Jane's Addiction - May 07, 1991 - AJ Palumbo Center, Pittsburgh, PA

Date: May 07, 1991
Location: AJ Palumbo Center, Pittsburgh, PA
Recorded: Audio
Status: Confirmed
Type: Concert
Lineup: Perry Farrell
Dave Navarro
Stephen Perkins
Eric Avery
Artwork:
 

Setlist:

Up The Beach
Whores
Standing In The Shower... Thinking
No One's Leaving
Ain't No Right
Three Days
Been Caught Stealing
Had A Dad
Summertime Rolls
Mountain Song
Stop!
Ocean Size
Chip Away

Show Information:

Rollins Band and Lush opened.

Thanks go out to 'starman714' for the ticket scan, Kevin for the article scan, and Sam Burger for the PDF ad.

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (PA)
May 8, 1991
Edition: STOCKS
Section: ENTERTAINMENT
Page: D4

JANE'S ADDICTION, ROLLINS SHOCK WITH ROCK
Author: PETER B. KING, THE PITTSBURGH PRESS

The bassist and guitarist of Jane's Addiction -- both male -- didn't French-kiss each other on stage last night. But they've been known to.

That's only one of the behaviors that have earned this arty Los Angeles hard rock band anger from conservatives and loyalty from their young fans. The fans -- whether they want to see two guys making out or not -- admire Jane's Addiction's eagerness to tweak the powers-that-be.

What's more, lead singer Perry Farrell has said that he uses heroin and enjoys it. A terrible thing for a role model to say, right? Like it or not, rockers have always gotten a lot of mileage out of their ability to shock.

Then there's the album covers -- nude sculptures by Farrell that have made record store owners exceedingly nervous.

Last night, none of these controversies crept into Jane's Addiction's performance at the Palumbo Center before 4,058 adoring fans. The most shocking comment Farrell could muster (slightly edited) was this: "Don't watch television. I'll tell you man, it'll screw your head up. You listen to music and have sex."

With a backdrop of Christmas lights and icons of the Santeria religion, the band roared through a 75-minute set of metal, punk and '60s psychedelia topped with Farrell's supposedly significant, real-life lyrics. The fans sang along with every word, and about 750 of them moshed (sort of like dancing, dude) in two areas ringed with security.

To give the band their due, Farrell's lyrics conjure up a hard, desperate world and some real, not always pretty emotions. It's a far cry from the escapist fare of Warrant or Paula Abdul.

Musically, drummer Stephen Perkins pounds out some overwhelming tom-tom and percussion effects, and guitarist David Navarro fired off some scalding, wah- wah solos.

But I have some big problems with Farrell. First, he yelps. He has this teensy-weensy voice, and to make it sound bigger he uses an absurd amount of electronic effects.

Second, the lyrics may be honest, but they're not all that accomplished. Farrell constantly tells interviewers what a pure, artistic creature he is; he seems to think he's achieved greatness simply by broaching topics like interracial romance and drug use. The truth is that those subjects have been treated by other writers and musicians with greater ability.

Take Henry Rollins, for instance. The Rollins Band opened the show last night, and they were very, very good.

Rollins was a member of Black Flag, one of America's first hard-core bands. He went on to divide his time between a solo career as a rocker and as a poet who gives readings and owns a thriving small press in Los Angeles.

Last night, Rollins managed the neat trick of bellowing his lyrics hard- core style and yet enunciating so that they could almost all be understood. With accompaniment from a band that was at least the equal of Jane's Addiction, Rollins belted out convincing, even poetic tales of rage, alienation and doomed drug users (Rollins is unequivocally anti-drug).

Shirtless, muscular and covered with tattoos, Rollins either bent over double or stood poised like a sumo wrestler as he delivered the songs. In between, he seemed refreshingly free of rock star pretension as he talked earnestly to the crowd. While there's a whiff of the poseur in Jane's Addiction, Rollins comes off as the real thing.