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Events and Reports - Adler´s Appetite - Steven Adler live with Adam Bomb, London - 12th February 2006
Yours truly was so excited when Adler's Appetite - consisting of singer Sheldon Tarsha, JT, Michael Thomas and especially my pal Chip Z'Nuff plus Steven Adler - were to embark on an extensive European Tour. The band had just played a successful South American Tour with a very appetizing setlist.
However, something went wrong after a few weeks in Europe. It was rumored that support act Adam Bomb had a very negative influence on Steven concerning drugs
Somehow Bomb brainwashed Adler to be his new tour manager, making all the decisions and handle all the money. Adam led Steven to fire the whole band to keep expenses down. Then Adam Bomb and Steven Adler vanished with all the money the tour grossed and left the band without any money in Europe. That sounded so bizarre that I couldn't believe it even though I had been in contact with one of the fired band members, who confirmed the above story.
Now Adler was to use a different Guns N' Roses tribute band for each country on the Tour. Ridiculous! So this night was gonna prove if Bomb was a big monster and if Adler really was back on drugs or if they could deliver a kick ass rock show that made everyone forget about the problems prior to the gig.
I don't care if Adler wanted to save money, but using a local tribute band for each country was a joke and he should have thought about that before embarking on a European Tour with his regular band. Adler certainly pissed on a lot of fans that bought tickets because of the musicians in the band, which very much was a reason for me to travel from Denmark to the UK. Adler tried to avoid the dissatisfies criticism by putting up a note outside Camden Underworld's ticket office saying "None of these musicians will be performing tonight; Chip Z'nuff, Michael Thomas and so on".....even Kerri Kelli's name was listed.
There was a good turn out - but keep in mind that I talked to several people, who were there to see Chip Z'nuff and had planned to go because of Chip. Now they went anyway since they had the night planned.
After 2 decent opening acts it was time for Adam Bomb. The mike stands were covered with small lightning spots and the stage looked like the setting for a travelling sideshow. Just as the intro started Adam Bomb clearly had problems with his amplifier and that was only the first sign that this so called rock show was rolling train wreck without any conductor.
Ironically Bomb opened with I'm on it from his Get Animal project. In relation to the farce earlier on the tour, the ironic lyrics go "Nobody's gonna take me over, nobody's gonna make me sober". You cannot deny that Bomb is a good entertainer and after the song Bomb blew a small confetti bomb. He also lit a small firework to his guitar, which in the small packed club with low ceiling made me think and fear "Great White"
Overall Bomb's stage presence was very energetic. His material was mostly taken from the two Get Animal albums with DYI and his cover of Frank Sinatra's New York New York. Bomb also did Eddie Van Halen's classic solo piece Eruption, which was followed by You Really Got Me and also Led Zeppelin's The Song Remains the same.
In the front row there were a handful of hardcore Bomb fans but otherwise people were there to see Steven Adler only. However, Bomb had a good crowd and he was going to profit on that and kept playing songs even though he exceeded his stage time. Hell! Bomb was the Tour manager and he was calling the shots and wanted to exceed his time. At that point the crowd demanded Steven Adler and not Bomb, who ended his set with the title track off his latest album Rock like Fuck (the song was just as primitive as the title) and Bought the Farm from Get Animal.
Adam Bomb played as a trio, but none of the band members dared to take any of Bomb's spotlight. Bomb is a great guitar player but his jangling guitar sound and his own numbers are mediocre. Overall it was a pretty good show even though most were annoyed that he exceeded his time..... at that time no one knew HOW unpopular Bomb was going to be later in the evening.
People were jam-packed in front of Underworld's tiny stage since everyone wanted to get a glimpse of Mr. Steven Adler. A dude from the opening band estimated that "Appetite of Destruction" was the favorite album of among 90 percent of the crowd and since a small poster outside the club said that Adler would play the whole album people were excited.
Finally the band walked on stage with Adler hidden in the back behind the 4 other musicians and his drum kit. This was the only gig I ever attended where you actually watch the drummer 90 percent of the time. The local tribute band was dressed up like the original members and for some reason it was ridiculous to see Adler with an Axl look-alike backed by a Slash and Duff look-alike. The band opened with Reckless Life followed by two of Appetite's best tracks It's So Easy and Night Train.
The sound was awful and therefore it was impossible to get in the right GN'R mood. However, they finally improved the sound and by My Michelle I was starting to enjoy the show. Steven Adler stood up and walked in front of the stage and showed how grateful he was by thanking everyone. He did that a few times and then he started to take the microphone after each song and in the words of Steven himself "The last thing you want to give me is a microphone" He was right about that, because what started out as a cool gesture turned into long drunken man shouting about that we should just drink. There was no doubt that Steven was on something and he gladly told the audience about how LSD rocked, while he sipped off his bottle of Jaegermeister. It all went wrong when he spotted a Japanese girl that he apparently knew and dragged her on stage to dance right besides his kit for the rest of the show. The Japanese girl was wearing practically nothing and Steven was more focused on her than the music.
