Jane's Addiction
October 3rd, 2011
John Anson Ford Amphitheatre
Click here to see more photos from the show.
Lasers, confetti, scantily clad dancers, and the intimacy of the John Anson Ford Amphitheatre served as a perfect back drop for an explosive set by Jane's Addiction. Gearing up for the release of their new album The Great Escape Artist on October 18th, Jane's Addiction have been playing a select number of dates at smaller venues across the country.
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The chugging bass line of “Whores” by Chris Chaney jumpstarted the evening that had Jane's Addiction hitting the gas pedal and never letting up. Looking dapper in a grey suit and tie, Perry Farrell was the ringleader of the festivities dancing all over the stage and shaking hands with the enthusiastic fans in the front while perfectly singing every note.
Dave Navarro's Paul Reed Smith guitar was practically smoking all night with his blistering fretwork on “Just Because” backed by the super kinetic drumming of Stephen Perkins. Another thunderous bass line introduced “Ain't No Right” as Farrell stepped over to his rack of effects to modify his vocals.
It was a visual and auditory feast as Jane's Addiction busted out the lasers and dancers for a mind blowing version of “Ted, Just Admit It”. Farrell would reminisce about the block of shows they played at the same venue in 1988 recalling how he met Axl Rose. “Been Caught Stealing” had Navarro pull off some more dazzling fretwork as he closed out the song with a wah drenched solo.
Perkins physically propelled their new song “End To The Lies” with his tribal drumming accompanied by Navarro's spacey guitars. The laser light show switched to shades of blue during “Ocean Size” as Chaney was still rock solid on laying down his rumbling bass parts. “Three Days” was a tour de force featuring more lightening fast guitar licks by Navarro and Farrell grabbing some maracas to accent the percussion of the song.
Lasers continued to fry my retina as they dived into another new song “Irresistible Force” that seamlessly blended in nicely with their old catalog. Acknowledging their punk roots, “L.A Medley” featured bits of Black Flag and X. Farrell would put his arm around Navarro for “Mountain Song” as the crowd went wild.
Confetti would pour over the crowd for “Stop” as Farrell professed his love for Los Angeles before the song. Their usual encore of “Jane Says” had the crowd desperately wanting more. My only complaint was I don't have a ticket for the next night.
Local band IO Echo did a stellar job of opening the evening with their dark and moody tunes fusing elements of Bauhaus and Siouxsie and the Banshees. I still await the release of their debut album. Another opening act wasn't nearly as successful as Boys received more cheers when they announced they one had one song left in their set.
Personal Bias: The Nine Inch Nails/Jane's Addiction tour in 2009 is one of my favorite tours.
Crowd: A lot of hardcore fans who probably saw them in 1988.
Random Notebook Dump: Jane's Addiction employs the same lighting technician as Nine Inch Nails. He's quite unique in the world of lighting techs as he voraciously bangs his head shirtless to the music.
Setlist:
“Whores”
“Just Because”
“Ain't No Right”
“Ted, Just Admit It..”
“Been Caught Stealing”
“End To The Lies”
“Ocean Size”
“Three Days”
“Irresistible Force”
“L.A. Medley”
“Mountain Song”
“Stop”
“Jane Says”
