While Perry Farrell's wife won't address "other false narratives" (whether that's referring to the rumoured fate of Jane's Addiction or her being weird about mental health is anybody's guess), everybody's been kind of operating under the assumption that, following the onstage brawl, Jane's are done for good. Dan Cleary, their guitar tech of 17 years, has likewise concluded that "this band is over," revealing that Farrell also punched Dave Navarro in the face backstage that night.
Cleary gave a detailed play-by-play of what went down at the show on the latest episode of the Rare Form Radio podcast (hosted by Navarro's friend Todd Newman), which is quite literally 90 minutes long. The guitar tech set the scene for the fight between the lead singer and the guitarist by explaining that Farrell had "quit the band" ahead of the tour's opening night in Las Vegas, NV, but had been talked into continuing on with the tour by management.
Apparently, the band had been in agreement prior to the European leg of the tour that the show wouldn't include backup dancers or singers, because "old school music speaks for itself." Cleary said, "I do know there was immediate pushback from Perry on that issue." (Farrell's wife, Etty Lau, has been a dancer with the band since 1997.) The frontman reportedly kept pressing, even suggesting using pre-recorded video of dancers rather than live dancers.
"It's 2024, it's a bit of a different time," Cleary explained. "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… The Farrells sort of couldn't let go of this thing."
The friction of the Vegas concert set a precedent for the rest of the tour. "From that point, Perry did kind of pull away from his bandmates… no joyful interactions, no talk… But even after that kind of weirdness, the band did continue to support Perry through the entire tour," Cleary said, going on to debunk the rumours that the fight in Boston was brought on by onstage sound issues and that Farrell was publicly drunk; "He isn't drinking a shitload of wine on stage," the tech said, instead citing "emotional issues" with the added possibility of the singer using "substances."
Following a full blow-by-blow account of what he witnessed during "Ocean Size," Cleary added, "I want people to understand it didn't end there." He played some audio of Farrell "being consoled" backstage after the brawl, recounting that Navarro then walked up to his bandmate "to ask what the fuck happened, and Perry punch[ed] him again."
Cleary continued, "So any of this talk of cheap shots… [But] I feel for [Farrell], because something is going on mentally. He looked crazed." He added in the vocalist's defence, "He's a good dude, most of the time ... but we've never seen this crazed version before. Which is what makes it so scary…"
"No one's trying to villainize Perry," the guitar tech concluded. "He did do this, and I know this band is over with, but I really do hope that he's able to figure [things] out… I think that Perry's apology that was posted on Instagram was heartfelt — and I know that for sure because I've checked in and I know that he's hurting. I feel if I could take that away, I'm sure we would all love to take that away. He's gonna go through that for a while, and it sucks, but I do hope he gets the help. And I appreciate all that he and Etty have done… and what the band has done. I just hate that, at the moment, this is what Jane's is going to be known for. … This ended on nobody's terms. It feels like losing someone in a car accident."
You can check out the full conversation with Cleary below.