janesaddiction.org

Jane's Addiction
Brixton Academy, London
Caroline Sullivan
Monday November 3, 2003
The Guardian

 

That the opening night of the Jane's Addiction tour fell on Halloween was the narco-punk equivalent of a red rag waved at a bull. Leader Perry Farrell took it as licence to fill the foyer with near-naked hostesses from the Torture Garden S&M club, and the stage with glaring red lights for that night-in-hell vibe.

In the midst of this unpleasantness (not to mention the multitude of burly fans who thought it great sport to come dressed as Marilyn Manson), the great man himself was a cross between Freddie Mercury and Bono in his sinister Macphisto guise. You can count on the fingers of one hand the number of male pop stars who can carry off a corset and elbow-length gloves, and on one finger those who blend this campness with an oratorical singing style that could motivate a tank regiment.

The reunited, rehabbed Jane's Addiction are all over the place at the moment promoting Strays, only their third studio album in 15 years. Offered this new lease of life, they have grasped it eagerly, and the result, in Brixton, was a display of visceral force. The subversive alt-rockers still have it; even in their 40s, Farrell and guitarist Dave Navarro are toxic enough to make Strays' title track clank along as if it were being played in a dungeon. Their one and only hit, Been Caught Stealing, was molten-goth foolishness that made the air feel dirty. And a droning Three Days - prefaced by an anecdote about staying awake for 72 hours - encapsulated the hollowness of hedonism.

Although these days Farrell goes home, we're told, to cocoa and babies, this disquieting show had a good deal of the night about it. Farrell ended the evening on the steps outside the venue, playing Halloween lullabies to guarantee a bad night's sleep.

At the Dome, Doncaster, tonight. Box office: 01302 370999. Then touring.