While I had a hard time get into the show, the first two rows were all enthusiastic. For Knocking on Heaven's Door the Italian Axl clone had flown in to do a pretty bad duet with the UK Axl. The Italian Axl obvious pissed off the band since he was drunk and threw his mike out to the audience, so they could yell in it. Steven Adler asked "What do you wanna hear" in his foggy and tripling voice - "You wanna hear Sweet Child O'Mine" and of course we wanted that. The guitar solo was great and finally I was in the mood, which soon was destroyed, since the band walked off stage after that song. They had just got the crowd going and now Adam Bomb AGAIN entered the stage and started talking about this tour. He wanted to play a few acoustic songs with Steven inspired by what they heard on the tour bus. First up was Maggie May, but Steven Adler was busy licking the Japanese girl and missed his cue. Totally unprofessional! The Maggie May song didn't get much applause.
Bomb and Adler played All the Young Dudes where after Bomb said that it was great that we would come to their rock show and we should tell our friends we had fun. Furthermore Bomb said that all the internet rumors about this tour, various bands members and Steven's drug problems were bullshit! No one applauded and a few booed including myself. Everyone at the show knew that those weren't rumors but the truth. Bomb must be both deaf and blind not to face the truth and Adler was too high on everything to notice his career going down the drain in same speed as his health. It also became pretty clear that Bomb was manipulation him and profiting on Steven Adler's name
People had enough of this. They came to see Steve Adler play Guns N' Roses songs - not to see Adam Bomb. So while Bomb played a rather good version of Aerosmith's Seasons of Wither people started to leave the venue. Nobody knew the old Aerosmith song and I underline once again; Bomb must be both deaf and blind because after the song around 1/3 of audience left and you could hear a leaf hit the ground since there was no cheering at all. That made Adler a bit upset and he wanted the crowd to clap - if they supported Adler then they should support Bomb. Adler was a complete mess and couldn't even hang on to his drums sticks, which he dropped. Adam Bomb said "I know you want to hear Guns N' Roses but we will play one more" and they played It's only Rock N Roll in a looong version with the outcome that more than 50 percent of the crowd had left the venue when the tribute band finally came back on stage.
It was like starting all over again - we had to get into the GN'R mood but the club had gone from packed to half empty and the vibe we got a taste of during Sweet Child o Mine had totally gone. Used to Love Her and the otherwise bullet proof live pleaser Mr. Brownstone didn't do it and more people started to emigrate. Rocket Queen was up next and probably the song that displays Adler's drumming best. However, Adler had taken over the show and continued to make a fool of himself with all the babbling about that we all should drink bla bla bla... Thing s got so much out of control that some of the girls that were chosen to stand by the side of the stage used "Izzy Stradlin's" amp for their drinks and while they were dancing they knocked over the amp, which was destroyed and the stage was floating in drinks. It seemed like no one took notice except the few sober people in the remaining crowd plus the poor UK Guns N' Roses band members. The incident just underlined that the music wasn't a priority this evening since no one cared to help the poor "Izzy" with his amp and he had to fake it for the rest of the song.
After Rocket Queen Adler announced that the band would return to play two more songs. Hmm - kinda weird with a break again and I realized there was no way that this concert was ever gonna peak with all the interruptions. Just as soon Adler left the stage the lights were turned on and 2 people from the venue entered the floor with brooms ready to clean up. People didn't care about Adler and everyone went to get their coats. I was speechless and of course stayed just so I could tell you, Dear readers, if Adler ever returned or if he already was hosting the afterparty?.
Adler returned to an empty hall except for around 10 people who stayed and then started one of the most bizarre experiences I ever had. Adler was all "What the fuck Is going on here?". He yelled out "What do you wanna hear?" Steven pointed at the dude right beside me and told him if everyone in the crowd just yelled loud enough the venue would surrender and had to let Adler play. We had not heard Paradise City or Welcome to the Jungle and truly missed other "Appetite for Destruction" tracks. It was so pathetic to see Adler making a fool of himself and the dude beside me yelled to Adler "It's over man - you better go home. Go home!" The tribute band had a hard time finding the right grimace since Adler wanted to play anyway and went down to his drum kit. The stoned and drugged Adler hadn't even noticed that the stage crew already removed his snare drum and some cymbals.
