Jane’s Addiction guitarist Dave Navarro has shared a cryptic message to his Instagram, following a dramatic on-stage brawl involving his bandmate, singer Perry Farrell.
At the US rock band’s show at the Leader Bank Pavilion in Boston on Friday (13 September), Farrell was seen in fan-shot footage aggressively approaching Navarro during a rendition of their 1988 sing “Ocean Size”.
As Farrell shouted at the other musician, he then shoved him with his shoulder before appearing to throw a punch. Farrell was then tackled by members of the crew and bassist Eric Avery and dragged away, while the stage lights were turned off and the show abruptly ended.
Three days after the altercation and after the band’s next scheduled show on Sunday was cancelled, Navarro, 57, shared two posts to Instagram.
In the first, he posed with his “friend and legendary artist” Joe Coleman, a painter, writer and performer known for his fascination with duality and symmetry.
“One of the good things that came out the other night was the fact that I was able to hang out with my friend and legendary artist [Joe Coleman],” Navarro wrote. “If you are unfamiliar with his work I encourage you to take a look at his profile.”
In the second, he shared a shot of him taken by photographer Sonny Crockett, showing him onstage holding an acoustic guitar with a Jane’s Addiction sticker on the back.
“Goodnight…” he wrote.
Some fans have taken this to mean Navarro might have ended his time with the band.
Makeup artist Angelina Butero seemed to hint at the end of an era, writing in the comments section: “Love you brother. Doing your makeup has been such an honour.”
Others sent messages of love and support to Navarro. “You’re the man, Dave!” one fan wrote. “A true class act through and through.”
“You handled that with immense grace and professionalism onstage,” another said. “I’m sorry it happened in the first place though.”
Another comment said: “Dave you have been through way too much sh*t to have to deal with what happened last night. I think we all know you could have knocked him out but that’s not you. You showed restraint and dignity.
“Your talent is undeniable and I hope you, Stephen and Eric keep making music together.”
The Independent has contacted representatives of Jane’s Addiction for comment.
On Saturday, a statement shared to the band’s Instagram Stories said: “We want to extend a heartfelt apology to our fans for the events that unfolded last night.
“As a result we will be cancelling tomorrow night’s [Sunday 15 September] show in Bridgeport. Refunds will be issued at your point of purchase, or if you purchased via a third-party reseller (StubHub, SeatGeek etc) reach out to them directly.”
Soon after the incident, Farrell’s wife, Etty Lau Farrell, shared a lengthy message defending him, as she claimed there had been “a lot of tension and animosity between the members” before the show.
“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,” she claimed.
“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.”
A review of the band’s earlier show in Tampa, Florida, hinted at brewing tensions between Farrell and Navarro.
“Farrell launched into many nonsensical rants about cow pastures, mushrooms, surfing, living in Florida, and arguing with his brother about politics,” while “chugging from a full bottle of wine throughout the performance,” Creative Loafing reported.
“At one point, during one of his ramblings, Navarro deliberately cranked out a loud, piercing chord on his guitar, as almost to silence Farrell and get the show back on track.”
