Caught while sparring: A concert by the reunited Jane’s Addiction in Boston came to a sudden end on Friday evening when a clearly irate Perry Farrell threw a punch at guitarist Dave Navarro – and was restrained by crew members, who still looked physically aroused as he was pushed off stage.
Several spectators shared their dramatic video of the altercation after the performance ended in disaster. This emotional explosion – which follows several ‘off’ moments in other cities that have already been the subject of discussion in reviews and on social media – has some fans waiting to see if the remaining performances on the band’s highly anticipated reunion tour will go ahead . , their first in 14 years, will go ahead as planned.
Footage shared online shows the band in the middle of playing “Ocean Size,” the eleventh song in a set that usually consists of fourteen or fifteen songs, when trouble breaks out between the two most famous members of the experienced band. Some fans reported on social media that tension seemed to build for several songs before it got to the point of fistfights.
Video of the build-up to the scuffle shows Ferrell growling fiercely toward the crowd before turning to his right and beginning to blow his bellows at Navarro, face to face. He appears to aggressively bump into the guitarist during a solo, and Navarro eventually stops playing and puts a hand on Farrell’s chest to distance himself. Then the singer appears to throw a punch. At that moment, as the stage lights are dimmed, three men, including bassist Eric Avery, surround and grab Farrell, who is eventually forced off stage, apparently still struggling as he is thrown into the wings.
Once Farrell left, the rest of the band – including Navarro – stepped to the front of the stage to bid the crowd a gentler farewell. They appeared calm as they hugged each other, applauded the crowd, patted their hearts and offered a peace sign.
The altercation immediately blew up on social media, with no shortage of jokes – including numerous Oasis comparisons – and more serious concerns being raised about the welfare of the band members involved.
“I was there,” he tweeted @deanasc1 on X. “The crowd was stunned. Half pissed the show ended early and half excited that we might have seen the last Janes A show ever.
“Jane’s Addiction broke up before Oasis omg,” read a typical tweet from the user @Tribecallflex.
On setlist.fmthe notation section for the Boston show offered a tongue-in-cheek combination of tidbits about the performance, reading: “Note: Stephen Perkins’ drum kit was outfitted with balloons in honor of his birthday. The set ended early after Perry Farell punched Dave Navarro.
Press representatives from Jane’s Addiction and tour promoter Live Nation were not immediately available for comment on Friday evening.
Chatter was already circulating on social media about the Jane’s Addiction shows earlier this week in New York City, held on the roof of Pier 51. During the first of two concerts there, Farrell admitted to the audience that he wasn’t in great vocal shape, reportedly saying, “Ladies and gentlemen, I have to be honest with you. There’s something wrong with my voice. Suddenly I can’t get the notes out anymore.” The next day, band member Eric Avery posted on Instagram: “Looking forward to performing again tonight at this spectacular rooftop venue. I am optimistic that we will get better.”
The next night in New York, things did indeed take a turn for the better, according to a reviewer for JamBase who wrote: ‘I had seen the reports on Tuesday about Farrell’s condition so I was concerned when Jane’s addiction emerged. All my fears quickly subsided as the experience of my first Jane was wonderful. Farrell sang well, Perkins crushed it behind the kit, Navarro shredded, and Avery anchored the band with his steady work on bass. … Some of (Farrell’s) stories were compelling and others rambled as he drank from a bottle of wine. He was also fixated on a device that I thought would add effects to his voice, but didn’t have much impact on my ear. But when it came to singing the songs, Farrell knew most of them.
Ironically, in light of what has happened since, the singer stopped a beef during the band’s second show in New York. “Farrell actually stopped that last tune after noticing a fight in the crowd,” JamBase reported. “Farrell had a fan named ‘Bobby’ make up with the audience member he was feuding with.”
A review of the band’s show in Tampa earlier this month Creative Loafing may have given a hint as to where some tension lies between Farrell and Navarro. The Florida Critic reported, “Farrell launched into many nonsensical rants about cow pastures, mushrooms, surfing, living in Florida, and arguing with his brother about politics, among other indecipherable comments,” as he “supposed to a full bottle of wine during the performance was puffing. … At one point, during one of his wanderings, Navarro deliberately played a loud, piercing chord on his guitar, almost to silence Farrell and get the show back on track.
Jane’s Addiction’s first tour in 15 years is co-headlined, with another beloved ’90s group, Love & Rockets, sharing the bill.
Friday night’s ill-fated Boston show featured twenty dates in the group’s double tour schedule, with fifteen more to go. At the time of writing, the tour is still scheduled to continue and conclude on October 16th at the YouTube Theater in LA, returning to the venue where the group previously performed successfully at the start of their performance mid-August.
