A reunited Jane’s Addiction concert in Boston ended prematurely on Friday after singer Perry Farrell punched guitarist Dave Navarro onstage and mid-song.
As revealed in a video from the show, during a performance of “Ocean Size,” Pharrell became agitated for reasons that are unclear, walked toward Navarro and hit the guitarist in the back with his shoulder. An aggressive and still angry Pharrell continued to yell at the bewildered Navarro, who eventually landed a right hook on his longtime bandmate’s shoulder.
“What?” Navarro asked as a crew member held down Pharrell. When Pharrell fended off the crew and tried to attack Navarro again, two more crew members and bassist Eric Avery rushed over, held Pharrell down, and took him backstage. Navarro eventually left the stage, and the concert ended after 11 songs, three or four fewer than a typical show so far for Jane’s Addiction’s now-crippling reunion tour.
According to Variety, whatever happened between the bandmates onstage in Boston has been simmering since August, when the “Core Four” began touring together for the first time in 14 years. On previous tours, Pharrell’s lengthy banter with the audience had left Navarro visibly irritated onstage. Variety also points out that some concert reviews have said Pharrell drank a bottle of red wine onstage throughout the performance.
But none of the earlier incidents, including two in New York earlier last week, foreshadowed what happened in Boston. Jambase reported that the trouble started when Pharrell yelled at Navarro during the band’s performance of “Mountain Song.” The altercation continued into the next song, “Three Days,” and culminated in a punch during “Ocean Size.”
Jane’s Addiction are yet to comment on the collision, and Avery, who posts frequently while the band is on tour, has not mentioned the incident on his Instagram, but Pharrell’s wife Etty posted a lengthy explanation on social media, explaining the situation in detail.
Editor’s Recommendation
“There was clearly tension and animosity between the members, which made the band dynamic – dynamite on fire,” Etty Lau Farrell wrote.
“Perry’s frustration grew with each night, as he felt the stage volume was so excessively loud that he was drowning out the band. Perry suffered from ringing in his ears and a sore throat every night, but when a member of the audience in the front row began yelling at Perry that they couldn’t hear him because the band was playing too loud, Perry lost his patience.”
Etty added that there was also a clash between Farrell and Avery backstage, with “Farrell putting Perry in a headlock and punching him three times in the stomach.”
“Perry was like a rabid beast for the next 30 minutes, eventually unable to calm down and breaking down in tears,” Etty added of the scene backstage. “Eric either did not understand the meaning of DESERVATION or he took advantage of the situation to launch a vile attack on Perry.”
trend
Liam Gallagher, an expert on in-band altercations, responded to the Jane’s Addiction fight video by tweeting, “Attitudes are awful.” When a fan joked that a similar incident would occur between Liam and Noel during the Oasis reunion tour, Liam replied, “I don’t think so. We’re not professional these days. We’re going to surprise everyone.”
For now, Jane’s Addiction’s reunion tour is scheduled to resume Sunday night in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The tour itself is scheduled to wrap up in the band’s hometown of Los Angeles on Oct. 16. The tour marks the first time in 14 years that the band’s “core four” members — Pharrell, Navarro, Avery and drummer Stephen Perkins — have toured together, and comes after Navarro temporarily left the band amid his lengthy battle with COVID-19.
