Jane's Addiction frontman Perry Farrell punches guitarist Dave Navarro on stage, ending Boston concert abruptly
Beantown band riot!
Jane's Addiction frontman Perry Farrell punched guitarist Dave Navarro during an on-stage outburst as several crew members dragged him offstage, bringing the reunited band's Boston concert to an abrupt end Friday night.
Pharrell was in the middle of performing “Ocean Size” when he started yelling “f–k you” to the crowd at the Leader Bank Pavilion before screaming into the microphone.
According to a video of the awkward encounter posted on social media, Pharrell, seemingly agitated, then turned to his right toward Navarro where he yelled again and threw his shoulder at the unsuspecting guitarist.
The two rockers faced each other as Pharrell moved closer to the face of Navarro, who calmly grabbed him with his right hand.
Pharrell took turns throwing elbows at the guitarist as multiple crew and bandmates, including bassist Eric Avery, ran over and restrained the “Bean Cat Stealing” singer by telling him to “stop.”
The stage lights were dimmed, but several punches were thrown as the hot-headed singer was whisked away from the crowd's view.
The remaining three band members — Navarro, Avery and drummer Stephen Perkins — went to the front of the stage where they waved goodbye to the crowd.
The band raised their hands above their heads, tapped their chests and gave peace signs as the crowd gave them a standing ovation.
Photographer Brian McKenzie, who was tasked with snapping the event, posted on X that the crowd believed the feud was something between the bandmates.
“Perry had a huge bottle of wine with him all evening, Navarro and Avery kept chatting to each other throughout the show and seemed angrier than usual,” he claimed.
“I've been there,” said X user @deanasc1. “The crowd was amazed. Half pissed the show ended early and half excited we might have seen the last of Jane's show.”
The band, Navarro and Perry had not publicly commented on the incident as of Saturday morning.
The band, which is in the middle of its North American tour, has had trouble engaging its singer during recent shows.
While performing on the rooftop at Pier 17 in NYC on Sept. 10, Pharrell told the crowd that his voice was not in great shape,” Variety reported.
“Ladies and gentlemen, I have to be honest with you. I have some problems with my voice. I suddenly can't get the notes out,” the singer complained.
The next day Avery took to Instagram to reach out to fans and promote their second performance in Manhattan.
“Looking forward to having another crack at this spectacular rooftop venue tonight. I am hopeful we will be better,” he said.
Jane's Addiction is scheduled to perform at the Hartford Healthcare Amphitheater in Bridgeport, Connecticut on September 15.
The Grammy-nominated band's 2024 tour marked the reunion of four original members following the return of Avery in 2022 and Navarro, who missed tours in 2022 and 2023 due to a long battle with COVID.
Pharrell admits he misses his guitarist in Navarro's absence.
“I wish I had my favorite guitar player around,” Pharrell told The Post in September 2022.[But] I live to bring entertainment and art to the world. And whatever I can do to entertain you, to blow your mind, that's what I live for.”
To fill Navarro's place, the band brought in Queens of the Stone Age guitarist Troy Van Leeuwen and Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist Josh Klinghoffer.
“How do you find a guitarist to fill Dave Navarro's shoes? We had to get the word out to people we knew, that we loved, and Troy fit the bill best of all the people we considered,” Farrell said.