the setlist...
Ocean Size
Ain't No Right
Then She Did...
Stop!
Three Days
Mountain Song
Summertime Rolls
Jane Says
Classic Girl
Chip Away
Ted, Just Admit It...


From Dave Haskins--
First off I would like to say that I was at the Detroit show and was very unhappy with the crowd, who consisted of alot of drunk fucks that smashed people around for the hell of it and looked at each other with blank stares when Three Days came on. This was far from the case in Atlanta. The set list was the same as Detroit, but the show was entiarly different. Before the show had even started I could feel a great vibe from the crowd. I talked to alot of people that had driven hundreds of miles (I drove from Indiana) and payed hundreds of dollars for tikets. This crowd was no bullshit. They wanted to see Jane's. When the band came on the crowd exploded. I was very happy to see that in the very heart of the anarchy of the pit the crowd was looking out for each other at all times. Everyone in the crowd could feel this, and I'm sure that the band could feel this as well because they gave us the best show I have seen in my life. Their playing was tight and they did alot more improv than they had done in Detroit. In fact, before "Jane Says" Perry told the band to jam out for a while. During "Then She Did" Perry started telling us some crazy shit about God and the Devil and the crowd ate it up. "Three Days" was intense and Dave did a longer solo than I had seen him do before. Perry put his all into "Summertime rolls" and had everyone swaying and singing along. The acoustic set was amazing and it was easy to see that band was having one hell of a time. Even Dave had a smile. The crowd has close to worn itself out, but come up with one last burst of energy for "Ted, Just Admit It...". This show was one of those rare experiences where the crowd was so great that the band just fed off of it and what they gave back the crowd ate up and tossed back again. It was a reciprocated feeling that something beautiful emerged from. When the show was over the crowd stood around for a good fifteen minutes but no encore. I only heard positive statements from people as I left and it seemed that everone was blown out of the water.


From Sonny--
it was a cold saturday night but it was hot as hell in the international ballroom (in more ways than one). i totally missed goldie but when i came in this dance music was playing and i thought that was him. I bought some janes goodies from "the man" and before i knew it i could hear this faint guitar. it was dave of course starting "ocean size" so i plowed my way to the front of the stage(or as near as i could;about 5 feet) and proceeded to pounce to the massive sound coming out. on through to "ain't no right" and "then she did...". before i knew it i had pounced from flea's side to dave's side. then came "stop!" and right around the "give me back" chant i decided to stop myself and retreated to about midway out from the stage and join my fiancee for a beautiful "three days". they slammed into "mountain song" and quieted everyone down with "summertime rolls" as perry enchanted the crowd from his high pedistal. "kindness,kindness,let our people through" perry bellowed as the four of them made their way to the smaller stage. perry said "lets jam a little boys" as the relapse group flowed through "jane says", "classic girl", and as perry anounced the members of the band he said of himself "and all i do is chip away" as they exploded into my favorite live song "i chip away, cause i'm not o.k." "kindness,kindness,let our people through" from perry and they were back for "ted, just admit it..." to close the show and that it did. they could do no wrong in my eyes. perry's various mentions of the devil and the other being that may be coming for you soon!!! gave me a spooky feeling like he had seen what is to come and is giving us first insight on what it is he saw.


