Jane’s Addiction guitarist Dave Navarro has shared a cryptic Instagram post suggesting he has left the band following an altercation with frontman Perry Farrell on stage at a show in Boston on Friday night (September 13).
The legendary Los Angeles alt-rock band had recently returned to their original quartet of Farrell, Navarro, Stephen Perkins and Eric Avery, and released their first new music together in 34 years, in the form of the single ‘Imminent Redemption’.
However, during the Boston show, problems began during ‘Mountain Song’ when Farrell began shouting at Navarro. The tension on stage reportedly worsened during ‘Three Days’ and while they were playing ‘Ocean Size’, Farrell approached Navarro and shoved him before attempting to throw a punch. The fight was quickly broken up and the lights came down as a group of crew members, as well as Avery, tried to restrain Perry and take him off stage. The show was brought to an early end.
A photographer who was shooting the show for the venue claimed that Farrell had “a huge bottle of wine with him all evening” and “Navarro and Avery kept chatting with each other the whole show and seemed angrier than normal”.
At tonight’s Jane’s Addiction show in Boston. ?!? https://t.co/FapxRLiUIJ
— Annie Zaleski (@anniezaleski) September 14, 2024
Earlier today, the band apologised for the incident and announced that their next show in Bridgeport was cancelled.
Yesterday, Farrell’s wife Etty Lau weighed in on the situation and explained that “frustration had been mounting” within the band. She acknowledged that “there had been a lot of tension and animosity between the members”, which is “the magic that made the band so dynamic.”
She attributed Perry’s behaviour to him suffering with “tinnitus and a sore throat every night”, adding: “Perry’s frustration had been mounting, night after night, he felt that the stage volume had been extremely loud and his voice was being drowned out by the band.
Now, Navarro has hinted at his departure from the band with a black-and-white photo of himself on Instagram, holding a Jane’s Addiction-branded guitar with the caption “Goodnight.”
Comments on the post have been limited. Some fans have noticed, however, that Navarro has unfollowed the rest of the band and Farrell has unfollowed him as well.
NME has reached out to Jane’s Addiction’s representatives for comment.
The band recently completed a UK and European tour, which included a stop at London’s Roundhouse. In a five-star review, NME wrote: “This is the last one because I don’t need you to give me a fucking hand to get me to come back out,” Farrell nonchalantly says, confirming there will not be an encore and introducing final track ‘Stop!’.
“And like that, without any further bells or whistles, the band leave the stage proving that nearly four decades after forming, they’re still a force to be reckoned with.”