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Dan Cleary, the guitar tech of Jane's Addiction for over 17 years, recently opened up about the fight between frontman Perry Farrell and guitarist Dave Navarro when the band performed in Boston on September 13. The viral footage showed Farrell yelling at Navarro before body-checking him. Cleary claimed that the altercation between them continued backstage, with Farrell allegedly hitting Navarro in the face.
During the fight on stage, Farrell attempted to punch Navarro but was restrained by Cleary, bassist Eric Avery and two other men. The show ended abruptly, and Jane's Addiction revealed that the remaining tour would be canceled. As per The Guardian, the band is on hiatus due to the singer's alleged "mental health difficulties."
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On September 26, Dan Cleary appeared on the #313 episode of Beantown Beatdown with host Todd Newman, Navarro's close friend of over 30 years. During the 90-minute episode, Cleary spoke about the difficulties Jane's Addiction weathered before the Boston show that ultimately led to chaos.
He added that the fight escalated backstage as Farrell's punch connected with Navarro's face. He provided audio footage of the alleged altercation, in which the singer can be reportedly heard saying to his wife Etty Lau that the band was "trying to f*ck" his show. A voice presumed to be Navarro can be heard asking, “What the f**k was that, you motherf**ker?”. A scuffle is heard next in the audio.
“[That’s] Perry punching Dave. and that one, he actually connected with… You can hear it, the right hand to the left side of Dave’s face,” Cleary said about the noise.
Dan Cleary confirmed Jane's Addiction is "no more"
During the podcast, Dan Cleary detailed the days leading up to the altercation during the Boston show. Jane's Addiction had recently regrouped for a world tour, playing in the UK and Europe before traveling to North America. Cleary said the band's tour was not smooth sailing. He alleged Perry Farrell was "kind of off" from the start.
Cleary recalled that Farrell quit Jane's Addiction in August ahead of the band's opening show in Vegas and had to be coaxed by management to perform. He added that the singer's main focus was the production in the show. He added that Jane's Addiction had agreed to function as a democracy to ensure they found something they all agreed on.
Cleary said that the band decided to have no backup dancers on stage. He claimed there was "immediate pushback" from the singer regarding this as his wife Etty (a dancer), wanted to be a part of the performance.
Cleary said that one day, Farrell didn't show up for rehearsals because he had taken a camera crew to the desert to film a dance sequence with his wife and other dancers to show to the band. The idea was not fully accepted by the members of Jane's Addiction, with Cleary saying:
“It’s 2024, it’s a bit of a different time. You know, having scantily clad chicks on stage or on video, I don’t think it’s as empowering as maybe the Farrells might think it is.”
This seemingly drew a wedge between the group, resulting in Jane's Addiction's three worst shows in Tampa and New York. Cleary called the first New York show the worst he's ever seen, with Farrell not knowing the lyrics to some songs and singing the wrong lyrics to others.
An argument broke out between the band after the New York show but was resolved after the members “got some stuff off their chest."
Dan Cleary's account of what happened in the Boston show
The guitar tech also gave his version of what went wrong in Jane's Addiction's Boston show that ended in a fight mid-performance. He pointed to a video of Navarro tapping Farrell's arm, saying, "What he’s [Navarro] doing is, he’s saying, ‘I’m gonna take my solo again, because you [Farrell] just sang over it a minute ago, and I stopped because you don’t know where you’re at.’”
At another point in the show, Farrell saw the other three band members huddle to talk without him. Cleary claimed that the huddle was to discuss something about the show, but the singer misinterpreted it as them talking about him.
He claimed that this set Farrell off, and he started walking around screaming lyrics. During the song Ocean Size, Cleary said Farrell got angrier, before screaming at Navarro and body-slamming him.
“I love Dave (and) it felt like seeing a little kid getting bullied on the schoolyard for something he didn’t do. And he’s been through enough shit in his life, and worked so hard to get back to this point. To see that happen just triggered something in me: ‘I’m not gonna let this happen to this guy.’ Eric had the same feeling,” Cleary said about the fight.
Cleary said he and the others tried to shift Farrell's attention from Navarro. In the footage of the altercation, four men can be seen trying to corral Farrell while Navarro moves away from him.
Following the altercation, Jane's Addiction canceled their upcoming shows. Farrell and Navarro also issued separate apologies. The band discreetly released its new single, True Love.
