Jane's Addiction frontman Perry Ferrell punches Guitarist Dave Navarro causing Boston show to end

The reunion of Jane's Addiction's original lineup seems to be rapidly deteriorating. Concerns about frontman Perry Farrell's mental and physical state have intensified, particularly following their September 10th performance in New York City, where Farrell visibly struggled. Fans even requested refunds and questioned whether Farrell was under the influence. Farrell addressed the crowd during that show, citing vocal issues.

Though the band reportedly recovered for their second NYC performance, things spiraled out of control at tonight's (September 13th) concert in Boston, MA. During their performance at Leader Bank Pavilion, Farrell confronted guitarist Dave Navarro mid-set. 

The altercation turned physical as Farrell attempted to swing at Navarro, leading to the frontman being restrained and escorted off the stage by bandmates, crew, and security. The incident occurred during "Ocean Size," about 11 songs into the set, which was subsequently cut short.

Fans reported that Farrell's timing was off throughout the night, which seemed to fuel tensions among the band, ultimately causing the onstage meltdown.

A fan took to Reddit to give details on what they saw:

I was 13th row. Up close view. Show was cruising along nicely until Mountain Song. He [Perry Farrell] seemed with it and on point at the beginning of the show but as the night wore on he seemed to lose focus at times. Dave said something to Perry, I think because he didn't come in with his vocals on time at the beginning of Mountain Song and it threw Dave off so right before he went to the side of the stage to rip his solo he muttered something to Perry and made a hand motion. Perry stared at him bewilderd and annoyed for a few minutes while Dave shredded.

Then they did Three Days and Perry again was off as far as timing with his vocal parts and Dave was actually talking to Eric at one point while they played and it seemed like it was about what was going on with Perry. Like Dave was trying to direct the band on how to work around what Perry was doing. It almost seemed like at that point Perry was doing it on purpose. Perry completely fucked up the Erotic Jesus part so Dave couldn't do his power chords because he wasn't ready and he thought they were building up to it so he came in on the All My Mary's.

Then they seemed to rush through the jam. I had read that they were doing an extended section, going almost ambient and improvising each night. They didn't stretch out because it felt like Dave wanted to get through the song. They limped to the finish and then Dave called an audible and pulled out Ocean Size, my guess is because they didn't do the extended section in Three Days so that was to fill the extra time.

I think that's what set Perry off finally. He started saying fuck yeah over and over and screamed it at Eric and he laughed and when he turned to Dave and did it Dave wasn't amused. That's when Perry kept saying it and got in Dave's face and chest bumped him. Then he threw an elbow into Dave's chest and then Dave pushed him back and a roadie and Eric and Stephen all wrestled with Perry for a few minutes while Dave just stood center stage stunned. Perry was pissed and it took them a minute to get him off stage and that's when Dave started waving to the crowd and Eric and Stephen came back and did the same. House lights came on and in all likelihood Jane's Addiction came to an inglorious end.

Video footage of the onstage altercation between Perry Farrell and Dave Navarro has surfaced online, leaving longtime fans of Jane's Addiction frustrated with the ongoing issues plaguing their reunion tour. The tour, which marks the first time since 2010 that the band's classic lineup—Farrell, Navarro, drummer Stephen Perkins, and returning bassist Eric Avery—has performed together, has seen mounting concerns about Farrell's condition.

Navarro, who had been sidelined by long COVID, rejoined the group this past spring, making this reunion possible. Adding to the anticipation was the release of their first new single in 34 years with this lineup, "Imminent Redemption," in July.

Perry's wife Etty Lau Farrell shared a "first hand account" of what transpired to lead up to the confrontation:

Rather than speculating, I thought to post a first person account of what happened on stage with @janesaddiction last night at the @lenderpavilion in Boston.

WHO: Perry Farrell & Dave Navarro

HOW: Clearly there had been a lot of tension and animosity between the members.. the magic that made the band so dynamic. Well, the dynamite was lit. Perry got up in Dave's face and body checked him.

WHY: 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. Perry had been suffering from tinnitus and a sore throat every night. 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.

WHEN: The band started the song Ocean before Perry was ready and did the count off.. 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.

SO WHO WON THE FIGHT:

Why, Eric Avery of course. While Dave was keeping Perry at arm's length to de-escalate the situation. Dan rushed over to de-escalate as well by holding Perry back. Dave walked away to take his guitar off. Eric walked up to Perry, upstage, in the dark, behind Dan, put Perry in a headlock and punched him in the stomach three times. Kevin, crewmember with a long hair with long hair pulled Eric away. Then Eric nonchalant walked off to the front of the stage to apologize to audience for the show ended early.

WHAT WAS THE AFTERMATH?

Dave still looked handsome and cool in the middle of a fight. Perry was a crazed beast for the next half an hour - he finally did not calm down, but did breakdown and cried and cried. Eric, well he either didn't understand what descalation meant or took advantage of the situation and got in a few cheap shots on Perry.

Well, that's is my first person account narrative of what happened. Take a look at the video yourself.