In a night that will go down in rock history for all the wrong reasons, Perry Farrell, frontman of Jane’s Addiction, has come clean about the bizarre on-stage meltdown in Boston. Fans were left confused when Farrell suddenly assaulted guitarist Dave Navarro mid-performance, and now, the truth has come out: it was all because of a laxative mix-up.
“I thought I was taking my usual pre-show vitamins,” Farrell explained in a hastily organized press conference, “but instead, I downed a handful of extra-strength laxatives. You can imagine my… urgency to get off that stage.”
The chaos unfolded during the band’s September 13 show at the Leader Bank Pavilion. Farrell, feeling “a little off” since a shaky performance in New York just days prior, grabbed what he thought was a helpful supplement. Little did he know, he’d just set the stage for the quickest (and most desperate) exit in rock history.
“As soon as I hit that first note, I knew something was wrong,” Farrell confessed, grimacing. “I wasn’t thinking about the music, I was thinking about the bathroom. I tried to push through, but it was only getting worse. When I looked over at Dave, I just knew I had to end this show fast.”
In a moment of panic, Farrell launched himself at Navarro, shouting something unintelligible that sources say sounded like “I need to go NOW!” Navarro, who was blissfully shredding his guitar, was caught completely off guard. The two wrestled briefly before Farrell bolted from the stage, leaving fans and bandmates equally stunned.
Following the incident, the band issued a revised statement that had a lot more humor than the original apology:
“We want to apologize for the abrupt end to last night’s show. Perry accidentally took a laxative instead of his usual pre-show vitamins, which led to some, uh, urgent matters. We’ll be canceling tonight’s show in Bridgeport while Perry recovers from, let’s call it, an ‘internal cleanse.’ Refunds are available, and we promise to double-check our supplements for the rest of the tour.”
As for Navarro, sources say he was mostly just confused. “I thought it was part of the act,” he said later. “Next thing I know, Perry’s yelling and trying to knock me out. I just wanted to finish the song, man.”
The tour is set to continue in Toronto, provided no further… digestive interruptions occur.
