Jane's Addiction just made their iconic song "3 Days" a reality, as they
played their entire Nothing Shocking album+ three nights in a row at the
Brooklyn Bowl in Las Vegas. The band was there to celebrate that
all-time classic record's 25th Anniversary (time fllllllies!), and the
fans were out-of-their-minds about it before a note was even played.
I
headed out to the desert for the final Saturday night show, and after
hearing all the superlatives about the previous two shows, I know it was
going to be ON. A
whole crew made the trip out from Venice, so there was a bit of a
hometown show feel to it, even in the middle of Sin City. The Brooklyn
Bowl is massive, and it was jam packed to sold-out capacity, with the
die-hard fans squeezed up against the stage ten deep a couple hours
before they started. Then 20 deep, then 50 deep ... then so deep I
thanked my lucky stars that I had my spot in the balcony to not move
from until the last bow. As tribal sounding music amped up the room
leading up to Jane's taking the stage, the atmosphere and anticipation
was sheer electric. (Neon, to be precise. This was Vegas.)
The stage resembled a Day of
the Dead altar, with Christmas lights hanging and flowers in vases all
around. When the lights went dark and Stephen Perkins came out and sat
at his drum kit, the crowd went crazy. When the opening chords to "Up
The Beach" rang out ... well, I completely have chills right now writing
about it. It was nuclear powerful in there. Dave Navarro came out and
began that familiar opening number with his signature cool prowess,
Chris Chaney ruled that bass line, and Perry Farrell sauntered out
wailing those haunting vocal notes that set Nothing Shocking apart from
anything else out there back in the day, without barely an intelligible
word sung. He held a bottle up upon entering, high-fiving everyone down
front, signifying that the party would now begin, and we were invited to
join in the fun.
FUN!
Like blasting out "Ocean Size" and "Had A Dad" back to back, the whole
band going as OFF as the fans were. I could tell Perry was in rare form,
feeling it back from the fans that love him (and knew every word), and
returning it ten-fold. The dancing never let up, the voice and the music
were as rad as the day we first heard them (maybe even better, as
they've now played the tunes so many times, and they don't live as rough
as they did back then, so ... YESSSS!).
"My
beautiful friends! I'm so happy to see you again, because you never
know when it's time to go ... but now ain't the time!" A fan gave Perry a
hat and a joint, and Perry responded with the first of a bunch of
awesome and hilarious stage banters about generous people being better
than fucked up assholes ... "I want to be friends with generous people
... sometimes you gotta slow down and take a look around ... The cool
thing about marijuana is it's communal, everybody shares ... No one
wants to share their junkie spoon ... Marijuana is beautiful incense
... !" With that (plus a puff) from Perry, the band tore into "Ted, Just
Admit It" like maybe never before. "SEX IS VIOLENCE!!!" It was boiling,
incendiary hot. Perkins was going off, a total machine. Navarro's solos
are intoxicating, and Chaney almost makes you forget
he didn't write those Avery bass lines, and he's made them his own.
Perry is ... well, Perry. One of rock's greatest ever front men. Period.
No, the WORLD'S great front men, not just in rock, in humanity. A
seriously cool cat, and a great friend.
Well,
after that one that gave the record its name, everyone was all riled
up, perhaps Perry most of all. "I can't wait to fuck again, I'm raring
to go!" All bets - and shirts - were off by now, and it was a complete rock frenzy. We all needed a cold shower about then, but "Standing In The Shower, Thinking" would suffice. More than suffice. Rule.
A
wind had blown in right before the show, nearly blowing us all over on
our way to the venue. Flights were cancelled by 70 mph winds, which
brought back some friends who had tried to leave, but instead got
another show. Perry had a discussion with this crazy wind, who told him
"If you rock my ass out, I'm gonna give you Summertime." So Jane's gave
US "Summertime Rolls". This is a top candidate for my favorite song of
all time, so I was thrilled to again see it being played (as it rarely
is) live. I wasn't remotely alone, as the entire place sang along word
for word, and it was clear that this is
one of those classic songs that really MEAN something to people. It
hearkens you back to the greatness of when and where you were hearing it
for the first time. So special, so beloved ...
