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Concert Review: Jane’s Addiction at Beale Street Festival in Memphis

Jane’s Addiction was the main headliner for the Saturday installment of the Beale Street Festival in Memphis, trumping acts like the incomparable Al Green, Pitbull, and Grace Potter for headlining honors. Jane’s Addiction is currently touring in support of their October 2011 release, “The Great Escape Artist” though it’s difficult to tell when you unwind their set list from the evening. Despite starting things off with “Underground,” the album’s opening salvo, the new album was sorely in neglect. Instead, the show seemed like a massive grab bag from Jane’s catalog of music.

The last time I saw Jane’s Addiction was on the “Strays” tour playing the Fox Theatre in Atlanta around 1993. Amazingly, not much has changed. Ferrell & Navarro are still shirtless. The boys still revel in elaborate stage art and they haven’t forgotten how to rock.

Jane’s Addiction did have the most elaborate set design and lighting of any band at the Beale Street Festival. In the background stood the naked busts of two women, and on stage were the lingerie clad bodies of two lusty young ladies. It seemed the motif was a massive tribute to “Nothing’s Shocking.” There were video boards and a raised platform that mini-melodramas were enacted on. I obviously have no issues with the ladies writhing along to the music and doing their best Carmen Electra routine on the band (Sorry Dave), but some of the Panic at the Disco-type theatrics did more to take away from the show rather than add to it. These bizarre elements took your gaze away from the music and instead you were left to ponder the meaning of a mock hanging, for example.

Some bands can get away with these over-the-top theatric elements, but to be successful, they have to weave them into the fabric of the music to ultimately augment the act. Jane’s Addiction’s setup lent itself more to distraction, and I felt the band losing the audience at times during these sometimes bizarre enactments. Perry Ferrell definitely beats to his own drummer and that creativity is a large reason why Jane’s Addiction’s popularity has persisted for so many years. Just don’t forget your audience wants to see you rock above all else.

The band sounded great whether they were ramping the crowd up on radio candy “Been Caught Stealin” or pulling back for a more introspective “Three Days.” Perry Ferrell had an intensity and a passion in his performance that was impossible to keep under wraps. Dave Navarro was similarly in the zone, yet it was harder to lock in on him since the spastic light display rarely pinpointed him, even during guitar solos. This was a disappointing element of the show, because to many he is just as big a star as Ferrell. The set list served up a little something for every generation of their Jane’s fans. Ritual De Lo Habitual fans could revel in “Ain’t No Right.” Nothing’s Shocking” fans could lock in on the album’s title track and new converts could wallow in “Twisted Tales.”

In all, it was a good set plagued by distraction. They rocked as hard as you’d expect from one of modern rock’s seminal bands, but the lighting and stage theatrics did detract from the music. A little re-jiggering to the formula would go a long way, but something tells me Ferrell’s eccentricity is on firm display and every touch is exactly the way he wants it. Ultimately, if you focus in on the music you won’t be disappointed.

Check back in with us later today and tomorrow as we continue our coverage of the Beale Street Music Festival.

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