2012.05.09 Bayou City and Event Center, Houston, TX

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http://janesaddiction.org/tour/show/jan ... 5-09/2333/

[Mike]

Perry Farrell Is Doing Just Fine
Jane's Addiction and Lollapalooza mastermind on Bin Laden and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

By Craig Hlavaty Wednesday, May 2 2012

Jane's Addiction lead singer Perry Farrell just spent an afternoon in his hometown of Santa Monica, California, eating "miracle berries," those strange little pieces of fruit that make everything taste sweet to your tongue.

"They brought us a plate of lemons, limes, and now everything tastes sweet. I'm taking it home to my kids so they will eat broccoli finally, and giving it out to audiences so we can sound sweeter," says Farrell, also the jet-setting DJ and promoter behind Lollapalooza.

Jane's Addiction is currently on the road behind last year's The Great Escape Artist, the fourth proper LP of the band's 27-year career. Farrell has been one of rock's most theatrical and enigmatic front men of the past two decades, as the acid-laced, Zeppelinesque Jane's has influenced the likes of the Mars Volta and Incubus, not to mention most men behind the mike during the grunge era.

Chatter talked to Farrell about the late Osama Bin Laden, the chances of Jane's hitting the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and what he sees as a decaying music industry.

Chatter: The last time you were in Houston, you broke the news to the Buzzfest crowd that Osama Bin Laden had been captured and killed. You sounded pretty excited in the YouTube clip.

Perry Farrell: I was trying to be respectful of people who didn't believe in murder and killing, and I was trying to be respectful of Muslims and people that had friends that were Muslims, but actually I was pretty stoked. Houston is a pretty "USA! USA!" town, and I fucking love the USA, but I was trying to figure out how to come at them.

Some people would say, "That's terrible that we went and killed another human being." Well, you know how it goes; people are always trying to be so politically correct and all that bullshit. Luckily I was in Houston, so I got a big "Yeah!"

My personal opinion is, I'm not a hater, I'm a lover, but I am not going to say that if I had to fight I wouldn't fight. I'm not opposed to punching a guy in the face, and I have been punched in the face myself. This guy had what's coming to him, so fuck him.

C: As the band reaches 30, does it still get nerve-racking getting onstage?

PF: I'm never nervous performing. I know I got the goods. I know my innate talent will entertain people and make them happy and rock the world. That's really all I am after.

If I really get nervous about anything, it's whether people can dig it, appreciate it. Can the people around me appreciate who they are and what they are, and where they are in this world? Those kinds of things.

I don't worry about myself, I worry about others. I decided a long time ago to just let 'er rip. I don't play down to people.

I'm not looking for votes. I'm not looking to pander. It creates problems for me, because in a funny way we are all politicians, us musicians: "Vote for me, buy my records," and all the rest that goes with it.

C: On that tip, what has changed in the industry since you started?

PF: A musician now has to think about their entire lifetime and how are they going to get by. Those of us that are still left in the major-label business, we are the last remnants of that old way. The major-label business is a joke, and it's corrupt as most levels of government.

The only way that these musicians are getting by is with their mentor/dictator, pulling stunts to get their records played. I choose to not play that game. There are many different courts you can play on. I don't play on that court. I have my own court. It's called Perry Farrell, Jane's Addiction, and it's Lollapalooza.

I don't play with those other guys. There are a couple of big players in the music industry who push through garbage and people buy it because they aren't that connected.

C: You guys are eligible for the Rock Hall this next year. Would you pull an Axl and not show up?

PF: I don't want to tell you what I think about Axl Rose (laughs). I would be more gracious, because they are inviting you in and saying they respect you and recognize you as an artist and the work you have done. That's an honor.

If it's good enough for Keith Richards, it's good enough for me. That's the way I look at it. But I wouldn't be surprised if they don't invite us, because we have a checkered past.

C: Guns got in on the strength of one album, but you guys have ­several great albums...

PF: I would never second-guess anybody. I am one of the most fortunate musicians out there. Not only do I have a band and a career as a DJ, but I also help promote one of the greatest festivals in the world. Most musicians don't have that and they have to rely on cheap tricks to keep their careers afloat.

My guys look at me like, "Of course you can afford to be artistic and not make money, because you don't really need the money here since you have it coming from everywhere."

C: If you could snag one dream band for Lollapalooza, who would it be?

PF: If I could get Led Zeppelin, I would give the devil two years of my life. If they aren't going to do it for each other, they aren't going to do it for me.

