Over the weekend, the band Jane’s Addiction was playing a show in Boston. During the third song in their set, lead singer Perry Farrell started grunting on stage before yelling something at his bandmate, Dave Navarro. Perry then walked over to confront Dave, hitting him as the guitarist had his hand out to keep him at bay. A crew member stepped in to de-escalate the situation and it looked like bassist Eric Avery pulled Perry away. There are a lot of videos of it online and this Twitter thread has compiled a bunch of different ones taken by different people.
Obviously, the show ended after Perry hit Dave on stage. The band’s next tour date was scheduled for September 18 in Toronto. However, on Monday, Dave, Eric, and drummer Stephen Perkins released a statement via Instagram announcing that the band would be canceling the rest of their tour. According to the statement, canceling their remaining dates was a result of Perry’s “continuing pattern of behavior and mental health difficulties.” Out of concern for their bandmate, Jane’s Addiction is taking a break in the hopes that Perry is able to “find the help he needs.” Soon after, Perry released a statement apologizing to his bandmates and taking “full accountability” for his behavior.
On Monday, the band announced in a statement posted to their Instagram page that they’ve “made the difficult decision to take some time away as a group,” therefore canceling the remaining dates of their tour.
Soon after on Monday, Navarro, along with Jane’s Addiction band mates Stephen Perkins and Eric Avery, posted a joint statement to their respective Instagram accounts in which they said the cancelation of the tour is a result of a “continuing pattern of behavior and the mental health difficulties of our singer Perry Farrell.”
“Our concern for his personal health and safety as well as our own has left us no alternative. We hope that he will find the help he needs,” the statement read.
Navarro, Perkins and Avery’s statement expressed “regret” for the cancelation but added that they “can see no solution that would either ensure a safe environment on stage or reliably allow us to deliver a great performance on a nightly basis.”
“Our hearts are broken,” the statement concluded.
Later on Monday, Farrell wrote in a statement posted to his Instagram story that “this weekend has been incredibly difficult and after having the time and space to reflect, it is only right that I apologize to my bandmates, especially Dave Navarro, fans, family and friends for my actions during Friday’s show.”
His statement continued, “Unfortunately, my breaking point resulted in inexcusable behavior, and I take full accountability for how I chose to handle the situation.”
On Friday, Farrell and Navarro were seen engaging in a confrontation on stage during their concert in Boston, video footage showed. Farrell appeared to yell at Navarro, then approach him and hit him before other band members and crew intervened.
Jane’s Addiction were set to resume their tour in Toronto on Wednesday after they previously canceled Sunday’s concert in Connecticut due to the scuffle. The tour was scheduled to conclude in Los Angeles in October. Refunds for the canceled dates will be issued at the ticket holder’s point of purchase and ticket holders who purchased tickets through third-party resale sites are urged to reach out to them directly.
Perry’s wife, Etty Lau Farrell, went on Instagram to share her perspective of what went down. She claims that her husband was frustrated that audio levels in previous concerts were drowning his vocals out, causing him to have tinnitus and a sore throat after every show. Etty says that the band started playing “Ocean Size” before her husband was ready to start and their “count” was off. That random vocalizing was just him trying to be heard.
When my husband showed me a video of the confrontation and I heard Perry’s grunting vocalizations just prior to walking over to Dave, I just assumed that was that it had to be alcohol- or drug-related. Maybe he really was just mad and flipped out. Whatever the reason(s) he had, attacking anyone is never the answer. It’s clear that Perry has some issues that he needs to seek treatment for. I really hope he takes this time to do that. Throwing guitars is rock ‘n’ roll. Throwing punches at your bandmate is not.
Perry Farrell went off on set of Jane’s Addiction, attacking Dave Navarro…apparently pissed the sound of the instruments drowned out his vocals….or he was drunk or high…IDK.
But here’s the full video: pic.twitter.com/L5DhS56YGR
— VonWeeden (@Von_Weeden) September 14, 2024
Photos credit: Zoran Veselinovic / Avalon, Mike Gray / Avalon