Jane’s Addiction have decided to cancel their first tour together in 14 years following an onstage fight between bandmates Perry Farrell and Dave Navarro.
Jane’s Addiction announced the decision on social media, saying, “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.” Refunds, they continued, would be issued at the point of purchase.
The band’s official statement was accompanied by a message shared by Navarro and co-signed by drummer Stephen Perkins and bassist Eric Avery. They said the tour was canceled due to a “continuing pattern of behavior and the mental health difficulties of our singer Perry Farrell.”
They continued: “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.”
The scuffle between Farrell and Navarro occurred during Jane’s Addiction’s Sept. 13 show in Boston while the band was performing “Ocean Size.” Per JamBase, Farrell yelled at Navarro during “Mountain Song,” and the pair continued to bicker through “Three Days.” Then, during “Ocean Size,” Farrell grew agitated, walked up to Navarro, and rammed his shoulder into the guitarist’s back. Farrell continued to yell at the perplexed Navarro, with the singer ultimately hitting the guitarist on his shoulder.
A crew member tried to hold back Farrell, and when the singer tried to lunge at Navarro again, two more crew members, as well as bassist Eric Avery, had to step in to help restrain him. Eventually, Farrell was brought backstage, and soon Navarro left the stage as well. The show then ended early after about 11 songs (about three or four less than the band had been playing).
Per reports, tensions between within the band had been simmering since the core lineup of Jane’s Addiction kicked off their reunion tour back in August. At previous gig’s, Farrell’s long-winded bantering with the crowd had appeared to frustrate Navarro.
Following the incident in Boston, Jane’s Addiction issued a “heartfelt apology” to fans and canceled their scheduled Sept. 15 gig in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The rest of the now-scheduled tour was set to run through the end of September.
