Dan Cleary , roadie for Jane's Addiction , spoke about the incident in which vocalist Perry Farrell punched guitarist Dave Navarro during a show in Boston on September 13th.
During an appearance on the Rare Form Radio , Cleary explained the incident in detail. The band canceled the remaining dates of their tour and went on an indefinite hiatus.
According to Cleary and Todd Newman , the podcast host and a personal friend of Navarro, it seemed that Farrell “had left the band” long before the tour began on August 9th [via Ultimate Guitar ].
Cleary alleges that Farrell wanted to show videos of his wife and other women dancing on stage while the band played, and that he became angry when he learned that his colleagues had rejected the idea. Newman, on the other hand, says that Perry's wife, Etty Lau , was at the Las Vegas show "in a public area and yelling about Perry going home and the tour ending."
Cleary also disputed Lau's claims that there were sound problems at the Boston show and suggested that Farrell was "fucked up" that day.
"In the three worst shows [of the tour], he was clearly screwed, and we knew that from the moment we saw him earlier [in Boston]," he says.
The bass and guitar roadie, who has worked with the band for 17 years, also mentions that, before the fateful show, Perry was already "paranoid" after seeing Navarro, drummer Stephen Perkins , and bassist Eric Avery meeting to finalize details of the show.
“He thinks they’re talking about him, and they are, but not in the way he thinks. They’re trying to figure out how to resolve this situation… So he goes up to them and starts shouting song lyrics at them, which was very strange,” Cleary said.
Cleary concluded by saying that watching Farrell attack Navarro on stage later that night “felt like watching a small child being bullied in the schoolyard for something he didn’t do.” He says Avery felt the same way, which is why the bassist choked and punched Farrell in the stomach, as it was all he could think of to stop the situation.
The manager then describes Farrell punching Navarro again backstage after the show. “Eventually Dave comes up to ask what the hell happened, and Perry punches him again. I feel for [Farrell], because something is going on mentally with him. He seemed crazy,” Cleary finished.
Dave Navarro spoke out.
In a post on his Instagram profile, Navarro spoke out in a reserved manner. In a photo of him holding a guitar with the band's logo on the back, he simply said "good night".
Later, he made a new post to promote the band's new single, "True Love," released shortly after the tour was canceled. In the caption, he says he is "proud of the work that went into the song" and "it's sad to think that fans will never hear it live." Dave also apologized to the technical crew and the opening bands on the tour.
For many fans of the band, the posts suggest that Jane's Addiction has come to an end.
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