close
close

Perry Farrell punches Dave Navarro on stage during Jane’s Addiction concert

Perry Farrell punches Dave Navarro on stage during Jane’s Addiction concert

Jane’s Addiction’s reunited concert in Boston ended prematurely Friday after singer Perry Farrell punched guitarist Dave Navarro onstage in the middle of a song.

As seen in the concert video, during a performance of “Ocean Size,” Farrell became agitated for some reason, walked toward Navarro, and struck the guitarist in the back with his shoulder. Farrell, aggressive and still angry, continued to yell at the puzzled Navarro, and the singer eventually managed to land a punch right on his shoulder:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MgUgvaML80

“What the hell?” Navarro asked as a crew member held Farrell back. When the singer tried to get around the crew member and hit Navarro again, two other crew members and even bassist Eric Avery ran to hold Farrell back and take him backstage. Navarro eventually left the stage as well, and the show ended after 11 songs, three or four songs short of a typical show so far on the now-threatened Jane’s Addiction reunion tour.

According to VarietyWhat happened between the band members onstage in Boston had been brewing since the Core Four’s first joint tour in 14 years, which began in August. On previous stops, Farrell’s lengthy banter with the audience visibly frustrated Navarro onstage. Variety also notes that several concert critics mentioned that Farrell consumed a bottle of red wine on stage throughout the performance.

However, none of the early incidents—including two shows in New York earlier in the week—were any indication of what happened in Boston: JamBase reported that the trouble began during “Mountain Song,” with Farrell yelling at Navarro. The bickering continued through the next song, “Three Days,” and culminated in the punchline “Ocean Size.”

Jane’s Addiction has yet to comment on the confrontation, and Avery’s Instagram — which often posted while the band was on tour — also didn’t mention the incident. However, Farrell’s wife Etty wrote a lengthy explanation on social media that broke down the situation.

“There was clearly a lot of tension and animosity between the members…the magic that made the group so dynamic. Well, the dynamite was lit,” wrote Etty Lau Farrell.

“Perry’s frustration grew as night after night he felt like the stage was being turned up too loud and his voice was being drowned out by the band. Perry suffered from tinnitus and a sore throat every night. But when the front row audience started complaining until Perry insulted them by saying the band had planned to play too loud and they couldn’t hear him, Perry lost his mind.”

Etty added that a confrontation also took place backstage between Farrell and Avery, who “put Perry in a headlock and punched him in the stomach three times.”

“Perry went crazy for the next half hour. He couldn’t calm down, he broke down and cried,” Etty added of the backstage scene. “Eric either didn’t understand what de-escalation meant or he took advantage of the situation and threw a few low blows at Perry.”

Tendency

Liam Gallagher, an expert on the band’s feuds, tweeted in response to the Jane’s Addiction fight video: “Their attitude stinks.” When a fan joked that a similar incident would happen between Liam and Noel during the Oasis reunion tour, Liam replied: “I don’t think we’re very professional these days, we’ll blow your mind.”

The Jane’s Addiction reunion tour is set to continue Sunday night in Bridgeport, Connecticut, for now. The tour itself is set to wrap up in the band’s hometown of Los Angeles on October 16. The tour marked the first time in 14 years that all four members of the band—Farrell, Navarro, Avery and drummer Stephen Perkins—have toured together, and comes after Navarro temporarily left the band amid a long battle with COVID.