From Steph--
I first heard of Jane's Addiction back in 1990. I live in the south and was way too dependant on our radio stations to hear new, good non-hair band music. I was 20 years old and had just bought my first CD player. I heard "Been Caught Stealin'" on the radio and saw the video on MTV, liked the song, and decided I would buy the CD "Ritual de lo Habitual". I brought it home, listened to "BCS" a couple of times and put the CD with my Bon Jovi and Whitesnake discs. Never even attempted to listen to the whole disc, only that one song.
A year passed. Things were busy. I got married. My love of music forced my husband and I to go out and buy a $1,500.00 stereo system the first week we got back from our honeymoon. Our CD collection started growing considerably; it was 1991 and we had discovered "SEATTLE GRUNGE". Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Mudhoney, Screaming Trees. "Ritual" still sat, unplayed, with all the lonely Tesla and Guns N Roses discs. Then one day, my friend named Steve called me, in an obvious depression, and told me that his friend Willis just told him that Jane's Addiction broke up. I had not met Willis before; all i knew about him was that he was from NY, smoked alot of weed and did acid. Steve said that Willis was about to go off the deep end because Jane's was, by far, the best band in history. I'm like; ok... "BCS" is a pretty cool song... but what's the big deal? Depressed as hell just cause a band broke up? Maybe I should listen to that disc. So that night, I lay in bed, put my headphones on and popped "Ritual" in the player. I was blown away. I could not believe that CD had sat in my lame-ass collection for over a year undiscovered. "Aint No Right", "Three Days" and "Then She Did" were, by far, the best songs I had ever heard. The next day, time we got home from work, I played the disc for my husband. He was as amazed as I was. From then on it was an obsession. I bought anything and everything Jane's-related. But I was a-day-late-and-dollar-short dumbass! This wonderful band had disbanded before I had fallen in love with them.
Over the next few years Willis became one of our very best friends. Every weekend night he and Steve came over to our house just to hang. We smoked alot of weed, did alot of acid, made tie-dyed clothes, painted and drew, sculpted clay, made homemade bongs and pipes and listened to alot of Jane's. Willis, being from NY, had a library of other wonderful music that us Southerners had never been introduced to. Fugazi, Sonic Youth, Camper Van Beethoven, old Smashing Pumpkins, old NIN. But I never found another band that topped Jane's. I still kick myself nearly every day for turning down Steve's invitation to Lolla '91. Of course then there was Porno for Pyros; being so close to Atlanta we couldn't not go see Perry and Stephen. It was a wild show, right after their first disc came out, with fire eaters and naked women. It was almost a spiritual experience. But the music of P4P didn't fulfill me.
Years passed. I always kept close tabs on Perry. Thanks to the information highway, accessing the low-down on my favorite person became incredibly easy. There was a glimmer of hope; Dave had joined P4P for a song on the Howard Stern soundtrack. And then they even performed together on stage at the Private Parts premiere. And then I heard the unthinkable. Jane's Addiction was reforming sans Eric Avery. They were going to tour again. A relapse. I could not believe it. It was disappointing to me that the whole gang wasn't gonna be together, but Flea would do in this time of need. I immediately called my buds Steve and Willis, who were also in disbelief. They thought I had some bogus information. But then the day finally came for us to purchase tickets for the Atlanta show. I had been nervous for days because rumor had it that the tickets were selling out in 4 -5 minutes. My husband and I got up really early that morning and went to a ticketmaster outlet in the worst part of town. We figured that we'd be the only ones there and that would give us a better chance of getting tickets. I even went there the night before to find out who would be working that next morning and to explain that if they didn't open their doors BEFORE those tix went on sale it would mean that my dreams would be shattered. Luckily, the clerk got there 15 minutes before the tix went on sale, let us in (there were only two other Jane's fans there that had the same idea we did.) The wonderful clerk kept punching buttons on her Ticketmaster computer, even before the tickets went on sale. Then, at 10:00 on the dot, the computer allowed her to punch in the quantity of tickets. We had succeeded! We bought 8 tickets so all our Jane's friends could go with us. This would be an experience. We took our 8 tickets home and waited for that weekend of November 15, 1997.
The day finally came. 7 of us took two cars to Atlanta, GA. Of course, Willis and Steve were 2 of the 7. We met friend #8 up there and got a couple of hotel rooms. And started partying. And I mean really partying. Friend #8 always seems to have a plethora of illegal substances to enjoy, and this particular night he happened to have some opium. So, we're drinking wine, smoking kind bud with opium, and then 6 of us drop some mesculine. And then we notice the time; it's nearly 9 and the doors opened at 8. We decide we better hit the road. So friend #8 takes the wheel of his van and we all pile in. Luckily we're not even a mile away from the International Ballroom. We get there and make our way to the door and hear the beginning of Ocean Size. We were almost late!!!! Keep in mind at this point I am not aware of any of my surroundings, I can only hear the music and walk towards the source. When we get inside the door I discovered I was gonna be in hell. Being only 5'4 and somewhat claustrophobic, I was swimming in a sea of 6,000 people that all seemed taller than me. I couldn't see a fucking thing. No matter where I moved to I couldn't see the stage. I concentrated on remaining calm and tried hard not to freak out. I couldn't believe it. I had waited over 6 years for this day and now I couldn't see a fucking thing. And I was blasted out of my mind. So I just stood there, watching the backs of my eyelids, my mind playing visual tricks on me and listening to the sweet sounds of Perry's angelic voice. He sounded incredible this night, not like some of the boots I had of older shows from the late 80's and early '90's. The band sounded incredible. I just stood there and listened to all the people around me sing along to all the songs. Everyone knew every word, just like me. I was with my kind. If only I could see. And then the unthinkable happened. I heard the opening of "Summertime Rolls" and next thing I know, Perry is up on some scaffolding and I can finally see him! I just watch him, in a trance-like state, unaware of anything around me. All hail our leader Perry! When the song was over, he climbed down and I keep hearing him say, over and over, "Let our people through, let our people go... kindness, kindness, kindness... kindness, kindness, kindness." And the next thing I know, on this big thing that I had been oblivious to which was not 20 feet away from me, the whole band pops up. They were right in front of me on this second stage! I was just going crazy, jumping up and down, screaming and sweating my ass off! I thought I was gonna die either from heat exhaustion or a heart attack. But I didn't care; I could die a happy person! I swear I think that all four of the guys at one time or another looked straight at me. It was probably my imagination, but just being so close to the band, in person, was practically orgasmic. I was breathing the same air as they. It was a spiritual experience.
So they did Jane Says, Chip Away, and Classic Girl. All four of the guys looked like they were having a great time. They were all smiles, especially Stephen. You can tell that his drums are his life and that he loves performing. Even Dave smiled an awful lot. They all chatted and shook hands some of the crowd. It was a party. And then they were gone. Back up to the stage for "Ted Just Admit It" where I couldn't see them. And I haven't seen them since. No encore; the whole show only lasted a little over an hour. The doors opened, the lights came on. Watching the crowd leave I noticed all the diversity. Freaks, youngsters too young to really know Jane's, 30-somethings, biker-looking people, posers, so many different colors of hair, normal people and I even saw two little babies! As the 6,000 people piled out of the concrete building, steam poured out of the doors into the freezing night like we had been in a sauna. (We had, really.) Ears ringing and the drugs wearing off, we made our way back to the van and drove back to the hotel. It was very bittersweet. It was over. And I didn't see most of the show. And it was over with so quickly. At least there was that second stage.
The next few weeks I guess you could say I went into a depression. All that build-up for a 90 minute show that I couldn't see most of. And being under the influence made everything go by in just a blink of an eye. I regret not getting there in time enough to find a better place to stand and I regret doing all those drugs. I should have been totally sober so I could have clearly savored every moment.
I managed to get an excellent audio of that show. I listen to it all the time. I listen to the crowd sing along and think, "hey, that may be my voice I'm hearing...". I'm elated to have such an incredible, real reminder of that show. I have one of the best nights of my life on tape. Forever. It's so bittersweet.


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