Perry Farrell punched Dave Navarro in the face backstage after the pair’s altercation at a recent Jane’s Addiction show, according to the band’s guitar technician.
The group recently reformed with their original line-up – comprising Farrell, Navarro, Stephen Perkins and Eric Avery. They played a run of UK and European shows together before embarking on a North American tour last month.
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Additionally, this summer saw the band release ‘Imminent Redemption’ – their first new music together in 34 years.
However, apparent tensions between the members came to a head at a gig in Boston, when Farrell shoved Navarro mid-performance and the set ended abruptly. Jane’s Addiction subsequently cancelled their remaining dates and confirmed a hiatus, citing the frontman’s “mental health difficulties”.
Now, Dan Cleary – the band’s guitar and bass tech of 17 years – has opened up about the drama that unfolded in Boston and beforehand during an appearance on Rare Form Radio. He spoke to host Todd Newman, who has been close friends with Navarro for 30 years.
“I didn’t think we’d get into it so quickly after it happened,” Cleary began, “but I knew eventually we’d have to address the whole Jane’s Addiction Boston fiasco – which is one of the craziest things I’ve ever been a part of in my life.”
He went on to say that the show “went off the rails, to say the least”, before confirming that “the band is no more”.
Later, audio of an after-show confrontation reveals Farrell telling his wife that the other members were “trying to fuck my show up”.
Navarro then appeared to ask Farrell “What the fuck was that, you motherfucker?” The sounds of a scuffle are then heard. “[That’s] Perry punching Dave,” Cleary explained, “and that one, he actually connected with… You can hear it, the right hand to the left side of Dave’s face.”
The tech explained: “We knew before the Boston show that it was not going to go smooth. From the get[-go], he’s just kind of off again.”
He mentioned a fan clip on social media where Navarro taps Farrell on the arm: “And what he’s doing is, he’s saying, ‘I’m gonna take my solo again, because you just sang over it a minute ago, and I stopped because you don’t know where you’re at’.”
Cleary said that Farrell then “immediately gets irritated” over Navarro, Avery and Perkins getting into a huddle about how to move ahead. “In his mind, I think, there’s some kind of paranoia going on there,” he explained.
“[Farrell] thinks they’re talking about him, which they are, but not in the way he thinks. They’re trying to figure out how to fix this stuff… So he goes over and starts screaming lyrics at them, which was just strange.”
Cleary said that it “all fell apart” during ‘Ocean Size’, adding: “Perry is getting angrier and it’s almost like when someone becomes a werewolf.” Newman then played an audio clip of Farrell allegedly saying: “Fuck these motherfuckers… fuck him.”
Remembering the onstage altercation, Cleary continued: “I love Dave [and] it felt like seeing a little kid getting bullied on the schoolyard for something he didn’t do. And he’s been through enough shit in his life, and worked so hard to get back to this point. To see that happen just triggered something in me: ‘I’m not gonna let this happen to this guy’. Eric had the same feeling.”
He added: “After the altercation that’s on video, Perry punches Dave in the face again backstage.
“I’m upset about it because when you see people spinning it or Etty focusing on Eric punching Perry twice, saying they’re cheap shots. I’m sorry, if someone goes after my friend and I defend them – those aren’t cheap shots.”
Cleary reiterated that the fight didn’t end on stage. “We actually have it on this recording here,” he said, before playing an audio file. Describing what went down, Cleary continued: “[Farrell said], ‘I’ll fuck that motherfucker up’. This is Perry being consoled.”
Both Cleary and Newman recalled how Farrell had “quit the band” ahead of the opening show in Las Vegas in August, even while fans were making their way into the venue. Remembering how the frontman was talked into staying, Cleary said: “Management earned their keep that day.”
Cleary explained earlier how the singer’s “main focus” was in the production side of Jane’s Addiction’s “stage show”. He then said that the group had agreed to be a “democracy” when they reformed, and would “find something [they] all agree on”.
