Song of the Day 9/16: Jane’s Addiction, “Jane Says”

In Boston the other night, fans went to a Jane’s Addiction concert and a hockey game broke out. Mid-song, lead singer Perry Farrell turned his aggro act on Dave Navarro, body checking the guitarist and then taking a swing at his head before stage security wrestled Farrell off the stage. Naturally, scores of concertgoers had their phones out, so everyone could see it over and over again. The band has scrapped the rest of the reunion tour that saw the original quartet playing together for the first time in decades.

Maybe it’s just me, but this seems totally on-brand for these guys, who’ve broken up various incarnations of the band more often than they’ve played together. Farrell in particular has always seemed on the verge of self-destruction. After the first breakup in 1991, Farrell said, “That thirteen-month tour behind “Ritual [de lo Habitual]” was half the reason we wound up unable to stand one another. The other half is that I am an intolerable narcissist who can’t get along with anyone.”

Despite the chaos, Jane’s Addiction widely influenced a lot of the indie music that followed. Even their farewell tour left a legacy: It was the impetus for what became the annual Lollapalooza. In a way, the Boston concert closed a circle. Farrell attacked Navarro onstage at the first Lollapalooza concert, too, though they finished the rest of that tour. I was never a fan, but I did like this song, their first single, which reached No. 6 on the alternative rock chart in 1988. It typically ended their concerts, though not the one in Boston.