Why Jane's Addiction Is A Total Nightmare On Tour

In September 2024, Jane's Addiction was finishing up the song "Ocean Size" from their 1988 album "Nothing's Shocking" during a concert in Boston. As guitarist Dave Navarro shredded the climactic ending, frontman Perry Farrell stood near him, rhythmically grunting, as he does in the recorded version of the song. Then, he turned to Navarro, focusing his grunting toward the guitarist before walking closer to him and slamming into him with his shoulder. At first, Navarro continued to play for a few seconds, keeping his eyes on Farrell, who then bowed up to him. At that point, a confrontation started, and someone from offstage quickly came out to get between the longtime bandmates. Navarro took off his guitar, while others ended up wrestling Farrell to the ground. The concert was over, as was the rest of the tour. 

It was a sad ending to not only the tour but the band as well. The run included all four of the original members, and it had gone relatively smoothly overall. Until, as Navarro told Guitar Player, "it all came to a screeching halt and forever destroyed the band's life." "And there's no chance for the band to ever play together again," he continued.

After the concert, Navarro, drummer Stephen Perkins, and bassist Eric Avery posted a joint message on Instagram, citing "a continuing pattern of behavior and the mental health difficulties of our singer Perry Farrell" as the reason for canceling the rest of the slated shows. The scenario was upsetting to the band and to fans, but it was hardly out of left field. The members' ongoing drama and inability to get along had created an on-and-off relationship between them and made their tours a mixed bag of amazing nights of music and fan love and (mostly) behind-the-scenes conflict exacerbated by substance abuse. 

Jane's Addiction formed in the mid-80s in Los Angeles. Even though they only put out two studio albums — the aforementioned "Nothing's Shocking" in 1988 and "Ritual de lo Habitual" in 1990 — they earned a loyal fan base. The band broke up in 1991 with a farewell tour Perry Farrell created called Lollapalooza, a festival that continues to this day. Ironically enough, Farrell and Dave Navarro also had an onstage conflict on the first night of Lollapalooza, and Navarro took the blame. 

In a book called "Lollapalooza: The Uncensored Story of Alternative Rock's Wildest Festival," several people tell the story of that first show. All describe a chaotic night where the Phoenix, Arizona heat was particularly oppressive. Navarro was dealing with drug addiction and had overdone it that night, while Perry was embracing substance abuse. Tension was already high backstage, and onstage, Navarro was a loose cannon, ultimately throwing his guitar into the crowd and tearing up his stacks. Farrell wasn't having it, and the two men got into a shoving match, but that time, the tour continued as planned. 

"I take responsibility for that. ... I was the one who made it difficult for everybody," Navarro said. But that on-stage altercation wasn't the nail in the coffin that the 2024 one was. "I didn't have any questions as to whether it was going to go on," Navarro said of the tour. "I knew it was. We're not going to put together this tour and then not do it." 

Despite being an on again, off again band, Jane's Addiction has toured together many times, even without new music. In some years, different musicians rotated in and out to replace the original members, mostly bassist Eric Avery. Perry Farrell, though, has always been the frontman, and many would probably argue that without him, Jane's Addiction wouldn't be Jane's Addiction. Dave Navarro's contribution cannot be overstated, though, and he was on most tours. Their ongoing dysfunctional relationship was a big part of what made the band's tours difficult. 

"One of the things that's unifying about us is that we are completely un-unified," Navarro told Vanity Fair in 2011. "We all have different personalities." When on tour, spending a lot of time together alongside the stresses of travel and performing, it's easy to imagine old tensions rising unpredictably. Indeed, Navarro described Jane's Addiction (a band he was almost kicked out of) as similar to a family. "As with many families, there are certain members that you have problems with, and you disconnect with them for a while, but they're still your family," he told Vanity Fair.

As for whether Navarro and Farrell will ever patch things up, it's hard to know, but Farrell did publicly apologize after his 2024 meltdown. "This weekend has been incredibly difficult and after having the time and space to reflect, it is only right that I apologize to my bandmates, especially Dave Navarro, fans, family and friends for my actions during Friday's show," he said in a statement to Variety. "Unfortunately, my breaking point resulted in inexcusable behavior, and I take full accountability for how I chose to handle the situation."