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JANE'S ADDICTION, LOVE AND ROCKETS, CRAWLERS In Los Angeles With Photos!

By Charlie Steffens aka Gnarly Charlie, Writer/Photographer
Friday, August 23, 2024 @ 9:36 AM

At YouTube Theater In Inglewood On August 13, 2024

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All Photos By Charlie Steffens/Pictures At Eleven

A couple of dates into the new North American tour and JANE'S ADDICTION played to a sold-out crowd at the 6,000-seat YouTube Theater in Los Angeles. The original lineup of Perry Farrell (vocals), Dave Navarro (guitar), Eric Avery (bass), and Stephen Perkins (drums) performed a 90-minute set of 14 songs from the band's first four years, 1987-1990.

Opening the show was CRAWLERS, an alternative band from Liverpool, England. The four-piece ensemble, that features singer Holly Minto, guitarist Amy Woodall, bassist Liv May, and drummer Harry Breen played a short and exciting set of songs for the few-hundred people who arrived early.

LOVE AND ROCKETS came out and played a set of songs that served like a time machine, taking it back to the 80s. With his guitar slung down just right, Daniel Ash, wearing oversized sunglasses, looked nifty in a dark suit flecked with white polka dots. With David J on bass and vocals and Kevin Haskins on drums, hits like "So Alive" and a cover of the THE TEMPTATIONS' "Ball of Confusion (That's What the World is Today)" had the crowd up and dancing.

JANE'S ADDICTION walked onstage to loud cheers from the audience. The band's faces remained unrecognizable in the blueish, subdued light that didn't seem like an apt way to open a homecoming show, yet the roaring crowd was a vote of acceptance. The second song, "Whores", was sonic testimony of how cohesively the musicians play together. The song was, according to Perkins, the first song he, Farrell, Avery, and Navarro ever played together as a four-piece band. The majority of the songs were culled from Jane's Addiction (Live), Nothing's Shocking and Ritual de lo Habitual, the band's first three albums, released in 1987, 1988, and 1990, respectively. The one exception to an otherwise classic set list was the band's new track, "Imminent Redemption".

L.A. is where the band was formed, and Ferrell (swigging a bottle of red wine throughout the show) expressed his allegiance to the city where many of rock's luminaries have hailed. At 65-years old, the Lollapalooza music festival founder hasn't faltered in his ability to sing and entertain a crowd. In between songs the sentiments of peace and love and a few absurdities that he flung out came as no surprise. "What happened to the good dope? They don't make it no more. They got that shitty fentanyl...That's OK. Good wine, good friends. Truth...Let's go out with the truth."

Navarro, wearing a black cape and hat, played jaw-dropping guitar licks, while tapping into his rock-the-house superpowers. Avery and Perkins together provided the infectiously recognizable hard rock and often tribal rhythms that are second to none.

"Jane Says" saw Avery and Navarro playing acoustic guitars. The crowd loved it. That was as mellow as the show got. "Three Days" showed the Los Angeles crowd how heavy this band is. (Look it up on YouTube.) "Then She Did...", "Ocean Size", and "Stop" was a trifecta that proved that JANE'S ADDICTION, version 1.0 was back. "Been Caught Stealing" closed the night.

JANE'S ADDICTION blended individual and collective musical influences of punk, metal, goth, and new wave creating a sound that turned the music world on its ear nearly 40 years ago. It is good to see them back together.

Check out some more photos from the show!
All Photos By Charlie Steffens/Pictures At Eleven

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