Fifteen years had passed since Perry Farrell, Dave Navarro, Eric Avery, and Stephen Perkins joined forces for a headlining show as Jane’s Addiction in Los Angeles. That extended absence of the band’s founding lineup in its hometown came to a gloriously raucous end as part of an epic bill of alternative rock music earlier this month at YouTube Theater in Inglewood.
With support from Love and Rockets and The Crawlers, Jane’s Addiction kicked off its latest tour—the core lineup’s first in 14 years—in Las Vegas and San Diego before winding its way to L.A. To be sure, Jane’s Addiction has hardly (if ever) been absent from the musical zeitgeist anywhere, least of all in L.A., since the mid-1980s. Even as Perry put together Porno For Pyros and Lollapalooza, Dave departed to play guitar for the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Eric put his bass to work in Garbage, and Stephen busied himself with Nine Inch Nails, The Panic Channel, and Infectious Grooves (among other projects), this fearsome foursome has had a way of reconstituting itself over the years. With any luck, this time will be the one that sticks.
For this occasion, Jane’s Addiction brought along plenty of appropriate support—all from England. First up came The Crawlers, with their brash brand of alt-rock from Liverpool. They made the most of their opening slot, which featured their TikTok hit “Come Over (Again)”.
Love and Rockets provided the prime support for Jane’s. The former Bauhaus boys busted out a slew of alt-rock classics, including “All in My Mind”, “Ball of Confusion”, and “So Alive”. Before ceding the stage to the headliners, they dropped in the fan-favorite “Yin and Yang (The Flowerpot Man)”, off of their second album, Express.
Once Jane’s Addiction stepped out, the band wasted little time rediscovering its form from decades past. Jane’s opened its 14-song set with “Kettle Whistle”, from the 1997 compilation album of the same name. From there, the music and the energy never stopped—save for the occasional comment from Perry. The 65-year-old frontman cracked wise about the “good dope” from back in the day and the joy of “quickies” in his older age, enjoyed a bottle of wine onstage, called for peace in Ukraine and the Middle East, and shared a touching story about surfing with his son. And, of course, he rocked out plenty, as he has in the nearly 40 years since he founded the band.
Perry put his powerhouse energy to spectacular use on all of Jane’s Addiction’s biggest hits. He and his bandmates split the middle of the set with a dynamic back-to-back of “Jane Says” and “The Mountain Song”. They closed out the evening with the gut punch of “Stop!” followed by the mischievous fun of “Been Caught Stealing”—both off their seminal 1990 album Ritual de lo Habitual.
Among Jane’s Addiction’s LPs, that one led the way with five contributions to the tracklist, along with “Ain’t No Right”, “Three Days”, and “Then She Did…”. The set also included “Imminent Redemption”, the first new song by the group’s original quartet in 34 years. For the band’s Day 1 fans, Jane’s Addiction cited four cuts from its studio debut, 1988’s Nothing’s Shocking. In addition to the aforementioned “Mountain Song”, Jane’s played “Ocean Size”, “Summertime Rolls”, and “Ted, Just Admit It”.
At every point, Perry’s supporting cast was as sharp as ever. Dave’s guitar work was nothing short of ripping as he rocked out with spectacular solos. Eric brought his heavy bass to bear on every bone in seemingly every body in the building. Stephen held it all together with his hard-driving drumming, along with his signature steel drums on “Jane Says”.
If that show was any indication, the rest of North America is in for a treat from Jane’s Addiction and Love and Rockets. Up next for the band is a trek up the East Coast before doubling back through the Midwest and ending the tour back west with another show at the YouTube Theater. Find tickets and a full list of tour dates here.
Check out a gallery of images from Jane’s Addiction, Love and Rockets, and The Crawlers in Los Angeles courtesy of photographer Josh Martin and full-show video by DJCHOPS.
Jane’s Addiction — YouTube Theater — Inglewood, CA — 8/13/24 — Full Video
Setlist: Jane’s Addiction | YouTube Theater | Inglewood, CA | 8/13/24
Set: Kettle Whistle, Whores, Pigs in Zen, Ain’t No Right, Ted, Just Admit It…, Summertime Rolls, Jane Says, Mountain Song, Three Days, Imminent Redemption, Then She Did…, Ocean Size, Stop!, Been Caught Stealing
