In the scene from Back to the Future where Michael J Fox plays Johnny B Goode on stage and gets so caught up in the music that he knocks over his own amp, the room descends into a shocked and disapproving silence.
A similar silence descended on the audience of a Boston gig on Friday night when Perry Farrell – AKA the “godfather of alternative music” – shoved his guitarist Dave Navarro with his fist during a song and then, clearly enraged, squared up to him and threw another punch, sending Navarro backwards.
Total Perry Farrell Jane’s Addiction BS. 🙄 F U Perry. @janesaddiction pic.twitter.com/SJi2I1KDHY
— Christopher (@frontline1230) September 14, 2024
Farrell had to be physically restrained by crew members after the brawl and was bundled off stage as fans began to boo. A few minutes later, the house lights came on and the show ended.
The incident between the two veteran band members, which appeared to take Navarro by surprise, was caught on camera from multiple angles by audience members.
Farrell’s wife, Etty Lau, posted on Instagram that the frontman was upset by being “drowned out” by his bandmates playing too loudly and he was unwell.
Lau said her husband had been struggling with “tinnitus and a sore throat every night” that has affected his voice, and he “felt that the stage volume had been extremely loud and his voice was being drowned out by the band”.
Lau added there had been “tension and animosity between the band members” but felt this atmosphere was also “the magic that made the band so dynamic”.
She wrote: “When the audience in the first row, [they] 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.
“He wasn’t singing, he was screaming just be to be heard.”
On social media, fans who had attended the gig to see the newly reunited Jane’s Addiction on tour reported that “problems” started during an earlier song, when Farrell allegedly shouted at Navarro. Witnesses said they continued throughout the set, which one fan pointed out included a song ironically entitled Summertime Rolls.
On X, a videographer who said he’d attended the show, tweeted that Farrell “had a huge bottle of wine with him all evening”.
Farrell, 65, began his career in the American post-punk band Psi Com in the 1980s, before becoming the lead singer of Jane’s Addiction.
The band, which created its unique blend of psychedelic rock, punk and heavy metal music, had an acrimonious breakup in 1991. For years, Eric Avery, a founding member, repeatedly refused to take part in reunion tours but rejoined the band after a 12-year hiatus in 2022. However, Navarro, now 57, was unable to join the band’s reunion tour that year or last year because of long Covid.
The band were finally reunited for their first show together in 14 years in May earlier this year and were in the middle of a long tour of the US.
There appeared to be tensions between band members earlier this week in New York City, when the band played two nights at The Rooftop at Pier 17, NME reported.
Farrell is understood to have told the crowd at Pier 17 that his voice was not in great shape. “Ladies and gentlemen, I have to be honest with you. Something’s wrong with my voice. I just can’t get the notes out all of a sudden,” he said.
Bassist Eric Avery later acknowledged the poor New York performance in an Instagram post, writing: “Looking forward to getting another crack at this spectacular rooftop venue tonight. I’m optimistic we will be better.”
