Jane’s Addiction’s recent concert in Boston ended early due to an altercation that broke out between singer Perry Farrell and guitarist Dave Navarro.
The abrupt ending to the show occurred on Sept. 13 at Leader Bank Pavilion in Boston. In fan video shared on social media, Farrell is seen bumping Navarro on the shoulder during the concert and then yelling in the guitarist’s face before he was restrained and removed from the stage.
TODAY.com has reached out to representatives for Jane’s Addiction and Farrell and Navarro for comment on the incident but did not hear back at the time of publication.
The altercation comes just months after the band’s original members reunited for the first time in more than three decades for their new song “Imminent Redemption” released in July 2024, according to Rolling Stone.
The group has had a tumultuous history together, including a breakup in the early ’90s followed by subsequent reunions and more splits between the on-and-off-again bandmates.
Here’s everything we know about the incident between Perry Farrell and Dave Navarro at a recent Jane’s Addiction concert.
What happened at Jane’s Addiction Boston concert?
Jane’s Addiction was in the middle of performing a concert in Boston when an altercation broke out between the lead singer and guitarist.
Fan video on social media showed the incident occurred while the band was performing their song “Ocean Size.” Toward the end of the song, Farrell lunged forward several times in Navarro’s direction before finally approaching him on stage and bumping him with his shoulder.
The altercation continued to escalate from there. After the shoulder bump, Farrell backed up momentarily before approaching Navarro again, staring him down as he walked closer to to the guitarist. Crew members began to intervene when Farrell appeared to yell in Navarro’s face, while he held up his arm to put distance between him and the singer.
By the time crew members approached, Farrell tried to take a swing at Navarro before he was pulled away. One crew member could be heard telling Farrell to stop, but he appeared to get agitated and tried to break free from his restraint. Eventually, additional crew members entered the stage as the lights went down to attempt to further restrain Farrell and usher him off of the stage.
What led to the altercation between Perry Farrell and Dave Navarro?
The day after the incident, Farrell’s wife Etty Lau Farrell posted a video of the altercation on Instagram Sept. 14 and used the caption to explain the “first person account” of what occurred “rather than speculating.”
“Clearly there had been a lot of tension and animosity between the members.. the magic that made the band so dynamic,” Etty Lau Farrell wrote. “Well, the dynamite was lit. Perry got up in Dave’s face and body checked him.”
She wrote that her husband’s “frustration had been mounting, night after night.” She said that he felt that the stage volume was loud that evening and “his voice was being drowned out by the band.”
“Perry had been suffering from tinnitus and a sore throat every night,” she added of her husband’s health. “But when the audience in the first row, started complaining up to Perry cussing at him that the band was planning too loud and that they couldn’t hear him, Perry lost it.”
Etty Lau Farrell said things bubbled over when the band began performing “Ocean Size” before her husband was ready. She added, “The stage volume was so loud at that point, that Perry couldn’t hear pass the boom and the vibration of the instruments and by the end of the song, he wasn’t singing, he was screaming just be to be heard.”
She also said that in the aftermath of the altercation, her husband “was a crazed beast for the next half an hour” and that he “did not calm down, but did breakdown and cried and cried.”
What did fans say about the incident?
Fans on social media had a lot to say about the incident, with one user on X joking, “Some folks paid for Jane’s Addiction but got Oasis instead.”
Oasis lead singer Liam Gallagher even weighed in on the situation, replying to a video of the altercation on X with, “There attitude stinks.”
“i think i just saw the last Jane’s Addiction show,” another fan speculated on social media.
Another fan added, “Well…so much for that Jane’s Addiction reunion.”
In the days leading up to the Boston gig, fans who attended earlier dates on the tour expressed concern over Farrell and the future state of the group.
“Probably saw the last Jane’s Addiction show ever tonight in NYC,” one fan wrote on X Sept. 10. “Perry Farrell completely incoherent, band clearly furious with him. Everyone else, on the other hand, sounds better than the live recordings I’ve heard in their prime.”
Did anyone from Jane’s Addiction get hurt or arrested?
It’s unclear if any injuries were sustained from the altercation between the members of Jane’s Addiction. At this time, there has been no confirmation from representatives of the band to confirm whether any arrests have been made.
Is the Jane’s Addiction tour cancelled after their fight in Boston?
There has been no announcement after the future of the Jane’s Addiction tour.
After playing numerous dates throughout August and early September, the band is slated to perform at the Hartford Healthcare Amphitheater in Bridgeport, Connecticut on Sept. 15.
The band has dates booked through the rest of September and mid-October, with the tour slated to end at YouTube Theater in Los Angeles.
TODAY.com has reached out to Live Nation to see if fans would be refunded for the show and if future tour dates would be cancelled, but did not hear back at the time of publication.
