Jane says… the tour is over. Jane's Addiction canceled their tour midway through the band's tour after frontman Perry Farrell punched guitarist Dave Navarro during the band's show on Friday (September 13) in Boston at the Leader Bank Pavilion.
“The band made the difficult decision to take some time off as a group. Therefore, they will be canceling the remainder of the tour,” the band said in a brief statement on Monday (September 16). Refunds will be issued at the point of purchase.
In fan-shot videos that went viral after Friday's show, Pharrell is seen on stage singing to the audience before turning to Navarro and screaming the lyrics, seemingly angry. The frontman then walks over to the guitarist, continuing his scream, before checking on the guitarist, retreating, then getting back in Navarro's face to continue yelling, while the guitarist-actor – looking confused – calmly holds Farrell at length of the hand. while the frontman continues to shout. Pharrell then punches his guitarist and a crew member comes on stage, repeatedly telling Pharrell to “Stop! Stop!” More crew members rush onto the stage to restrain the rocker and pull him off the stage.
The next day, Jane's Addiction released a statement via the band's Instagram Stories. “We would like to extend a sincere apology to our fans for the events that unfolded last night,” the statement read. The band then noted that their next show on Sunday (Sept. 15) at the Hartford Healthcare Amphitheater has been canceled.
Farrell's wife, Etty Lau Farrell, shared a statement on her own Instagram after the fight. Reposting video of the fight, he explained how he saw the situation. “There was clearly a lot of tension and animosity between the members… the magic that made the band so dynamic,” he wrote. “Well, the dynamite ignited. Perry got up in Dave's face and body checked him.”
“Perry's frustration grew, night after night, he felt the stage volume was too loud and his voice was being drowned out by the band,” she continued, noting that her husband struggled with a sore throat and tinnitus. “But when the audience in the front row started complaining to Perry that they were cursing him, that the band was playing too loud and they couldn't hear him, Perry lost it.”
She went on to praise Navarro for trying to de-escalate the situation, noting that the guitarist “still looked nice and cool in the middle of a fight,” while her husband was “a crazy beast” for a while. Added Etty, “At last she did not calm down, but burst out and cried and cried.”
Jane's Addiction – which has scored one song on the Billboard Hot 100 and three No. 1 hits on the Alternative Airplay chart since forming in the mid-'80s – was about halfway through its tour with Love and Rockets. The tour — produced by Live Nation — was scheduled to conclude on October 16 at the YouTube Theater in Los Angeles.
Check out Jane's Addiction's statement below:
from our partners at https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/janes-addiction-cancels-tour-after-stage-fight-1235775878/