After some time Adler finally got it and gave in - especially since the bouncers basically told him to pack his shit and get the fuck out. I hung out backstage for a few hours and there was an evil atmosphere between the band/crew and organizers. It was pretty simple - the band was mad since they couldn't end the set and the organizers were angry because they already played well past their curfew. The sloppy tour manager Adam Bomb should have checked the curfew but he was too busy to sell merchandise and talk to the promoter about what a fantastic rock show Bomb provided him with. Also Bomb played longer at the expense of the man 99,9 percent of the audience paid to see.. Well, because he could. He was the boss in this tragicomic Rock circus.
Another example of Bomb's absolute monarchy on the tour was when they finally set up merchandise, which was right after Bomb's show. I was asking the merch man for prices on the South American DVD w/ Chip and Michael Thomas and just curious about t-shirts and everything. The merch man told me that I should wait for Adam Bomb because he was in control and he was pricing the goods. What's the use of a merch man if he isn't authorized to trade the goods without the almighty Bomb looking over his shoulder and setting the price in relation to what Bomb think is fair? I know they sold very little merch
The local tribute band did alright and especially "Slash" did some accurate solos. However, Steven Adler should have played with competent musicians (like the ones that were supposed to perform). Also the "real Adler's Appetite" could have been Steven's opponent. The "real" band that was supposed to perform had members in a position to make Adler shut up and focus in his drumming and giving the audience a great show. They could have made the show a lot better since everyone was staring at Steven Adler and didn't care about the Axl clone who tried to get the crowd going.
Adler has blown it big time. He played with some competent people and was in the process of making a record. People wanted to see the band and hear Adler's Appetite. Now Adler's doesn't have a band, his reputation is down the drain since most of the players involved in Adler's Appetite play in several other bands and most important and most tragic - the people that have seen Adler on this tour will most likely NOT turn up next time. He has sweeped away most of his touring foundation that he has build up during the tours with Adler's Appetite. There is no way that I am going to support Adler again - the concept of using local band for each country just isn't working and comes off as a sad joke.
Adler's Appetite went from a band that I adored to becoming a complete joke. I gave Steven Adler a second chance despite he fired his band - but unfortunately Adler is back in his old game. Adler is reliving the early Guns N' Roses years and he is making the same mistakes again.
I just read a recent interview with Adler where he regrets firing his band and says that the decision was based on everybody would go home making money. However, Bomb ripped him off. Adler seems like a nice guy but I cannot feel sorry for a man that disbands his band in the middle of Europe without money and doesn't think about fans like me (and a large percentage at the London show) that also came to see Chip Z'Nuff and the band. I regret using several hundreds of dollars travelling from Denmark to England to watch a farce like this show. The original intention was to see great musicians like Chip Z'Nuff and Michael Thomas play as a band with Steven Adler, who legacy is recent Rock N' Roll history.
This was one of the worst shows I ever witnessed. I have no respect left for Steven Adler whatsoever. What a sad evening.
| | Written by Michael
Tuesday, March 14, 2006 |
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RevelationZ Comments
| Comment by Xtatic (Anonymous) - Wednesday, March 15, 2006 | yeah... you're right. who gives a shit about him anyway...?
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| Comment by Martin (Anonymous) - Tuesday, March 21, 2006 | Why bother with Steven Adler? Everyone says Axl Rose is finally going to release Chinese Democracy this year. Its not Guns N Roses but its a helluva lot more interesting than an ex-drummer touring around doing bad covers.
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| Comment by Gunner (Anonymous) - Wednesday, May 10, 2006 | I don´t think Adler´s Appetite does bad covers..I´m from argentina..i went to see them when they were here last year..and I loved them!Maybe becouse I´m only 14 years old and they were the closer I get to GNR..but I really enjoyed the show...Anyway I can´t wait till Chinese is released.kiss!
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| Comment by Gawain (Anonymous) - Wednesday, May 24, 2006 | Its so sad and such a shame that Steven's career has ended up like this. I hope he comes back maybe it was just a bad tour .He is still a legend its just a very sad story. Thanks for the review.
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| Comment by Linda (Anonymous) - Sunday, December 31, 2006 | Best regards from NY!
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| Comment by TIFFANY (BURNS) (Anonymous) - Sunday, June 3, 2007 | HEY STEVEN I JUST WANNA SAY ROCK ON DUDE AND THE BEST OF LUCK TO YA!
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| Comment by TIFFANY (BURNS) SATURDAY, JUNE 2 2007 11:27PM (Anonymous) - Sunday, June 3, 2007 | HEY STEVEN I JUST WANNA SAY ROCK ON DUDE AND THE BEST OF LUCK TO YA!
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| Comment by Anni Stradlin (Anonymous) - Sunday, July 15, 2007 | Not nice to read, i'll be sein adler's appetite in a few days...i heard he was doin better...=s
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