It’s good to be at the Hammersmith Apollo this evening for three reasons. Firstly, Jane’s Addiction are playing the final night of their highly acclaimed comeback tour after spending far too long in the wilderness, secondly, the Apollo is a great mid-sized venue that’s finally being used again frequently for gigs after several years of neglect and lastly, it’ll take me less than ten minutes to walk home to my West London flat once the concert’s over.

Yes, the simple things in life are often the most satisfying, but there’s nothing particularly simple about the band that I’m here to watch. Jane’s Addiction have never done things the easy way and have had more than there fair share of ups and downs along the way. Thankfully for me and the rest of the Hammersmith crowd, right now they’re going through one of the most ‘up’ periods of their disjointed career.

The set opens with a slow, vibey instrumental number performed by the three non-singing members of the band, which gives typically bare-chested, pointy-bearded guitarist Dave Navarro his five minutes in the spotlight before frontman Perry Farrell takes over. He uses those five minutes well, squeezing every last bit of life out of his instrument, whilst casting uncanny devil-like silhouettes against the auditorium walls.

As latest album title track Strays begins, Farrell arrives on cue, dressed in the kind of tight-fitting cat suit that could easily see him pass as Uma Thurman’s double in new Tarrantino flick Kill Bill.  It’s pleasing to see that he’s lost none of his trademark moves, using the large stage to prance around without a care in the world.  He’s somehow always managed to do camp in a surprisingly macho way and tonight is no different.  He even tells the men in the audience that they have him and his band mates to thank for the large number of beautiful female fans that are here.

The songs are performed with the kind of professionalism you’d expect from a band with such status as theirs and the newer numbers like ‘Price I Pay’, ‘True Nature’ and particularly ‘The Riches’ hold up well against such classics as ‘Been Caught Stealing’ and ‘Oceansize’.  Things do go a little stale midway through the set when a couple of slower songs are drawn out for too long and a stripped back version of the usually rocking single ‘Just Because’ doesn’t quite hit the mark, but Farrell ensures the crowd are kept amused by insisting that “everyone should shake the lovely bodies that God has given us” and suggesting we all give ourselves a good spanking when we get home.

Old favourite ‘Jane Says’ wraps up what has been a very pleasing performance and the band leave the stage with the promise that they’ll see us again next summer. Hopefully back at the Hammersmith Apollo I think to myself, as I make my short journey home.
(4/5)

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