As previously reported, Jane's Addiction ended their Boston show abruptly on Friday night (September 13) following a physical altercation between singer Perry Farrell and guitarist Dave Navarro. Now, the vocalist's wife, Etty Lau Farrell, has released a detailed account of the incident, accusing bassist Eric Avery of punching Farrell in the immediate aftermath.
To recap what's already been reported, Farrell angrily approached Navarro during “Ocean Size” and pushed the guitarist violently before throwing a punch at him as well. The fight was quickly broken up by a couple of crew members and Avery, and the show ended immediately afterward.
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Etty posted a “Who, How, What, Why, When” breakdown on her Instagram alongside a video of the incident, explaining that sound issues had been plaguing the tour, with Perry’s frustration growing by the night. While she admits Perry “lost it” on stage, she says fans didn’t see what happened next, which was Avery apparently putting Perry in a headlock and punching him in the stomach three times. Her full account is as follows:
“Rather than speculate, I thought I’d post a first-person account of what happened on stage with @janesaddiction last night at the @lenderpavilion in Boston.
WHO: Perry Farrell and Dave Navarro
HOW: There had clearly been a lot of tension and animosity between the members… the magic that made the band so dynamic. Well, the dynamite was lit. Perry stood in front of Dave and charged him.
WHY: Perry's frustration had been mounting – night after night, he felt like the stage volume had been extremely loud and that his voice was being drowned out by the band. Perry had been suffering from tinnitus and a sore throat every night. But when the audience in the front row started complaining and Perry called him names because the band was planning to play too loud and they couldn't hear him, Perry lost his temper.
WHEN: The band started the song Ocean before Perry was ready and counted in. The stage volume was so loud at the time, Perry couldn't hear over the din and vibration of the instruments and by the end of the song, he wasn't singing, he was screaming just to be heard.
SO WHO WON THE FIGHT?
Eric Avery, of course. While Dave held Perry at a distance to calm the situation, Dan rushed in to calm it down, too, holding him down. Dave moved away to take his guitar from him. Eric approached Perry, upstage in the dark behind Dan, put him in a headlock, and punched him in the stomach three times. Kevin, a long-haired crew member, pulled Eric away. Eric then nonchalantly made his way to the front of the stage to apologize to the audience for the show ending early.
WHAT WERE THE CONSEQUENCES?
Dave still looked cool and calm in the middle of a fight. Perry was a crazed beast for the next half hour; he eventually didn't calm down, but broke down and cried and cried. Eric, well, either didn't understand what de-escalation meant or he took advantage of the situation and landed some cheap shots at Perry.
Well, that's my first-person account of what happened. Check out the video for yourself.”
The video Etty posted features a new angle that appears to show Avery attacking Perry. It's unclear how this will affect the rest of Jane's Addiction's North American tour with Love and Rockets.
As of now, the tour is scheduled to resume Sunday night (September 15) in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and continue through an October 16 show in Los Angeles (with tickets for upcoming shows available for purchase). Available here).
See Etty Lau Farrell's Instagram post with the new angle of the incident below.
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