Jane’s Addiction apologized to fans for Perry Farrell’s onstage fight with Dave Navarro.
On September 14, the band issued an apology and canceled their next show in Bridgeport, Connecticut. They didn’t say anything about the rest of the tour, which runs until October 16.
“We want to extend a heartfelt apology to our fans for the events that unfolded last night,” the band said in its Instagram story. “As a result, we will be canceling tomorrow night’s show in Bridgeport. Refunds will be issued at your point of purchase – or if you purchased via a third-party reseller (StubHub, SeatGeek, etc), reach out to them directly. Thank you, Jane’s Addiction.”
Farrell attacked Navarro during a Jane’s Addiction concert on September 13 in Boston. It happened near the end of the show while they played ‘Ocean Size.’ Farrell, seeming drunk or high, bumped into Navarro, swore at him, and tried to punch him.
Navarro looked confused and stopped playing. The band’s bassist and road crew held Farrell back and got him offstage. After that, the band thanked the crowd and left. Videos of the incident were posted, and people had already noticed strange behavior at other shows.
At the first of their two New York City concerts this week, Farrell told the audience he wasn’t feeling great vocally. “Ladies and gentlemen, I have to be honest with you. Something’s wrong with my voice. I just can’t get the notes out all of a sudden,” the singer noted.
The next day, Eric Avery shared on Instagram, “Looking forward to getting another crack at this spectacular rooftop venue tonight. I’m optimistic we will be better.”
Farrell’s wife, Etty Lau Farrell, also posted a long message on social media shortly after the concert to share her side of the story. “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,” she wrote.
Etty added, “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.”
“Perry was a crazed beast for the next half an hour — he finally did not calm down, but did breakdown and cried and cried,” she also said. “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 reunion tour with all four original members started in August and will end in mid-October. Their next show is on September 18 at Toronto’s Budweiser Stage.