A Tale of Two Cities with one Addiction

Jane’s Addiction plays shows in Jacksonville and Tampa on their 2024 Imminent Redemption Tour with support band Love and Rockets

Alexander Sink / Bobby Caughron

August 27, 2024 / August 29, 2024

Daily’s Place; Jacksonville, FL

Mid-Florida Amphitheater; Tampa, FL

The old Dicken’s classic “A Tale of Two Cities” begins with the line, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…” and no other phrase better describes the history of Jane’s Addiction than these 12 words. Thankfully, the worst of times have been left behind and the Imminent Redemption Tour has offered fans a return to the best of times; and an all-original lineup of Perry Farrell (vocals), Dave Navarro (guitar), Eric Avery (bass) and Stephen Perkins (drums), once again.

It’s no secret that Jane’s Addiction has had its fair share of bumpy roads, breakups, and new lineups over the years, much of that due to egos and substance abuse by various members. This has been a constant for mostly all of the band’s four-decade history. Even COVID-19 kept the original members from re-uniting a few years back. Through all that, the original four have made it back together to play a full North American Tour this year with additional dates in Europe as well. Jacksonville, FL and Tampa, FL were fortunate enough to land back-to-back dates, and we were fortunate enough to be there for both nights of nostalgic, alternative rock from the band that is most credited with kicking off that entire genre, both on stage and off.

Jacksonville was the first of the two concerts and it was a great night at Daily’s Place Amphitheater. This 5,500-seat venue is adjacent to the Jaguars stadium and was a beautiful venue and host for such a great night. Even for a Tuesday night performance, there was a full crowd and plenty of anticipation. For long-time fans of Jane’s Addiction, like myself, this was a second chance to see a band that we all loved and respected growing up. It was also a chance to thank a front man who created Lollapalooza and introduced us to all the bands that got their start on that tour.

Lollapalooza was started in 1991 as a farewell tour for Jane’s Addiction and a celebration of the diverse music that 1991 was producing. The original lineup included Jane’s Addiction, Living Colour, Nine Inch Nails, Rollins Band, Ice T, and several others. The 1992 tour included Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Ice Cube, and Ministry and truly launched the Alternative Rock Movement of the 90s. To this day, Lollapalooza is still going strong and is an annual springboard for new bands, all thanks to the vision of Perry Farrell.

The 2024 Imminent Redemption Tour is a return to the early days of Janes Addiction. The tour is built around a playlist comprised of songs from the first 3 albums and the band has teamed up with long-time friends and English rock band, Love and Rockets. Janes Addiction first toured in 1987 as the support band for Love and Rockets, so to see these two on the same stage again was truly nostalgic. Comprised of original members Daniel Ash, David J, and Kevin Haskins, Love and Rockets still packs a good punch and the crowd really got into their performance when their 1989 hit So Alive was played. The crowd appreciated this familiar tune, but you could tell that they were here to see Jane’s Addiction.

Perry and crew came on stage around 9:30 and the crowd was more than ready. The band eased into the night with Kettle Whistle and only black lights illuminating the stage. This hypnotic introduction was accompanied by the unmistakable sound of Perry Farrell’s voice cutting through the darkness, after polishing off some wine from an oversized bottle. There is no denying who is singing when Perry has the mic, and every time I hear it I am a young teenager again. Like almost everyone in the venue, I was instantly transported to 1991 and covered with the goosebumps that come from hearing Jane’s Addiction sounding as good as they ever have, live. Perry’s child-like playfulness was on full display and his optimism was still present, while Dave Navarro found a way to get immense sound out of his guitar with almost no movement. I was amazed at his technical skills and the very little wasted movement when Navarro plays. He is still recovering from a multi-year bout with long covid, so his style serves him well to conserve energy while still knocking your hat off. Eric Avery and Stephen Perkins are still as solid as ever too. Their playing styles really are the bedrock of the Jane’s Addiction sound and the heartbeat of the band. Strip down any song and it will sound like Janes Addiction with just those two.

The original lineup and Jacksonville setlist did not disappoint one bit, and the fans appreciated it. Towards the end of the night, Perry tripped up on the scat portion of Stop!, only to find the audience had continued for him. He sat back with a huge grin and enjoyed the moment. Perry paused to enjoy this organic moment and afterward, he said, “How ‘bout this?…let’s do it again!”. He and the packed house proceeded to enjoy scatting together about their God d*#n radio and all that was left after that was to get caught stealing. It was a fun night all around and truly the best of times in Jacksonville, as the tour continued on to Tampa for the next show.

The full setlist for Jacksonville was:

Kettle Whistle

Whores

Pigs in Zen

Ain’t No Right

Ted, Just Admit It

Summertime Rolls

Jane Says

Mountain Song

Imminent Redemption

Three Days

Then She Did

Ocean Size

Stop!

Been Caught Stealing

Love and Rockets followed the opening band Crawlers for the show in Tampa Florida at the Mid-Florida Credit Union Amphitheater on August 29th. A show that I had been excitedly anticipating since its announcement. Having been a fan of Love of Rockets since their inception, and also a fan of the members’ former band Bauhaus, as well as their many side projects, I was ready for this show and Love and Rockets did not disappoint. Starting with “The Light”, they immediately got the attention of everyone in attendance. Daniel Ash dressed in a red frilly shirt that might draw comparisons to Jerry Seinfeld’s infamous pirate shirt, looked the part of what you expect a rock star of his caliber to be. The band was simply mesmerizing as they put on a dazzling display of their greatest hits including Kundalini Express, No Big Deal, The Dog End Of A Day Gone By, Haunted When The Minutes Drag, their great cover of the Temptations’ Ball Of Confusion and of course their biggest commercial hit So Alive. Kevin Kaskins and his brother David J laid down an incredible backbeat of drums and bass respectively with David also sharing vocals duties with Ash. I was quite surprised by the large amount of younger fans in attendance who were not even born when Love and Rockets were starting there to cheer on the band, decked out in band shirts. Love and Rockets were billed as the co-headliner for the event, and rightfully so as they could have easily been the main attraction judging from the audience’s reaction to their set.

Jane’s Addiction hit the stage in almost complete darkness, playing the same setlist as Jacksonville, but with the songs Three Days And Imminent Redemption swapping places in the rotation. Starting with Kettle Whistle it seemed apparent that vocalist Perry Farrell was not happy with his vocal sound as he repeatedly adjusted his mic settings and the sound controls used for delay and other effects for his vocals. The band seemed tight with Dave Navarro churning through some great nasty riffs and bassist Eric Avery and drummer Stephen Perkins keeping the timing and heavy end in the same in perfect harmony. Admittedly Perry seemed somewhat off of his game throughout the performance, mostly with some weird mumbling and word salad between songs. The band did however deliver a full set of great songs from their discography that was musically near perfect. Farrell was the weakest link throughout but still managed to deliver his unique vocal styling reasonably well. The fans were elated with the bands performance overall, and it was certainly great to see them back together after all these years. The one new song, Imminent Redemption is very reminiscent of their early sound and had that classic Jane’s Addiction sound. Here’s hoping that the band can work together to give us another album at some point in the future.