Jane’s Addiction‘s concert in Boston came to a sudden end on Friday (Sept. 13) when frontman Perry Farrell attacked guitarist Dave Navarro onstage.
The fan-captured altercation at Boston’s Leader Bank Pavilion broke out midway through the reunited band’s performance of “Ocean Size,” when Farrell became angry for unknown reasons and lunged at the Navarro’s shoulder. Farrell, 65, then continued to shout at the guitarist, 57, who appeared confused, and the singer ultimately threw a punch at Navarro.
“What the f—?” Navarro appeared to shout as crew members restrained Farrell and dragged him backstage. The guitarist then took off his guitar and walked off stage, ending the concert after 11 songs. Jane’s Addiction’s reunion shows have typically featured three or four additional performances.
Jane’s Addiction hadn’t publicly commented on the situation at press time. Billboard has reached out to the band’s representatives.
Farrell’s wife, Etty Lau Farrell, took to social media shortly after Friday’s concert to share her version of the story in a lengthy message. “Clearly there had been a lot of tension and animosity between the members.. the magic that made the band so dynamic. Well, the dynamite was lit,” Etty Lau wrote on Instagram alongside a video of the onstage fight.
“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. 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.”
She added that an altercation had occurred backstage between her husband and Jane’s Addiction bassist Eric Avery, who “put Perry in a headlock and punched him in the stomach three times.”
“Perry was a crazed beast for the next half an hour — he finally did not calm down, but did breakdown and cried and cried,” Etty Lau wrote. “Eric, well he either didn’t understand what descalation meant or took advantage of the situation and got in a few cheap shots on Perry.”
Jane’s Addiction’s Live Nation-produced reunion tour — which finds the four original members hitting the road for the first time in 14 years — launched in early August. At press time, the band’s next show was scheduled for Sunday (Sept. 15) in Bridgeport, Conn.
