A new episode of the podcast Rare Form Radio examines the recent onstage implosion of multi-platinum alternative rockers Jane’s Addiction in Boston, MA earlier this month. That now infamous September 13th set ended with vocalist Perry Farrell being forcibly escorted off stage by his bandmates and several individuals associated with the group.
However, in the moments prior to that, an enraged Farrell was seen getting physically aggressive with his bandmate, guitarist Dave Navarro, both shoving and taking an apparent swing at him.
This new episode of the aforementioned podcast features accounts from the band’s guitar/bass tech Dan Cleary, who worked this year’s reunion tour and was one present during the onstage blowout, as well Todd Newman, a close personal friend of Navarro‘s for several decades. In it, the pair recount early tensions amid the U.S. leg of the reunion tour.
Cleary shared also audio of the altercations from the Boston show, and described what transpired backstage afterwards. He alleged that after the widely publicized incident took place onstage, Farrell apparently connected with an additional punch to Navarro. It is also alleged by the pair that Farrell had quit the band prior to the first night of the U.S. leg in Las Vegas. However, management and the band were able to smooth things over with Farrell agreeing to continue.
Apparently the scaled down approach the band took for this tour was an initial source of frustration for Farrell, with the group democratically opting to not include backup singers and dancers this time out, something which Farrell had allegedly been pushing for. His own wife Etty Lau Farrell had previously toured as a dancer with past lineup configurations of the group.
Perry apparently had attempted to once again push for the idea on the day of the opening show in Las Vegas, showing up with footage of himself, his wife and several dancers which he wanted to be played on video screens behind the band during their live performances. Cleary relayed of that:
“It’s 2024, it’s a bit of a different time. You know, having scantily clad chicks on stage or on video, I don’t think it’s as empowering as maybe the Farrells might think it is… The Farrells sort of couldn’t let go of this thing, to the point that before the first show, Perry quit the band.”
Newman, who attended that opening show, claimed that Etty was apparently vocal for her husband to exit the trek at that point, with Newman claiming that she was “out in this public area yelling about how Perry is going home and the tour is over, and this is in front of our Live Nation reps, who are the people that basically promote the tour and front the bill for the tour. And when they start hearing that people are going home before the first show, obviously they get very squirrelly and very concerned.”
While that show and the tour ultimately did go on, Cleary stated that the relationship between Perry and the band’s freshly reunited classic lineup (which also included drummer Stephen Perkins and bassist Eric Avery) had changed afterwards, with Perry allegedly becoming more isolated and withdrawn from his bandmates. Cleary relayed of that, stating Farrell engaged in, “no joyful interactions, no talk…” with his fellow bandmates.
Cleary continued:
“But even after that kind of weirdness, the band did continue to support Perry through the entire tour. If there was ever parts where… he wasn’t quite sure what part of the song they were in, they would go and say, ‘Here we are.’ If he had a great show, they were the first people to be like, ‘That was fucking awesome. You’re amazing.’… There was some talk of the fight that ended up happening in Boston was brought on by sound issues on stage, and I have to push back on that in a big way, because… this one’s tough to talk about, because it has to do with: Are there other factors involved than just stage stuff?”
“The three worst shows, this man was clearly fucked up, and we knew it from the moment we saw him earlier in the day.”
The band’s August 29th show in Tampa, FL was cited as a problematically bad performance for Farrell, with Cleary bluntly stating of it, “like, holy shit — call the police. There’s been a murder.” The band’s September 10th performance at The Rooftop at Pier 17 in New York City, NY also saw Farrell delivering an alarmingly sloppy performance, to the point that some fans demanded refunds.
Cleary relayed of that date:
“The first [NYC] show was the worst show I’ve ever seen in my life — I’m not saying just with Jane’s; it was the worst show I’ve ever seen… He didn’t know where he was in the songs. He didn’t know the words. He was singing words from other songs. These are not sound issues. … And also, he had a bunch of fantastic shows throughout the tour. The sound doesn’t change — we’re the same all the time.”
