Review: In Tampa, Perry Farrell struggles, while the rest of Jane’s Addiction, Love and Rockets, shine [PHOTOS]

It seems like only yesterday that two of the biggest and most successful alternative rock bands were touring together and bringing their own personal, unique styles to the same stage. Near the end of 1987, British trio Love and Rockets and California-based quartet Jane’s Addiction made up a double bill that played at St. Petersburg’s outdoor venue, Jannus Landing.

Fast forward, and those two bands are sharing a bill again. Appearing last Thursday night at another (and considerably larger) outdoor venue, two mainstays on college radio station playlists throughout the late-‘80s and early-'90s found their way to the enormous MidFlorida Credit Union Amphitheatre while on their current joint tour.
The difference this time around, however, is that Love and Rockets, the offshoot band that was spawned from the remnants of highly influential, goth archetype band Bauhaus, is the opening act on this trek. Back in 1987, while riding high on alternative charts and in support of its fantastic third album Earth, Sun, Moon, the band was billed as headliners.

And based on its current state, and its impressive 60-minute opening set in Tampa, the band is still more than worthy of that headlining status. Taking the stage promptly at 8 p.m. and following a brief opening set from British band Crawlers, Love and Rockets promptly dove into its catalog to treat fans to their brand of moody, psychedelic-inspired atmospheric rock. Absent from concert stages for many years, the three-man band made a triumphant return to live stages in early 2023 and have been touring since.

Opening its set with “The Light,” a song from their aforementioned third album, it felt like the band hadn’t missed a step after a long time away from performing together. Lead singer and guitarist Daniel Ash, donning a spiky hairdo, shades, red frilly blouse, and sparkly pants, looked ageless and sounded magnificent. With his guitar up loud, and while cranking out crunchy, fuzzy guitar tones, it was evident that one of the band’s key elements is still a huge part of its delivery.

Admittedly, a band whose exquisite sonic qualities and sometimes droning, sludgy passages, is better suited for a smaller, more sound-friendly space. Unfortunately, while on an expansive stage in an outdoor amphitheater, a lot of those nuances are lost. For “Kundalini Express,” a song full of texture and subtleties, the essence of the song was lost due to a sometimes-uneven sound mix. Bassist and vocalist David J’s contributions, namely the booming bottom his bass work lends to the song, and his quiet, hushed vocals, were somewhat buried.

Luckily, the band dug down and included some deeper album cuts to go along with its more familiar material, and the sound snags seemed to be addressed. Ash’s 12-string acoustic guitar work during “Haunted When the Minutes Drag” added plenty of vibrancy to the performance. It also served in introducing the strumming of the familiar, opening chords of one of the band’s best-known tunes, “No New Tale to Tell,” which followed immediately.

Sadly, the band’s set was either lost on much of the audience, or that the enthusiasm for their return to a local stage wasn’t felt by all. It wasn’t until the band reached “So Alive,” its surprise Billboard Top 10 hit single from 1989, that some recognition seemed to come to many at the venue. The band’s revved up cover of “Ball of Confusion,” the 1970 topical hit originally recorded by Motown singing group, The Temptations, seemed to enthrall the crowd, too. A staple in alternative dance clubs since its release in 1985, the band’s rendition of the song sounded fresh and packed a mighty wallop, on top of the still-relevant lyrical content. Closing with another of its more upbeat, underground dance club hits, “Mirror People,” and the raucous cacophony of “Yin and Yang (The Flowerpot Man),” it felt like the band was just hitting its stride, and that all the sound issues had been cleared up; but, woefully, those two numbers signaled the end of the set and left some wanting more. And a longer, more expansive L&R set would have suited me just fine, based on what followed.

Although Jane’s Addiction has maintained and kept a steady, loyal following despite all their ups and downs through the years, the performance they delivered as the main attraction of this bill had me scratching my head a bit.

Starting off with “Kettle Whistle,” a slow-building number, the band looked and sounded great. A darkened stage, punctuated by the group’s logo emblazoned on a screen at the rear of the stage, set the tone for the song and, admittedly, many of the sound snafus that had plagued some of Love and Rockets’ set, seemed to have vanished.

Launching into “Whores,” a meatier track from its 1987 self-titled, debut album, was a great vehicle for building the momentum. Lead guitarist and fashion plate Dave Navarro looked as great as he sounded. Donning a fedora, eye makeup inspired by Kiss and King Diamond, and showing off his sleeved, tattooed arms, his razor-sharp, piercing guitar work was outstanding throughout the night. His guitar tone mixed the perfect pairing of aggression and clarity and was breathtaking throughout the night.
Drummer Stephen Perkins is a thunderous force of nature. A solid machine pounding out perfect beats and fills. His steady, solid drum work, coupled with Eric Avery’s warm and industrious bass playing served as the indelible and unshaken foundation for the performance. Both were prominently featured and arguably stole the show during tunes like “Summertime Rolls” and “Pigs in Zen.”

Which leaves only one other member of the band to focus on: lead singer Perry Farrell. Sporting a vintage denim three-piece suit and a fresh, silvery-blonde pompadour, the normally charismatic frontman looked dapper and stylish. However, his delivery and his unusual demeanor didn’t jive with his slick look.

Fumbling for much of the night with a small vocal modulation contraption that was planted on a stand near his microphone, Farrell seemed off early in the set, and his behavior seemed to spiral more throughout the night.

It’s hard to detract from the sheer, metallic edge of a tune like “Mountain Song.” One thing this band was able to do in its heyday, which made it so unique, was to appeal to a variety of listeners. At their peak, it wasn’t unusual for its audience to consist of heavy metal fans, punks, alt-rockers, and hair metal followers. This song in particular seemed to be what attracted so many from so many different camps at the time. And it still sounded great and packed a mighty wallop. Unfortunately, vocally, it suffered on Thursday night. Farrell’s delivery was either late, or disjointed, and it was hard to pair his lackluster performance with the absolute, defined power the band was churning out behind him.

Things continued to get odd; Farrell launched into many nonsensical rants about cow pastures, mushrooms, surfing, living in Florida, and arguing with his brother about politics, among other undecipherable topics. Chugging from a full bottle of wine throughout the performance, one almost got the feeling that this wasn’t the first bottle he’d uncorked for the night.

At one point, during one of his ramblings, Navarro deliberately cranked out a loud, piercing chord on his guitar, as almost to silence Farrell and get the show back on track.

The band’s 90-minute set ended with two of its most well-known songs: “Stop!” and “Been Caught Stealing.” The crowd went wild and ate up the back-to-back punch of these two alt-rock classics. The band was energized, and the crowd reacted accordingly, but Farrell’s struggles continued, as witnessed by his incoherent speech that occurred simultaneously over the recorded, female spoken word introduction that serves as the lead-in to “Stop!”

During several of the odd, uncomfortable moments of the performance, it felt that it was Farrell and his quizzical state that should have come to a stop, instead of the music.