Details
Jane's Addiction

With the Duke Spirit, 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 9, at Bayou Music Center (formerly Verizon Wireless Theater), 520 Texas, 713-230-1600 or http://www.bayoumusiccenter.com

http://www.houstonpress.com/2012-05-03/ ... lapalooza/

[hydro]

Perry Farrell Is Doing Just Fine
Jane's Addiction and Lollapalooza mastermind on Bin Laden and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

By Craig Hlavaty Wednesday, May 2 2012


Chatter: The last time you were in Houston, you broke the news to the Buzzfest crowd that Osama Bin Laden had been captured and killed. You sounded pretty excited in the YouTube clip.

Perry Farrell: I was trying to be respectful of people who didn't believe in murder and killing, and I was trying to be respectful of Muslims and people that had friends that were Muslims, but actually I was pretty stoked. Houston is a pretty "USA! USA!" town, and I fucking love the USA, but I was trying to figure out how to come at them.

Some people would say, "That's terrible that we went and killed another human being." Well, you know how it goes; people are always trying to be so politically correct and all that bullshit. Luckily I was in Houston, so I got a big "Yeah!"

My personal opinion is, I'm not a hater, I'm a lover, but I am not going to say that if I had to fight I wouldn't fight. I'm not opposed to punching a guy in the face, and I have been punched in the face myself. This guy had what's coming to him, so fuck him.

http://www.houstonpress.com/2012-05-03/ ... lapalooza/

it's crazy I happen to be in TX at the time and got the historic news about Bin Laden from Perry. That's a moment I will never forget. Seeing Dave walk over to Perry and whisper in his ear, I wondered if they were having technical problems then moments later Perry made the announcement. The crowd was in shock and responded the only way we knew how. Everyone rejoiced for a moment, then the show went on.

[Mike]

Last Night: Jane's Addiction At Bayou Music Center

By Chris Gray Thu., May 10 2012 at 1:00 PM

Jane's Addiction
Bayou Music Center
May 9, 2012

Perry Farrell is a twisted freak. Of course that's intended as a compliment.

Farrell has become one of rock's most successful misfits of the past 25 years, combining an astute business sense with a sincere interest in the any number of alternative subcultures that fuel Jane's sound. The man knows how to sell records, concert tickets and most of all himself.

So of course he would imagine himself as a ringmaster, pulling the puppet strings and making all the clowns dance on cue. That's the theme of Jane's new album The Great Escape Artist, Farrell's love letter to L.A. that's more enthusiastic than Joe Ely's but about as noirish. It's a surprisingly solid Jane's album, better than good but less than great, and I found myself wishing they had played a little more of it Wednesday.

What we got at Bayou Music Center instead was a show that took half an hour to ripen, or maybe for Farrell to decide that he was really into it after all. His washboard abs are impressive, and he would make a great bobblehead doll, but it wasn't until about "Ted, Just Admit It" that the show became more than perfunctory and I really started to believe him.

The early part of the set was deafening, but not riveting. The Led Zep thunder of "Mountain Song" is always a headbanger's ball, but the opening run of the new "Underground," "Just Because" and "Been Caught Stealing" tried to trace an arc between Pink Floyd -- the concert opened with a snippet of "Welcome to the Machine" -- the Beastie Boys and Faster Pussycat, but didn't quite click.

Too much volume, not enough groove. Maybe they needed an actual chainsaw onstage to go with the grizzly bear.

Oh well. As the man said, everybody has their own opinion. Personally, I liked the goth moment of the evening, the Cure/Sisters of Mercy-lite new song "Twisted Tales" and hope it sticks around in future tours.

Farrell can be both vulnerable and confrontational. He remarked that the last time Jane's was in Houston was the night Osama bin Laden died, and gave the same speech he gave the last year's Buzzfest audience at The Woodlands -- something along the lines of "I'm glad that motherfucker's dead."

At moments like that, the raging id loosed by the speed-metal riffs of "Ain't No Right" needed no other explanation.

At the same time, there was no mistaking the tenderness and affection in acoustic-flavored songs like "Classic Girl" and "Jane Says." As a campfire singalong and calypso tune including steel drums, those two songs opened a a kind of marine mini-set that went on into a tribal drum circle starring Navarro, drummer Stephen Perkins and bassist Chris Chaney ("Chip Away," from 1987 debut Jane's Addiction), and finally the mystical rites of "Up the Beach/Ocean Size," lacking only a bonfire onstage and maybe a human sacrifice.

Navarro's psychedelic Pink Floyd guitar is especially adept at illuminating the darker corners of Farrell's psyche. Wednesday, that was especially on display in "Ted" and then again sinister closer "Three Days," which gave us an LSD-fantastic Fillmore light show to go along with Navarro's fried-synapse Hendrix solo.

