Jane’s Addiction show ends abruptly after singer’s punch

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Jane’s Addiction frontman Perry Farrell came to blows with guitarist Dave Navarro on stage Friday night in Boston.

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Several videos shared to social media show Farrell singing loudly into the microphone before he bumps into Navarro with his shoulder. Navarro then holds off Farrell with his right forearm before the singer took a swing with his right arm.

Other people on stage quickly arrived to keep the two apart and de-escalate the situation before Farrell was taken away. The show ended shortly thereafter.

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Jane’s Addiction, the alternative rock band that formed in the mid-1980s and became stars in the grunge scene by the early 1990s, have regrouped with original members for their “Imminent Redemption” reunion tour across North America. The band will make stop at Toronto’s Budweiser Stage this Wednesday.

While band members have yet to comment about the onstage incident and whether future shows will be cancelled, Farrell’s wife explained the outburst on social media.

“Clearly there had been a lot of tension and animosity between the [band] members,” Etty Lau Farrell wrote on Instagram.

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“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,” she continued. “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 explained that the band was playing the song Ocean before the singer was ready, and by the end of it he had to literally scream just to be heard over the instruments.

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While the frontman was being led away backstage, his wife alleged that bassist Eric Avery, with most of the stage lights turned off, “put [Farrell] in a headlock and punched him in the stomach three times” before a crewmember pulled Avery away.

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“Then Eric nonchalant walked off to the front of the stage to apologize to audience for the show ended early.”

She wrote that Farrell didn’t calm down for the next 30 minutes, eventually breaking down and started crying.

“Eric, well he either didn’t understand what de-escalation meant or took advantage of the situation and got in a few cheap shots on Perry,” she added.

Fans on social media were not amused by what transpired on stage nor the explanation for Farrell’s outburst.

“I say this with care: stop enabling your husband,” one person wrote in response. “Perry clearly needs help with whatever ailment is impairing his physical and/or mental health. Your post isn’t honest or helpful — in fact, it pretty clearly demonstrates how impaired your mindset is, as well. There are countless videos of Perry shoving Dave and taking the first swing, and Perry has been incoherent at multiple shows recently. It’s crystal clear that your husband is struggling, so please stop trying to spin this.”

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Others cited previous shows where Farrell was not at the top of his game.

“Perry was a trainwreck at the San Diego show a few weeks ago,” another shared. “Perry is a creative genius and we were hoping to see him shine, excited for the original lineup. His voice is off and maybe it’s medical, but he seemed intoxicated…. The behaviour and performances this tour are beneath him and instead of this being an amazing tour, with fans being blown away, we feel sad for Perry.”

Another replied that they were at a recent show in New York City and called Farrell’s effort on stage “lame.”

“Perry was a mess and ruined the show for the fans and clearly Dave, Eric and [drummer] Stephen [Perkins] were trying to make up for it. You may call it issues with sound, however they were rocking it out in NYC to try to compensate for the elephant on the stage.

“It clearly looks like Perry was the issue with his lame performance again in Boston and he was the aggressor that you are defending.”

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