Jane’s Addiction apologized to fans for the onstage altercation in Boston that saw singer Perry Farrell throwing a punch at guitarist Dave Navarro and abruptly ending their set. The band offered a “heartfelt apology” and said it is canceling its next concert, in Bridgeport, Connecticut, but gave no further details about the remainder of the tour, which is scheduled to continue through October 16.
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“We want to extend a heartfelt apology for the events that unfolded last night,” the band wrote in its Instagram story. “As a result we will be cancelling tomorrow night’s show in Bridgeport,” followed by refund details.
Friday’s show came to a sudden end when a clearly enraged Farrell threw a punch at Navarro — and was restrained by crew members, still appearing physically agitated as he was hustled offstage.
Footage shared on the web shows the band deep into playing “Ocean Size,” the 11th number in a set that usually stretches out to 14 or 15 songs, when trouble erupts between the two most famous members of the veteran band. Some fans reported on social media that tension looked to have been brewing for several songs before it got to the point of fisticuffs.
On Saturday morning, Etty Lou Farrell, the singer’s spouse, posted her own account of Friday night’s events, writing on her Instagram account that her husband was upset about the band’s sound levels drowning out his vocals, and that led to his assault on seemingly unsuspecting guitarist Dave Navarro. Etty Lou has complimentary words for how coolly Navarro handled the situation; he can be seen trying to keep Farrell at a distance and looking baffled, saying “What the fuck?” but otherwise keeping calm. On the other hand, she lays into bassist Eric Avery for “cheap shots” in allegedly putting the singer into a headlock and punching him three times — something that wasn’t clear from widely disseminated fan video of the onstage altercation.
She wrote that Farrell was “a crazed beast” for a half-hour after being led offstage, adding that he broke down and “cried and cried.”
Jane’s Addiction have always been a fractious band — they split at the height of their popularity in 1991, after organizing and headlining the first-ever Lollapalooza tour — and divided into camps that apparently continue to this day: Farrell and drummer Stephen Perkins formed the band Porno for Pyros while Navarro and Avery worked briefly in a group called Deconstruction. The band has reformed several times over the years, usually without Avery, but clearly the tensions have continued.
The band’s tour with Love and Rockets is scheduled to conclude in Los Angeles on October 16. Variety will have more on the situation as it develops.