As that song entered its home stretch in brawny Metallica mode, the two busty dancers who had been flickering on and offstage (and above it) all evening gave Farrell and Navarro standing lap dances while Perkins and Chaney were left with nothing but their instruments. The rhythm section never gets to have any fun. Or maybe that's what that drum circle was all about.

Californians: They're different from us.

Personal Bias: Longtime fan. Hadn't seen Jane's live in ten years. A little disappointed, but they ended strong.

The Crowd: Broke, unemployed losers. Just kidding. Ladies love Jane's Addiction, and Houston's rock fans were representing, though not enough to sell out the hall. It was close, though.

Seen in the Crowd: A guy in a Mohawk and his lady making out during "Ocean Size." Awww.

Random Notebook Dump: New favorite band alert -- openers the Duke Spirit, a.k.a. Echo & the Bunnymen with a lady singer. I'm in love.


SET LIST (* - new song)

Underground*
Mountain Song
Just Because
Been Caught Stealing
Ain't No Right
Ted, Just Admit It
Twisted Tales*
Classic Girl
Jane Says
Chip Away
Up the Beach/Ocean Size
Three Days

ENCORE

Words Right Out of My Mouth*
Stop!

http://blogs.houstonpress.com/rocks/201 ... sic_ce.php

[Mike]

Jane's Addiction opens a trippy vortex to 1990 where metal heads and hippies live in harmony and dance the night away

By Tyler Rudick
05.12.12 | 12:17 pm

It was as if "Smells Like Teen Spirit" never happened Wednesday night, as Jane's Addiction took to the stage at the Bayou Music Center and single-handedly turned back the hands of time — to 1990. For two hours, those odd pre-grunge/post-Appetite for Destruction days of Los Angeles came back to life with a vengeance.

The crowd proved a fascinating combination of metal heads and hippies that only frontman Perry Farrell and friends could draw. Standing in the audience, you could find yourself next a long-haired guy in a leather jacket while a lady waving her hands in a trippy Grateful Dead style danced at his side.

The 53-year-old singer and guitarist-slash-reality-star Dave Navarro, 44, managed to live up to their rock-god status. Farrell himself was bold enough to don not only a pair of silver boots, but also a now-retro-seeming chain wallet.

"I never got to see them back when they were first around," was certainly the most popular phrase of the evening as the crowd mingled before the show in line for overpriced Bud Light and, surprisingly, Kingfisher.

While Jane's Addiction forged a new path through American rock in the late-'80s, the group disbanded in 1991 at a time when similarly underground acts like Dinosaur, Jr. and Sonic Youth were making their way to MTV. Farrell's iconic Lollapalooza festival, that came to define the "alternative" spirit of the early 1990s was, in fact, initially conceived as a farwell tour for the band.

The band reunited several times in the past two decades with slight alterations to the line-up that included brief appearances from bassists like Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Duff McKagan of Guns N' Roses fame.

The roster for the current Theatre of Escapists tour features three of the four original members from the band's first two albums, whose songs certainly brought back the most nostalgia for audience members, who sang the lyrics to just about every song on 1988's Nothing's Shocking and 1990's Ritual de lo habitual (myself included).

The show kicked off with "Underground," a track from Jane's most recent effort, The Great Escape Artist. Not a bad song by any stretch of the imagination, but nothing compared to the classics like "Mountain," "Ain't no Right" and "Been Caught Stealing" that followed.

A pair of scantly-clad dancers — one of whom, Etty Lau, has been married to Farrell since 2004 — performed in the background aside a 20-foot statue of two naked women. A spooky well-dressed man in a would occasionally make his way onto the stage, once even hanging himself (as well as a creepy doll) from the rafters. Several video screens projected vintage footage from old-time nudie shows and '70s-era drug awareness films.

About halfway into the show, I noticed a roaring taxidermied grizzly bear to the left of the stage when the crew pulled out large wooden chairs for the band, which broke into mellow faves "Classic Girl" (see above video) and "Jane Says."

"Houston, I love your perfume," Farrell said into the microphone, enjoying the quieter moment as he took a drag from something handed to him from the crowd. "They say smoking is bad for your health, but I can tell it's good for your soul." It was one of a number of admittedly cheesy quips, which along with much of the theatrics, spoke to the inner 16-year-old that brought me to the concert in the first place.

While several more Escape Artist songs dotted the rest of the setlist, the show's second half brought two of the evening's shining moments with the 10-minute rumination "Three Days" and the sweeping "Ocean Size."

Jane's Addiction plays Bass Hall in Austin on Saturday — totally worth the trip, if you missed Wednesday's concert.

http://houston.culturemap.com/newsdetai ... n-harmony/

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