The tech claimed that the band had agreed to just be “four guys on stage – no backup singers, no dancers, none of that”, adding: “Old school music speaks for itself… And I do know that there was immediate pushback from Perry on that issue.”
Following the UK and European concerts, “discussion of production” arose once again. “And from what I gather, dancers were kind of trying to be worked back into the tour,” Cleary explained. “Etty [Lau, Farrell’s wife] being one of the dancers.”
But this “wasn’t something that the majority of the band [wanted]”, the tech added. He revealed that the disagreement led to “more pushback” and “more problems”.
The rest of the band worked on some non-dancing video content, which Farrell didn’t like. “Farrell took a camera crew into the desert, and filmed content to present to the guys,” Cleary said, claiming that the frontman wasn’t attending rehearsals at the time.
“The guys didn’t see the [footage] until we got to Vegas for the first show,” he continued. “These are things that are usually worked out weeks if not months before your first show. This was going up to the last minute.”
He said: “Perry presented some of his stuff, and it was more of Etty and I think some other women in the desert dancing.” However, Cleary claimed that the band didn’t want this.
“It’s 2024, it’s a bit of a different time,” he told Newman. “You know, having scantily clad chicks on stage or on video, I don’t think it’s as empowering as maybe the Farrells might think it is.”
He explained that the disagreements around the video content got “pretty heated” because “the Farrells sort of couldn’t let go of this thing, to the point that before the first show, Perry quit the band”.
The concert went ahead, but Cleary said “from that point, Perry did kind of pull away from his bandmates” and that there were “no joyful interactions” between them. “But even after that kind of weirdness, the band did continue to support Perry through the entire tour,” he added.
“If there was ever parts where he wasn’t quite sure what part of the song they were in, they would go and say, ‘Here we are’. If he had a great show, they were the first people to be like, ‘That was fucking awesome. You’re amazing’.
“There was some talk of the fight that ended up happening in Boston was brought on by sound issues on stage, and I have to push back on that in a big way, because… this one’s tough to talk about, because it has to do with: are there other factors involved than just stage stuff?”
He went on to describe the first of two gigs in New York as “the worst show I’ve ever seen in my life – I’m not saying just with Jane’s; it was the worst show I’ve ever seen”.
Cleary then disputed Etty’s claim that “sound issues on stage” were responsible, saying: “I have to say, that’s fucking bullshit. Because the Tampa show, the New York show and the Boston show… I’m sorry, but Perry was fucked up.”
He recalled: “He didn’t know where he was in the songs. He didn’t know the words. He was singing words from other songs. These are not sound issues. And also, he had a bunch of fantastic shows throughout the tour. The sound doesn’t change – we’re the same all the time.”
According to Cleary, Farrell’s poor performance at the first New York show led to a “very, very heated argument” backstage. However, the band are said to have “heard each other [and] got stuff off their chest”.
He added: “After a string of rough shows and bad vibes and problems, Navarro was pulling Perry in [at the second New York concert], hugging before the show, [saying] ‘I love you, let’s go kick some ass’. And they turned in probably one of the best shows I’ve ever seen the band do in 17 years. It was magic.”
Elsewhere, Cleary claimed that Navarro “did fight very, very hard to get back into this band”.
Earlier this month Farrell apologised to his fans and bandmates, “especially Dave Navarro”. He added: “Unfortunately, my breaking point resulted in inexcusable behaviour, and I take full accountability for how I chose to handle the situation.”
His wife Etty Lau has since said Farrell was taking time to “reflect and to heal”, and would be seeking help from an otolaryngologist and a neurologist.
Jane’s Addiction quietly shared a new single called ‘True Love’ after announcing their hiatus.
Meanwhile, Navarro apologised for “such a terrible outcome of what started off as an incredibly magical tour”. He had earlier suggested that Jane’s Addiction were over for good, writing: “Perhaps it’s simpler to recognise when something is gone.”
