In 2005, mindful that a significant chunk of the youthful grungers, punks, metalheads, indie kids and hip-hop fans who attended the inaugural staging of his Lollapalooza festival in 1991 were now parents themselves, Jane's Addiction/Porno For Pyros/Satellite Party frontman Perry Farrell thoughtfully introduced a 'Kidz' stage (initially dubbed Kidapalooza) to the event so that mums and dads could enjoy the festival with their offspring at a safe distance from the main stage moshpits and speaker stacks.
In practice this meant acts such as Paul Green's School Of Rock All-Stars, Daddy A Go Go, an Atlanta band who promised 'original noise for kids that rocked', and Detroit's The Candy Band, who played punk rock versions of nursery rhymes and TV themes, would share a stage with more 'mature' entertainers such as Patti Smith, Ben Harper and master of ceremonies Mr Farrell himself.
On August 3, 2008, day three of the festival held in Grant Park, Chicago, Farrell brought his own adorable tiny children, sons Hezron and Izzadore, on to the stage to introduce them to the audience. He also a special guest in tow, Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash, who'd brought along his two boys, London and Cash, to the Kidz stage also.
The two Los Angeles-raised rock icons introduced their mini set for the kids with a couple of covers of timeless classics, Stevie Wonder's Superstition and Bod Dylan's Knockin' On Heaven's Door, long a staple of Guns N' Roses' live shows. All good clean family fun. And doubtless the Jane's Addiction fans in attendance were also thrilled to see the duo reel out the Zeppelin-esque Mountain Song, from JA's masterful Nothing's Shocking album.
Whether or not Jane Says, a beautiful song inspired by Farrell's former room-mate Jane Bainter, chronicling her on-going battles with heroin addiction and an abusive, violent boyfriend, would generally be considered 'family entertainment' is probably up for debate, but fan-filmed footage of the performance shows enthusiastic kids bopping along happily as Farrell delivers lyrics such as "I’m gonna kick tomorrow".
Watch the footage below:
Perry Farrell and Jane's Addiction are currently working on a new album.
