Jane's Addiction has The band has apologized to its fans for the on-stage brawl between bandmates Perry Farrell and Dave Navarro in Boston on Friday.
“We want to extend our sincere apologies for the events that took place last night and as a result, we will be canceling our show next night in Bridgeport,” they wrote on their Instagram story Saturday night. They also added refund information for the show that was canceled in Connecticut on Sunday.
On Friday, while playing “Ocean Size” at their reunion concert, Pharrell appeared agitated, as video footage from the concert revealed. He moved toward Navarro and shoved his shoulder into Navarro as he played guitar. Pharrell appeared to yell and confront a surprised Navarro, who used his arm to push Pharrell away, and then Pharrell punched Navarro's arm away.
As a crew member came on stage and told Pharrell to stop, Navarro said, “What happened?” The lead singer tried to attack Navarro again. Two other crew members, as well as guitarist Eric Avery, jumped in to restrain Perry and remove him from the stage. Navarro left the stage shortly after, bringing the show to an abrupt end after 11 songs. It’s unclear what caused Pharrell’s aggression.
On Saturday morning, Farrell's wife, Ettie, took to Instagram to give her account of the fight.
“There was obviously a lot of tension and animosity between the members.. the magic that made the band so dynamic. Well, the dynamite was lit,” Etty Lau Farrell wrote in a comment on an Instagram video that included a video of the incident.
“Berry's frustration was growing, night after night. He felt that the stage was too loud and the band was drowning out his own voice. He suffered from tinnitus and a sore throat every night. But when the front row audience started complaining and swearing at Berry because the band was planning to sing so loud that they couldn't hear him, Berry lost his temper.”
Avery “put Perry in a headlock and hit him in the stomach three times,” Etty added.
“Perry was a crazy beast for the next half hour – he didn't finally calm down, he just broke down and cried and cried,” she said.
The tour marks the first time in 14 years that the band's “Core Four” lineup — Pharrell, Navarro, Avery and drummer Stephen Perkins — have toured together, and comes after Navarro temporarily left the band amid a lengthy battle with Covid.
