From SPLAT

SPLAT - NEWS BRIEFS OCTOBER 30, 1997, in THE iZINE

Addiction factor sets in

It was nearly impossible to escape the fact that the 'relapse' of Jane's Addiction began in earnest last week. Everywhere you looked there were stories about the band's dress rehearsal show at the Grand Olympic Auditorium, a dusty old boxing venue in downtown Los Angeles. How any of their fans got through the door is anybody's guess. If a bomb had gone off it would have wiped out about 90% of America's music critic fraternity. The gig - a warm-up for the long-awaited I'Itz M'My Party Tour (yeah, it's weird but it's Perry Farrell) - was about as gonzoid as the whole raunch and roll thing gets. Somewhere between a Las Vegas cabaret show and an Amsterdam strip club, the exotic, erotic presentation featured a mob of semi- naked girls whom displayed the kind of pole-climbing ability that put even the most seasoned stripper to shame. The women crawled all over Farrell, who was sporting a wiry red hairdo and sparkly red outfit, as well as each other (occasionally kissing one another), while shouts of "sex is violent" echoed through the hall during Ted, Just Admit It, one of the evening's many songs from Jane's Addiction's 1988 breakthrough album, Nothing's Shocking. Add to that stage props that resembled cast-off's from a production of Alice In Wonderland that was directed by a '60s neo-psychedelic remnant who'd taken too many chemicals - try oversized flowers and a male dancer dressed in a monster costume with nearly foot-long claws - and you get the picture. Sort of. Amid this scene of mayhem and lusty crusty nuances, Jane's tore through an apparently stunning set featuring Ocean Size, Mountain Song and Standing In The Shower ... Thinking from Nothing's Shocking, and Ritual De Lo Habitual classics Three Days and the all-time punter anthem Been Caught Stealing during which more scantily-clad nymphs came onstage with a bag of candies and other goodies, which Farrell then threw out to the audience. Toward the end of the show, the band performed several acoustic numbers, including Classic Girl, Jane Says, and Chip Away (from their self-titled indie album) which featured Farrell on vocals and bassist Flea, guitarist Dave Navarro, and drummer Stephen Perkins all playing percussion in a drum circle. There was a party afterwards, of course - at the Opium Den (seems fitting to us), a small club in Hollywood where the beautiful people all hung off each other and indulged in the usual round of decadence. Yes, if you were there, not only could you have stared meaningfully at the entire line-up of Jane's Addiction but you could also have watched Dave Navarro (Chili Peppers? Forget 'em - that's the tip!) chatting with James Iha of the Smashing Pumpkins, 311's S.A. Martinez grooving to the club's R&B, hip-hop, and funk mix, and Marilyn Manson, with a wine bottle in hand and wearing a large white cowboy hat, kissing anybody and everybody. Thank heavens we weren't there. All that remains now is the release of the new album of b-sides, live tracks and a couple of new songs, So What. And we can tell you it's a gem, a rare testimony to the might of the Addiction. Long may they live again. And the word is that may be longer than was initially expected.

Previous Reviews

11.07.97 - At Gosman Center (Boston)

11.04.97 - At Michigan Fairgrounds (Detroit)

11.03.97 - At Aragon Ballroom (Chicago)

10.30/31.97 - At Hammerstein Ballroom (N.Y.C.)

10.23.97 - At Grand Olympic Auditorium (L.A.)

10.18.97 - At the Roxy (L.A.)

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