Jane's Addiction - Echoplex, Los Angeles, CA - 2/16/09

Waiting in the cold and the slight drizzle on the sidewalks of East Los Angeles, hours before being allowed in to the Echoplex, meeting new people with a common interest, sharing stories and drinking Tecates, brought me back to the mid to late ‘80s before “our secret” got out.

There was no doubt Jane’s Addiction was a great band composed of four equally talented individuals, but some of us in L.A. were greedy. We didn’t want to share and lose them, but we knew there was no way to contain them. Once people heard their music and saw their videos, we knew there was no way we were going to get the genie back in the bottle. Nor should we. Everyone deserves some magic in their lives.

After last seeing the original quartet on the first Lollapalooza tour from the lawn of Irvine Meadows and then 3/4s Jane’s at larger arenas over the years, it was great to see them back in a club. It was their third show they have played since last October and the biggest capacity so far. I was so close I could clearly make out all four standing just a few feet away and off the ground. The two-tone suited Perry Farrell talking with the crowd; Dave Navarro trying to not smile the entire time; the head and arms of Stephen Perkins flailing away in percussive bliss; and completing the line-up, Eric Avery looking as intense as his wicked basslines.

They opened with Avery’s familiar riff on “Up The Beach,” and the crowd started screaming. Perkins offered some cymbal fill and Farrell announced “Here We Go” even though the crowd was already gone. Navarro’s guitar soared above. On this song and throughout the show, Avery’s bass led many of the songs, rather than just providing rhythm. This allows Navarro room to go off without worrying about what he leaves behind.

Next, they went way back to their debut album for “Whores” and “1%” and retained the vibrancy of the previous live versions. They naturally played hits like “Mountain Song” and “Been Caught Stealing” that the crowd enthusiastically sang along to, but surprised and impressed me by stretching out on the seven-minute “Ted, Just Admit It…” The song slowly winds its way along, building and releasing for five minutes, increasing the anticipation before exploding in two minutes of intense fervor. After “Stop!” they took a breather and encored with the one-two punch of Nothing’s Shocking’s “Had A Dad” and “Ocean Size,” emphasizing the rock in “alternative rock,” which they helped bring to the mainstream in the 1990s.

It was a short set, coming in just under 50 minutes, and left a few grumbling for more. Sure, I did as well and would have even liked new material. I also thought Farrell and Navarro got slightly lost in the mix early on at times but the sound guy found the right balance quickly as the show progressed. Still, pound for pound I defy anyone to find a better $10 show. A co-headlining tour with Nine Inch Nails has been announced. I don’t expect the prices or my seats to be the same, but I will be there.

Setlist:

Up the Beach
Whores
1%
Ain’t No Right
Mountain Song
Been Caught Stealing
Ted Just Admit It
Stop
Had A Dad
Ocean Size

“Up The Beach”:

Perry Farrell’s Satellite Party
ULTRA PAYLOADED

When Perry Farrell throws a party, everyone is welcome to join in and have a good time. His latest venture finds him offering up a variety of tunes created with friends to tell a story about artists and visionaries, called The Solutionists, coming together to make the world a better place through creativity and spreading love. It sounds corny in these cynical times, and will be easily dismissed and scoffed at by moody, modern hipsters, but for anyone who has followed Farrell’s career, he sincerely believe it’s the way forward. Hell, the idea is so crazy it just might even work if people give it a chance.

The album opens begins “Wish Upon A Dog Star” co-written by Joy Division/New Order’s Peter Hook, a perfect last name for a musician as evidenced by this song with its captivating bass line, certain to “get your groove on” out on the dance floor. “Only Love, Let’s Celebrate” lays the plan out pretty clearly. The song’s chorus takes from Rare Earth’s “I Just Wanna Celebrate” and repeats its message like a mantra. There’s good guitar work by Nuno Bettencourt, which unfortunately gets buried in the mix at times, but gets to periodically shine through.

If you are curious what the Red Hot Chili Peppers would sound like with Farrell on vocals, “Hard Life Easy” finds him joined by guitarist John Frusciante and bassist Flea, the latter of whom collaborates with Farrell every ten years. In the late ‘80s, he played trumpet on Jane’s Addiction “Idiot’s Rule” and in the late ‘90s he played bass on a couple of Porno for Pyros tracks. The song narrows the scope of love from humanity to the one person who makes “my hard life easy.”

“The Solutionists” is a remake of “Revolution Solution,” a previous collaboration between Farrell and Thievery Corporation off their 2005 The Cosmic Game. The lyrics are the same but the music is different, like an audio fraternal twin. It’s an exotic-sounding, dreamy trip, like nothing else on the album, yet it fits.

“Awesome” is a song to Farrell’s newborn son. Backed by a big, sweeping orchestra, he exudes the love of a father and repeats the title throughout. I understand the sentiment and have no doubt holding that new life in your arms is overwhelming and mind-boggling, as the line “I can’t believe that you exist” signifies, making “awesome” the perfect word. If the listener can’t put himself into a parent’s mindset, the song might not work. With each play, the song grew more on me.

The album closes out with songs that take from Farrell’s musical past. “Insanity Rains” has the charging energy of Jane’s Addiction, “Milky Ave.” has the moody atmospherics of Porno for Pyros, and “Ultra Payloaded Satellite Party” is a synthesis of the two, alternating from verse to chorus. Close to the end of the song, Farrell sings “Come on and touch me, babe/Can’t you see that I am not afraid” from The Doors’ “Touch Me.” It’s a perfect segue into the final track, which will get a lot of attention because “Women In The Window” is a song Farrell created with vocals from an unreleased Jim Morrison track. The chorus finds Morrison singing what Farrell has turned into The Solutionists’ anthem, “Just try and stop us/ We're going to love.” It’s one of the most positive and uplifting lines of Morrison’s poetry. There’s a great bit of organ work on the bridge that sounds exactly like Ray Manzarek’s work.

I don’t know if Farrell’s story holds up throughout the piece, and I don’t know if The Solutionists will become a reality and make real, positive change, but Ultra Payloaded is a good collection of songs to listen to and have a good time. If one person makes the world a better place, that’s a bonus.