Break-Up: The original schism took place in 1991, but they reformed in 1997, and have mostly existed in the decades that followed in various states of stability and chaos. The reunions failed to include original bassist Eric Avery until 2009, when he briefly returned to Jane’s for a tour with Nine Inch Nails, only to quit once again when it ended. He vented his frustrations in a long series of YouTube videos, which enraged guitarist Dave Navarro. “The guy’s entitled to do whatever the fuck he wants to do, and it’s fine, but keep your fuckin’ mouth shut,” Navarro said in 2013 on his online radio show Dark Matter. “I don’t wish him any harm. I have a lot of fond memories with him. But if you’re going to fuckin’ open your mouth about the inner workings and dynamics of something that has been very, very good to you for a lot of years, and then not follow through on anything else, you’ve got it coming.”
Reunion: After mending fences with Farrell, Avery came back for a world tour in 2023. But Navarro had to sit out most of those dates due to long Covid. He finally came back May 23, 2024 for the kickoff of another world tour. “We’re way stripped back on production,” Navarro told Rolling Stone in August, “and just more interested in moods and textures and drones, and having things be sonically experimental rather than, ‘Here comes the dog-barking song.’ We seem to have found a depth within ourselves that we weren’t maybe able to reach in our younger years.”
Duration: Four months. Things were pretty good throughout the European run in May, June, and July 2024, but Farrell was clearly struggling during some of the American shows in August and September. At a New York City show at Pier 17 on Sept. 10, he spoke semi-incoherently to the crowd throughout the night, and nearly stopped the show after “Jane Says” because his voice was failing. They managed to limp through the rest of the set. Three days later, the Boston show ended in fisticuffs.
