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Members of Jane's Addiction argue on stage, Perry Farrell's wife makes statement

Jane's Addiction recently embarked on a reunion tour with their classic lineup – Perry Farrell, Dave Navarro, Stephen Perkins and Eric Avery – with support from Love & Rockets. They have already released their first new music together since 1990. Navarro said an album is “more than likely.” But last night in Boston, their show ended early after band members got into an onstage fight. Will that ruin the tour?

In fan videos from the end of “Ocean Size” at the Leader Bank Pavilion, Farrell can be seen grunting, then shouting “fuck you” and body ramming Navarro, who tries to keep him at bay. Farrell throws a punch before several crew members and bassist Avery hold him back, and everyone leaves the stage. They had a few more songs to go, including their biggest hits “Stop!” and “Been Caught Stealing,” but the concert ended early. It was also Perkins' birthday.

Tensions have been building between the members of Jane's Addiction over the past few weeks. At Tuesday night's show at the Rooftop At Pier 17 – the band's first New York appearance in 15 years – Farrell struggled throughout the evening, eventually telling the crowd: “I have to be honest with you. There's something wrong with my voice… I can't seem to get the notes right.”

Post by @aliceteeple

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His performance was panned online by fans, who also expressed concern for his well-being. Ahead of the second night at the venue, bassist Eric Avery addressed the situation on Instagram, writing, “I'm optimistic we'll get better.” And they reportedly were, although Farrell ironically stopped the show at one point to break up a brawl in the audience.

A few weeks ago, Creative Loafing documented the “strange” atmosphere in Tampa:

Farrell went on many nonsensical rants about cow pastures, mushrooms, surfing, living in Florida, and political discussions with his brother, among other incomprehensible topics. As he drank from a full bottle of wine throughout the entire performance, you almost got the feeling that this wasn't the first bottle he'd uncorked that night.

At one point, during one of his chats, Navarro intentionally played a loud, piercing chord on his guitar to nearly silence Farrell and get the show back on track.

Jane's Addiction has not commented on last night's debacle, but Farrell's wife Etty offered an explanation on Instagram alongside a video of the altercation. She also writes that after the lights went out, “Eric approached Perry in the dark from behind Dan, put him in a headlock and punched him three times in the stomach.”:

Rather than speculate, I thought I'd post a firsthand account of what happened last night with @janesaddiction onstage at @lenderpavilion in Boston.

WHO: Perry Farrell and Dave Navarro

WIE: 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. Perry tackled Dave and body-slammed him to the ground.

WHY: Perry's frustration grew night by night. He felt that the volume on stage was extremely loud and his voice was being drowned out by the band. Perry suffered from tinnitus and a sore throat every night. But when the audience in the front row started complaining to Perry and yelling at him that the band was too loud and they couldn't hear him, Perry freaked out.

WHEN: The band started playing “Ocean” before Perry was ready and did the countdown. The volume on stage was so loud at this point that Perry couldn't hear anything because of the roar and vibration of the instruments, and by the end of the song he was no longer singing, just screaming to be heard.

SO WHO WON THE FIGHT:

Why, Eric Avery, of course. While Dave held Perry at a distance to deescalate the situation, Dan rushed over to deescalate as well by holding Perry back. Dave walked away to pick up his guitar. Eric approached Perry in the dark behind Dan, put Perry in a headlock and punched him three times in the stomach. Kevin, a crew member with long hair, pulled Eric away. Then Eric casually walked to the front of the stage to apologize to the audience for ending the show early.

WHAT WERE THE CONSEQUENCES?

Dave still looked good and cool in the middle of the fight. Perry was a crazy animal for the next half hour – he finally didn't calm down, he just broke down and cried and cried. Eric, well, either he didn't understand what decalization meant or he took advantage of the situation and gave Perry a few unfair punches.

Well that's my first hand account of what happened. Watch the video for yourself. #Janesaddiction #amancanonlybepushedsofar #davetookthehighroad #Cheapshot #leaderbankpavilion #mothereagle

The tour is scheduled to continue on Sunday in Bridgeport, Connecticut. In the meantime, Liam Gallagher has the final say.

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