Metal Anarchy

During an appearance on the Rare Form Radio podcast, Jane’s Addiction’s guitar/bass tech Dan Cleary offered more insight into the altercation that took place during the band’s September 13 show in Boston, MA. That incident saw Perry Farrell attacking Dave Navarro onstage.

As it turns out, the footage online only shows part of the story. According to Cleary, once the band got backstage, Farrell threw another punch at Navarro. He also revealed that this was the culmination of tensions that started rising from the moment the tour started in Las Vegas, NV.

Cleary claims Farrell wanted to quit on day one due to a dispute regarding his bandmates’ decision to not use backup singers and dancers. Him and his wife Etty Lau Farrell, who previously served as a backup dancer, allegedly showed up with dancers they wanted displayed on video screens during the concert. Cleary said the following about that:

“It’s 2024, it’s a bit of a different time. You know, having scantily clad chicks on stage or on video, I don’t think it’s as empowering as maybe the Farrells might think it is… The Farrells sort of couldn’t let go of this thing, to the point that before the first show, Perry quit the band.”

Navarro’s longtime friend Todd Newman also chimed in, saying Etty made the situation worse:

“[Etty was] out in this public area yelling about how Perry is going home and the tour is over, and this is in front of our Live Nation reps, who are the people that basically promote the tour and front the bill for the tour. And when they start hearing that people are going home before the first show, obviously they get very squirrelly and very concerned.”

The band and their management ultimately eased tensions and got the show and future dates to move forward. However, Farrell started to distance himself from his bandmates and had “no joyful interactions” with them.

Cleary continued:

“But even after that kind of weirdness, the band did continue to support Perry through the entire tour. If there was ever parts where… he wasn’t quite sure what part of the song they were in, they would go and say, ‘Here we are.’ If he had a great show, they were the first people to be like, ‘That was fucking awesome. You’re amazing.’… There was some talk of the fight that ended up happening in Boston was brought on by sound issues on stage, and I have to push back on that in a big way, because… this one’s tough to talk about, because it has to do with: Are there other factors involved than just stage stuff? The three worst shows, this man was clearly fucked up, and we knew it from the moment we saw him earlier in the day.”

He cited several shows including the band’s August 29 show in Tampa, FL and September 10 show in New York, NY. Cleary said the following about the latter:

“The first [NYC] show was the worst show I’ve ever seen in my life — I’m not saying just with Jane’s; it was the worst show I’ve ever seen… He didn’t know where he was in the songs. He didn’t know the words. He was singing words from other songs. These are not sound issues. … And also, he had a bunch of fantastic shows throughout the tour. The sound doesn’t change — we’re the same all the time.”

Cleary says Farrell’s wine usage onstage was not excessive, but admitted “emotional issues” could have played a role. He also didn’t rule out the possibility of other substances.

Cleary then further discussed the infamous Boston show, saying Navarro wanted to redo his solo after alerting Farrell to the fact that he was singing over it:

“What Navarro’s doing is, he’s saying, ‘I’m gonna take my solo again, because you just sang over it a minute ago, and I stopped because you don’t know where you’re at.’”

At one point, the band huddled together to discuss how they could save the show amid Farrell‘s lackluster performance. The singer allegedly took issue with this and started screaming lyrics at his bandmates. From there, things boiled over and resulted in the highly publicized altercation:

“I love Dave (and) it felt like seeing a little kid getting bullied on the schoolyard for something he didn’t do. And he’s been through enough shit in his life, and worked so hard to get back to this point [Navarro was only able to rejoin his bandmates this past spring after debilitating battle with long COVID.] To see that happen just triggered something in me: ‘I’m not gonna let this happen to this guy.’ Eric [Avery] had the same feeling.”

Eric Avery got Farrell in a headlock and as Etty put it, gave him some “cheap shots” to the stomach. Cleary expanded on Avery’s reaction:

“Eric said, ‘I didn’t know how to get his attention. I had to get his attention to get him to try to stop him from going towards Dave again.’”

He then discussed what happened backstage:

“Again. I want people to understand it didn’t end there [onstage…] Eventually Dave walks up to ask what the fuck happened, and Perry punches him again… So any of of this talk of cheap shots… (But) I feel for him, because something is going on mentally. He looked crazed.”

Cleary added:

“No one’s trying to villainize Perry. He did do this, and I know this band is over with, but I really do hope that he’s able to figure (things) out… I think that Perry’s apology that was posted on Instagram was heartfelt — and I know that for sure because I’ve checked in and I know that he’s hurting.

I feel if I could take that away, I’m sure we would all love to take that away. He’s gonna go through that for a while and it sucks, but I do hope he gets the help. And I appreciate all that he and Etty have done… and what the band has done. I just hate that, at the moment, this is what Jane’s is going to be known for. … This ended on nobody’s terms. It feels like losing someone in a car accident.”

You can read more over at Variety. Farrell eventually apologized for the incident and is now seeking professional help. However, Jane’s Addiction remain on hiatus and may never play again.