Jane’s Addiction’s scheduled Toronto show on Wednesday is still listed on the band’s website and on ticket sites, but fans of one of the premier bands of alternative rock’s heyday were understandably nervous it will come off in light of a stunning band punch-up at a Boston concert.
The band cancelled Sunday night’s show in Bridgeport, Conn., apologizing to fans, but they offered no emphatic statement with respect to the rest of the tour.
Jane’s Addiction has over a dozen dates running through Oct. 16 left on their Imminent Redemption tour, as well as scheduled appearances at multi-act festivals in Missouri and Alabama.
The remaining slate begins at Budweiser Stage in Toronto, the lone Canadian date on their tour, on a bill with Love and Rockets.
The fracas occurred toward the end of Friday night’s Boston show, as lead singer Perry Farrell confronted Dave Navarro, bumping into him while yelling at the guitarist. Farrell appears to attempt to throw a punch as a crew member and Eric Avery quickly intervene, with the bassist appearing to put Farrell in a headlock.
Navarro stays away, taking off his guitar while briefly speaking to fans at the front of the stage.
Farrell’s wife, in a lengthy social media post on Saturday, offered an explanation for what transpired, saying the singer was frustrated about “screaming just to be heard” onstage.
“Perry’s frustration had been mounting [on the tour], night after night, he felt that the stage volume had been extremely loud and his voice was being drowned out by the band,” Etty Lau Farrell wrote in an Instagram post Saturday morning.
She said her husband had been suffering from tinnitus and a sore throat and “by the end of the song, he wasn’t singing, he was screaming just to be heard.” She said her husband later broke down “and cried and cried.”
The band members individually haven’t commented, though as a group they released a statement offering a “heartfelt apology to our fans for the events that unfolded” in Massachusetts.
‘They gonna make it to Toronto?’
Fans on social media were left surprised by the onstage acrimony, and left wondering about the remainder of the tour.
“They gonna make it to Toronto next week?” one fan asked on Facebook.
“They might have to change their name to Perry’s Addiction for the Toronto show (if it happens),” another posted.
While Farrell has led various configurations of Jane’s Addiction for shows in recent years, the original lineup with Navarro, Avery and drummer Steven Perkins had not toured together since 2010, as Navarro was unable to make dates they played in 2022 due to long COVID. The band began the current tour on Aug. 9.
Jane’s Addiction built up a devoted following beginning in the mid-1980s through club shows in the Los Angeles area Their debut Nothing’s Shocking in 1988 was met with critical acclaim, while the 1990 followup Ritual de lo Habitual sold even more copies and saw their audience grow.
WATCH l Farrell on CBC in 2008 on the dangers of mixing alcohol and performing:
The former Jane’s Addiction frontman is touring again.
The group earned five Grammy nominations related to those albums as well as the single Been Caught Stealing. In addition, Ferrell helped found the multi-media Lollapalooza festival featuring acts across music genres and support for progressive causes.
Jane’s Addiction released the albums Strays in 2004, produced by Canadian Bob Ezrin, and The Great Escape Artist in 2010.
CBC has reached out to Ticketmaster and Live Nation, which owns the Budweiser Stage venue, for any updated information regarding the concert.
