LA’s Sunset Strip in the 80s when the band were taking their first steps toward world domination, but he brought to the stage a history, a unique and lovable character, an unabashed honesty, and was surrounded by a group of musicians who, like the audience, idolise this music and have made the songs their own.

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The night began with a somewhat unconventional opener, in which Adler and his mother, Deanna, took to the stage for an intimate conversation with the crowd, addressing Adler’s history with drug abuse and subsequent ejection from Guns N’ Roses. Talking about the accounts outlined in her book Sweet Child of Mine: How I Lost My Son to Guns N’ Roses, Adler and Deanna took questions from the audience about the musician’s rocky history. The crowd, already rowdy and anticipating the night’s performance of Appetite For Destruction in full, delivered shouts of love and admiration for the family that interjected the otherwise heavy weight of the subject matter.

Steven Adler & Deanna Adler // By Ashley Mar

Adler sat on stage with his mother and younger brother Jamie, overseer of the segment, grinning madly. His smile is a virus that spread high into the vaulted ceilings of Max Watts, infecting all in attendance, never wavering the whole evening. Seriously, the man’s jaw must hurt after some time, I know mine did!

Steven Adler & Deanna Adler // By Ashley Mar

As Adler’s Appetite took to the stage it was clear they aren’t a cover band. Under the helm of Adler, who, when he wasn’t smiling behind his kit sang along to the songs as he played, this collection of musicians proved they could deliver a performance of Guns N’ Roses’ music with no hint of imitation.

Steven Adler // By Ashley Mar

Vocalist Constantine Maroulis swished his hair oh so stylishly as he swooned his way through It’s So Easy and Mr Brownstone. Easy-on the-eyes bassist Sean McNabb killed the opening in Sweet Child Of Mine, while guitarists Michael Thomas and Carl Restivo did anything but shadow the album’s original guitarists, instead, manipulated melodies to give them a fresh new feeling that went over well with the raucous and gleeful audience. Steven Adler has brought together this band of musicians and guided them to perform Appetite For Destruction as their own, an interpretation of which went over very well with both the album’s drummer and the audience who have followed him in the 30 years since its release.

Adler’s Appetite // By Ashley Mar

Adler’s Appetite // By Ashley Mar

Steven Adler; wearer of a permanent grin, model of a wonderful head of hair, teller of deep and truthful stories, the sensational drummer who stole my lighter and stole hundreds of hearts. We’re not going to ask for our hearts back, Steven. Instead, we’re going to ask that you take them with you as a reminder of your time in Australia and how we feel about Adler’s Appetites—a kick-arse band tutored by one of the greatest musicians, and greatest men, the music world has ever seen.





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