Jane’s Addiction Break into Brawl at Boston Show
On Friday, Sept. 13, Jane’s Addiction’s performance at Boston’s Leader Band Pavilion ended abruptly when the members of the iconic alt-rock outfit suddenly erupted into a brawl. In a widely circulated fan-recorded video, vocalist Perry Farrell is seen breaking from a late set performance of “Ocean Size” to confront guitarist Dave Navarro. As a heated altercation launched between the band’s figureheads, Farrell threw a punch at his bandmate and was promptly removed from the stage by security.
In the wake of this outburst, the recently reunited group addressed fans in attendance and worldwide with a post to its Instagram story. “We want to extend a heartfelt apology to our fans for the events that unfolded last night,” the band offered. “As a result we will be cancelling tomorrow night’s show in Bridgeport.” Beyond clearing the weekend, the band has given no impression of how the fight might affect the ongoing reunion tour, which is set to take the quartet across the country through October 12.
Tension at the Boston show began to build when the band played “Mountain Song,” the ninth song in the set, and Farrell yelled over the track at Navarro. After simmering on through “Three Days,” the artists got physical at the ripping climax of “Ocean Size,” when the vocalist channeled the song’s intensity into shouts directed at Navarro and body-checked the guitarist. After a stare-down, Navarro held out his arm to stop the vocalist’s encroachment, and Farrell threw a quick jab before being swarmed by security and ushered offstage.
In videos of the scene, Navarro can be seen asking his peer “What the fuck?” after the punch is thrown. When Farrell was removed from the stage, the rest of the band followed him off. With vital background for the incident, Farrell’s wife Etty Lau offered a first-hand account of the altercation and Farrell’s headspace in a post to Instagram. She wrote that the “tension and animosity… that made the band so dynamic” exploded after a high-pressure tour:
“Perry’s frustration had been mounting, night after night, he felt that the stage volume had been extremely loud and his voice was being drowned out by the band,” Etty Lau Farrell explained. “Perry had been suffering from tinnitus and a sore throat every night. But when the audience in the first row, started complaining up to Perry cussing at him that the band was planning too loud and that they couldn’t hear him, Perry lost it.” Etty Lau also praised Navarro’s composure in the incident and highlighted that bassist Eric Avery punched Farrell in the gut while he was restrained.
Farrell’s spouse’s account also provides some context for difficulties he faced earlier in the week; on Tuesday, Sept. 10, the singer interrupted the first of two shows at New York’s The Rooftop at Pier 17 to apologize for vocal difficulties. “Ladies and gentlemen, I have to be honest with you–something’s wrong with my voice,” he said. “I don’t know if you can hear it, but something’s going wrong. I just can’t get the notes out all of a sudden.” Attendees noted that Wednesday’s performance was a return to form.
Jane’s Addiction’s current co-headline tour alongside other ‘90s favorite Love & Rockets marks the first time that the band has toured with the full original quartet of Farrell, Navarro, Avery and drummer Stephen Perkins in 14 years. Navarro returned to the group after a years-long battle with COVID in May, following Avery’s reunion with the group in 2022, which concluded a 12-year walkout–his second in the band’s tumultuous history. Since arriving on the scene in 1985, the band has broken up twice, and famously fought onstage like on Friday at the inaugural Lollapalooza in 1991–just before their first dissolution.
Though hardly the headline of the show now, Friday was also Perkins’s birthday. In videos of the show-closing conflict, a balloon can be seen floating over his kit.
Jane’s Addiction is still on tour, and will return on Sept. 19 for a performance at Toronto’s Budweiser Stage. For tickets and more information, visit janesaddiction.com.
Watch a fan-recorded video of the band’s memorable, chaotic treatment of “Ocean Size” below.
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