Jane’s Addiction Guitarist Dave Navarro Posts Apology to Opening Acts After Tour Cancellation

Just days after calling off their reunion tour and going on an indefinite hiatus following Jane’s Addiction singer Perry Farrell‘s on-stage attack of Dave Navarro, the band’s guitarist issued an apology to the tour’s opening acts.

“I would like to personally apologize to Love & Rockets and Crawlers and their crews for such a terrible outcome of what started off as an incredibly magical tour,” Navarro said of the two bands that were opening for Jane’s on the alt-rock group’s reunion tour before it melted down into chaos on Friday night in Boston during a show in which Farrell pushed, then punched Navarro near the end of the headliner’s set.

“Love & Rockets are heroes of mine and I am so grateful I had the opportunity to perform on the same stage as them for as long as I did. It has truly been an honor!” Navarro said in a since-expired Instagram Story on Tuesday (Sept. 17) according to Brooklyn Vegan.

Love & Rockets — the beloved indie rock band formed by former Bauhaus members singer/guitarist Daniel Ash, bassist/singer David J and drummer Kevin Haskins in 1985 — who had reunited to hit the road with Jane’s, also issued a statement on the scotched tour. “We would have loved to have completed the rest of the dates on the tour with Jane’s Addiction but unfortunately the matter is out of our hands,” they wrote on Instagram. “Information regarding refunds will follow shortly.”

Following the shocking incident, Navarro, drummer Stephen Perkins and bassist Eric Avery issued a joint statement on Instagram on Monday morning apologizing to fans for the disturbing scene and cancellation of the rest of the band’s U.S. tour. “Due to a continuing pattern of behavior and the mental health difficulties of our singer Perry Farrell, we have come to the conclusion that we have no choice but to discontinue the current US tour,” the trio wrote.

“Our concern for his personal health and safety as well as our own has left us no alternative. We hope that he will find the help he needs,” they added. “We deeply regret that we are not able to come through for all our fans who have already bought tickets. We can see no solution that would either ensure a safe environment on stage or reliably allow us to deliver a great performance on a nightly basis.”

Farrell, 65, apologized to his bandmates on Monday in a statement first shared with Billboard. “This weekend has been incredibly difficult and after having the time and space to reflect, it is only right that I apologize to my bandmates, especially Dave Navarro, fans, family and friends for my actions during Friday’s show,” Farrell said of the punch-up during the show at Boston’s Leader Bank Pavilion near the end of a performance of “Ocean Size.”

“Unfortunately, my breaking point resulted in inexcusable behavior, and I take full accountability for how I chose to handle the situation,” Farrell added. In fan video of the moment, an agitated Farrell is seen lunging at Navarro and throwing a shoulder into his bandmate, then punching the shocked-looking guitarist in the chest before the men are separated and Farrell is dragged off stage.

A day after the onstage meltdown, Farrell’s wife, Etty Lau Farrell, issued a statement in which she tried to provide context and background on what precipitated the incident. “Clearly there had been a lot of tension and animosity between the members.. the magic that made the band so dynamic. Well, the dynamite was lit,” she wrote on Instagram. “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. 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 also said that after the punch, bassist Avery “put Perry in a headlock and punched him in the stomach three times … Perry was a crazed beast for the next half an hour — he finally did not calm down, but did breakdown and cried and cried. Eric, well he either didn’t understand what descalation meant or took advantage of the situation and got in a few cheap shots on Perry.”

Avery has been an on-and-off presence in the band’s lineup over the past 25 years, re-joining and leaving the band several times before returning in 2022 and taking part in what was slated to be the reunited band’s first North American tour featuring all four original members in 14 years. The outing launched in early August and was scheduled to run through mid-October.

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