Perry Farrell's Wife Defends Him After Dave Navarro Altercation
Originally appeared on E! Online
Jane's Addiction halted a reunion concert early after its frontman Perry Farrell appeared to punch guitarist Dave Navarro onstage.
Now, the singer's wife, Etty Lau Farrell, is offering what she calls a "first person account" of the altercation at the alternative rock band's show at Leader Bank Pavilion in Boston Sept. 13, an incident that went viral after fans posted footage on social media.
"Clearly there had been a lot of tension and animosity between the members," she wrote on Instagram, alongside a video of the confrontation. "The magic that made the band so dynamic. Well, the dynamite was lit. Perry got up in Dave’s face and body checked him."
E! News has reached out to reps for Farrell and Navarro for commented about the onstage incident and has not heard back.
In the video, while the band perform their 11th track of the night, "Ocean Size," the singer walks toward the guitarist mid-performance while appearing to yell at him, then appears to strike his back before continuing to speak animatedly and then appears to swing his arm at Navarro's shoulder.
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According to Farrell's wife, the singer's "frustration had been mounting" during the course of the tour.
"He felt that the stage volume had been extremely loud and his voice was being drowned out by the band," Etty wrote in her post. "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."
She continued, "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."
In the video, three crew members and bassist Eric Avery are seen intervening after Ferry swung at Navarro, restraining the singer as he struggled to break free before the guitarist places his instrument on the stage and walks away.
Etty also shared alleged details about the aftermath of the altercation.
"Dave still looked handsome and cool in the middle of a fight," she wrote. "Perry was a crazed beast for the next half an hour — he finally did not calm down, but did breakdown and cried and cried."
The altercation took place more than three months after the band began its latest tour after reuniting with its classic lineup of Farrell, bassist Eric Avery, drummer Stephen Perkins and Navarro—who has been battling long COVID for years—for the first time since 2010. The group is set to perform next Sept. 15 in Bridgeport, Conn.
Meanwhile, another rocker has weighed in on the incident.
Liam Gallagher, whose band Oasis announced Aug. 27 that they have reunited and are set to tour for the first time in 15 years— following years of feuding between the singer and brother Noel Gallagher, the group's guitarist— tweeted in response to a video of the Perry-Navarro altercation on X, "There attitude stinks."
After a user commented, "You and Noel by night 3," Liam responded, "I don’t think so we’re very professional these days we’re go blow your minds."
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