When Jane’s Addiction disbanded in 1991 they had but two studio albums to their credit—or half as many as they have now, several reunions later. At the time Jane’s was still very much an underground sensation, though they did have one breakthrough hit (“Been Caught Stealing”). An immediate follow-up to 1990’s Ritual de lo habitual would have almost certainly been met with the type of anticipation reserved for fellow alt-giants the ilk of Nirvana, Pearl Jam and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. But it was not to be.
Singer Perry Farrell’s drug dependency created a schism within the band, especially between himself and guitarist Dave Navarro and bassist Eric Avery, who were doing everything in their power to stay clean (Farrell, himself, was arrested for drug possession a month after the band’s final show). So, shortly after headlining the inaugural Lollapalooza tour, the band toured for another month, and decided to call their two shows at Honolulu’s Aloha Tower their last.
Oddly, Jane’s neglected to perform their namesake song “Jane’s Says” at the final show, but that was hardly the oddest thing about the September 26 show. After only a song Farrell dropped trou and neglected to pick it back up; at some point, too, drummer Stephen Perkins, too, unclothed until the point where they both were performing buck fuckin’ naked. Navarro and Avery still had on shorts (Below is an amateur video of the entire show, shot from the stage).
As it turns out the show was memorable to the band for a whole other reason. “That last night [in Hawaii] was the closest that Perry and I got to a fistfight,” Eric Avery recalled. Hardly a fond farewell.
Even when Jane’s decided to reform six years later for the Relapse tour Avery declined to take part, and wouldn’t tour with the band until 17 years later. Two years later he left the group again, never to return.
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