Lester Cohen/Wireimage.comThe four original members of Jane's Addiction came together Wednesday to perform four tunes at the inaugural NME Awards at Los Angeles' El Rey Theater, where they were honored with the Godlike Genius Award for career achievement.
(Which in turn won the award for Best Award Name Ever.)
"We made it and I'm really happy to be here," singer Perry Farrell said. The event was sponsored by British music magazine NME, which has been holding similar kudosfests in the U.K. since the 1950s. Video of the ceremony streamed live on MySpace last night.
It was the first time Farrell, guitarist Dave Navarro, bassist Eric Avery and drummer Stephen Perkins had played a live gig together in 17 years.
Jane's Addiction last played in December 2003, but Avery had refused to share a stage with the other three since 1991. Substitutes for him over the years have included Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Porno for Pyros' Martyn LeNoble.
He was on the fence for awhile, but Avery finally decided about a week ago that he was up for the reunion, saying he liked the idea of honoring Jane's Addiction's past "instead of trying to recreate it."
But as difficult as it may have been to let bygones be bygones after all that time, that singularly shaped NME Award—a clenched fist with an extended middle finger—made it all worthwhile.
"I'm probably going to take this to my proctologist," joked Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl, whose band won Best Album for their latest effort, Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace.
Meanwhile, Jane's Addiction isn't the only once-lost group making beautiful music again.
The pioneering hip-hop trio A Tribe Called Quest is planning a series of appearances on this summer's Rock the Bells tour, kicking off July 19 in Chicago. The group, which disbanded in 1998, will come on following founding member Q-Tip's solo performances in support of his upcoming new album, The Renaissance.