Jane’s Addiction cancels rest of tour, SF show, in aftermath of on-stage fight
Jane’s Addiction performs at Chase Center in San Francisco on Nov. 15, 2022. Steve Carlson/STAFF.
Jane’s Addiction on Monday canceled the remainder of its tour with Love and Rockets in the aftermath of an onstage scuffle among the four band members.
Guitarist Dave Navarro, bassist Eric Avery and drummer Stephen Perkins issued a joint statement citing frontman Perry Farrell’s “mental health difficulties.” On social media, Farrell’s wife, Etty Lau Farrell, posted her own firsthand account, saying that Farrell’s voice had been suffering because the rest of the band was playing too loud and ignored multiple requests for several shows to make it quieter. It also accused Avery of sucker-punching Farrell numerous times in the stomach during an off-stage scrum, and laid blame on fans in the front row for cursing at the singer because they couldn’t hear him, saying it set him off.
The fight began on-stage at a show at Leader Bank Pavilion in Boston on Sept. 13 as the band performed “Ocean Size.” In videos posted online, Farrell grunts at the audience, then at Navarro, before running into him as Navarro plays guitar. The guitarist pushes him away before Avery and their band’s crew run up to restrain the singer. Farrell then appears to keep resisting even after he’s offstage.
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“The band have made the difficult decision to take some time away as a group. As such they will be cancelling the remainder of the tour,” the band said in a statement shared on Monday on social media.
Then, the three bandmates (other than Farrell) jointly posted another statement:
“Due to a continuing pattern of behavior and the mental health difficulties of our singer Perry Farrell, we have come to the conclusion that we have no choice but to discontinue the current US tour.
Our concern for his personal health and safety as well as our own has left us no alternative. We hope that he will find the help he needs.
We deeply regret that we are not able to come through for all our fans who have already bought tickets. We can see no solution that would either ensure a safe environment on stage or reliably allow us to deliver a great performance on a nightly basis.”
Shortly after the Boston concert, the band canceled its show in Bridgeport, Conn. on Sunday. Now, the rest of the tour, the band’s first featuring its best-known lineup in 14 years, is also done. The band was due to play The Masonic in San Francisco on Oct. 13. Refunds are being offered at the point of purchase.
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