Equally
loved and massively ROCKED was "Mountain Song". This is Jane's at their
absolute best. My notes simply said, "Going OFF!" It was monstrous. I'm
sure you can imagine. Voices were lost during this one, I actually
heard a friend speak before and after, and this was where it went. Well
worth it, he'd agree.
Fishbone
was also in the house for these shows, and Angelo Moore came out to jam
horns for Jane's on "Idiots Rule" ("That should be America's theme
song" - Stephanie Hobgood). Jane's and Fishbone go way back, as
Moore put it, "We're like Ebony and Ivory, Punk Rock stylie!" They,
indeed and agreed, have gotten better with age, no question.
Perry
talked about our generation, changing things for the better, things
like
making history voting in Obama ... to which a guy next to me said,
"Ooh, there's a lot of Republicans here in Nevada" ... to which I said
and meant, "Who cares?" No matter what, as Perry said, "We're all here
together, having a good time!" ... and that's the point of it all. Music
bringing people together to rock out, have fun, and UNITE. If people
are moved by and love the same music, they have something common inside
that can bridge gaps, show that you share something good, and go forward
from there. We're all in it together, and not just at amazing shows, in
life. So have a good time together. Not so hard after all, is it?
As
they played through the album chronologically, you realized just how
much EVERY track on Nothing Shocking is not just good, but GREAT. And
holds up to be way better than most anything just coming out now, for
real. No matter how many times you've heard "Jane Says", it's always
awesome. This night's playing might have been the MOST awesome, with the steel
drum version killing us of course, but also that we knew it was its 25th
birthday ... so we sang along, in lieu of the Birthday Song.
"She takes a swing, but SHE CAN'T HIT!" ... was the loudest I've ever
heard it sung by a crowd. Again, a truly beloved tune for so, so many.
Reflecting on the years that have passed, Perry said, "My Dad was a tough
motherfucker. I learned to be a Man by a tough motherfucker. That's what
I teach my boys, Be tough, but be kind. That's the way we're gonna do
it, yeah?" The crowd roared back, "YEAH!" in agreement, as that speech
was backed by the jazzy music of "Thank You, Boys", which Perry shouted
at its end.
"Pigs
In Zen" fried all of our minds (at least I think it was because of that
song), super heavy and certainly played by tough (and KIND!)
motherfuckers/men. The cheers were
deafening when that one ended (as it finishes the album) with Perry
saying, "I need some more booze, I'll be back!"
Same
for us, and when we all returned, it was for the rocker "Been Caught
Stealing". This one featured Mrs. Farrell (Etty!) and Melissa Vela
Bailey dressed for Vegas in big showgirl headdresses, and little else,
making it even hotter in there. The dancers threw casino chips out to
the crowd (as the band melted faces), endearing themselves even more.
Then
the real "3 Days" arrived ... a scorcher. Dark and ominous, sexy and
dangerous all at once ... the fans were beside themselves. At the end of
the whole menage-a-troisvaganza, Perry and Etty made out so long and
for real that Etty looked a little breathless as she left the stage. I
love it. REAL love between a husband and wife, for all to see, enjoy and
envy. This spectacle of a show was truly inspiring on so many levels.
"Stop!"
= "NUTS!!!" in my notebook. So fast, so frenzied, so opposite the title
... you just want to GO. We were all sweaty messes at this point, but
all stops were pulled out by band and audience alike as they lit into
"Chip Away". Navarro, Chaney and Perkins were all lined up front of
stage banging on big drums in unison, as Perry screamed his way through
this other-worldly superjam. Suspension artist girls (skewered through
their shoulder blade skin!) swung high above the stage, and there was so much coolness
going on that you didn't know where to look.
And
then it was
over, but no one wanted it to be, not even the band. They took a group
bow together, earning ear-splitting shouts, claps and whistles, but
still, no one was going anywhere.
Long after everyone else had left the
stage, Perry and Etty stayed behind, shaking hands and handing out all
the flowers from their vases. They know their fans love them, and they
love them back.
Backstage
after the show, this remained as true. Friends and fans came back to
greet and thank them, and as effusive as they were, the Farrells and
company were equally as thrilled ... at what had truly been an EPIC 3
Days.
Thank you to Jane's Addiction for 25 years of rocking us, and by doing so, uniting us.
NEVER Stop!
(*And special heartfelt thanks to the Farrells for again welcoming me to the show! Love you.)
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