Cleary did clarify that he doesn’t think that Perry had been indulging too excessively in wine onstage, but did note that “emotional issues” seemingly exacerbated his condition, and didn’t rule out the possibility of “substances” being involved.
During the final show in Boston, MA, after Farrell accidentally sang over one of Navarro‘s solos, the guitarist apparently went over and informed Farrell he was going to play the solo again. Cleary said of that interaction, “what Navarro’s doing is, he’s saying, ‘I’m gonna take my solo again, because you just sang over it a minute ago, and I stopped because you don’t know where you’re at.’”
Cleary stated that upon growing worried about Farrell‘s troubled performance during that set, the rest of the band had huddled to discuss how to salvage the show. Farrell apparently took issue with that and is said to have begun screaming lyrics at at his bandmates. That tension ultimately escalated and spilled over in the onstage altercation that took place between Farrell and Navarro during “Ocean Size“.
Cleary said of witnessing that altercation:
“I love Dave (and) it felt like seeing a little kid getting bullied on the schoolyard for something he didn’t do. And he’s been through enough shit in his life, and worked so hard to get back to this point [Navarro was only able to rejoin his bandmates this past spring after debilitating battle with long COVID.] To see that happen just triggered something in me: ‘I’m not gonna let this happen to this guy.’ Eric [Avery] had the same feeling.”
Avery was seen to have gotten Farrell in a headlock to restrain him, and as recounted by Etty, gave her husband several blows to the stomach. Etty referred to those punches as “cheap shots”. Cleary said of that incident, “Eric said, ‘I didn’t know how to get his attention. I had to get his attention to get him to try to stop him from going towards Dave again.’”
In an audio clip shared by Cleary of the situation backstage after that altercation, Farrell was apparently being “consoled” when an physical additional confrontation took place between Navarro and Farrell, with Cleary relaying:
“Again. I want people to understand it didn’t end there [onstage…] Eventually Dave walks up to ask what the fuck happened, and Perry punches him again… So any of of this talk of cheap shots… (But) I feel for him, because something is going on mentally. He looked crazed.”
Cleary went on to state:
“No one’s trying to villainize Perry. He did do this, and I know this band is over with, but I really do hope that he’s able to figure (things) out… I think that Perry’s apology that was posted on Instagram was heartfelt — and I know that for sure because I’ve checked in and I know that he’s hurting.
I feel if I could take that away, I’m sure we would all love to take that away. He’s gonna go through that for a while and it sucks, but I do hope he gets the help. And I appreciate all that he and Etty have done… and what the band has done. I just hate that, at the moment, this is what Jane’s is going to be known for. … This ended on nobody’s terms. It feels like losing someone in a car accident.”
If you don’t have time to check out the below episode, Variety have published a detailed summary of what was said by Cleary and Newman of the circumstances that led up to the incident and its aftermath.
In the wake of the aforementioned altercation the band’s reunion tour was scrapped with Navarro, Avery and Perkins issuing a statement of their own, citing their concern for Perry‘s “mental health difficulties“. Perry later publicly apologized to his bandmates. A statement shared by Perry‘s wife on September 21st revealed that Perry has since sought help from a neurologist and an otolaryngologist for his issues.
In a September 14th statement, Etty herself blamed her husband’s performance issues during the Boston, MA show on a combination of issues with his voice, his tinnitus, and a poor mix of audio onstage. Perry also stated from the stage during the troubled NYC show mentioned above that he was struggling with his voice that night.
The unfortunate unravelling of the group came about at the worst time for longtime fans. Not only did this year mark the first time the aforementioned four musicians had toured together since 2010, it also saw two new singles in “Imminent Redemption” and “True Love” debut. The latter track was somewhat curiously released days after the band’s meltdown. Those two songs were the first from that classic era of the band to arrive in 34 years.
