Jane’s Addiction @ The Cosmopolitan

Photo Credits © Erik kabik/ erikkabik.com

Give me two of whatever Perry Farrell is having. Because whatever he’s doing at age 53 has him still looking like he did in the ’90s It’s the first thing I noticed when Jane’s Addiction took the Blvd Pool stage at the Cosmopolitan on Friday night. Apparently the man still “abstains from nothing,” and has simply led a life of moderation (and working out in hotels) to keep himself in top form.

Both he and guitarist Dave Navarro (who himself is a svelte 45) opted to go shirtless for the entirety of their set. And why not? As they launched into “Underground,” the first single from “The Great Escape Artist,” two masked dancers writhed in the background. These dancers would later appear on-stage wearing ball gags, miming scripted faux-sexual acts against Farrell while he grimaced wildly. They may be older, but the freak flag still flies.

They wasted no time in playing “Mountain Song” and “Been Caught Stealing” within the first five songs of the set, to the great satisfaction of the bikini-topped woman in front of me. She howled in unison with Farrell while double-fisting vodkas, and after slamming back one to leave a free hand, slapped-out the drum beat on a strangers back.

Jane’s Addiction was never really a constant presence on my Walkman, but I’ll say that the newer Dave Sitek-infused material is every bit as “big” sounding as their earlier catalog. Chris Chaney seemed to hold down the rhythm pretty well as he was the only one on stage not striking poses. But hey, if you’ve still got it, you might as well flaunt it.

ArtsVegas: Covering Las Vegas Art and culture since 2009.