Perry Farrell Kicks off Kind Heaven at City Winery

On Friday, June 7th, Perry Farrell kicked off the release of his new solo album, Kind Heaven at the soon to be closed City Winery NYC location on Varick St. The 90 minute plus set was mostly material from the new album as well as a few Jane's Addiction and Porno for Pyros classics. 

The vibe at City Winery was more like an upscale restaurant rather than a music venue. It was very dim with candles on all the tables, as well as an extensive wine and food menu. It was very intimate, and the perfect place for Perry to launch his first solo album in over 18 years. The venue hold less than 600 people, but unfortunately, will be closing after 10 years at the end of July and relocated to their new and improved Pier 57 location. 

The set started at 8:30 sharp as Perry took the stage equipped with a his signature bottle of Grenache. He was accompanied by his newly formed Kind Heaven Orchestra as well as his wife Etty Lau Farrell. They started the set with some songs off the new album like "Pirate Punk Politician" and "Machine Girl", but it wasn't long before they got into a few classics like Porno for Pyros "Tahitian Moon" and "Pets".  Perry's wife, and co-vocalist Etty Lau, complimented Perry's voice by seductively dancing around the stage and providing vocals on some of the new songs. There is no denying the chemistry between them is intense, although Perry shared that she doesn't like some of his songs about ex-girlfriends including the Jane's song "I Would for You", in which she actually left the stage. The couple has been married since 2002, but Etty has performed at all the Jane's Addiction shows since 1997.  

In between songs, the native New Yorker, who was born in Jamaica Hospital in Queens, reminisced about his mother taking him to Coney Island as a child and even puking on his sisters dress while on the ferris wheel. A few overzealous fans tried to interrupt him a few times during his anecdotes, but Perry handled it like the pro that he is by not getting angry, but staying patient and playing along until the hecklers were eventually "shushed" by other members of the audience. There were many talkative fans during the set, but I suppose that is to be expected if you saw how many empty bottles and glasses were being transported around the venue by the excellent staff at City Winery. 

The set ended a little after 10pm with a fierce rendition of the Jane's classic Mountain Song. The entire place was standing at this point and singing along to every lyric. I have been a fan of Perry's for well over 20 years, so to see him perform in such a small and intimate venue was very special to me, as I'm sure it was for the other fans in attendance close to my age. The album Kind Heaven is out now and there are 3 more shows coming up at City Winery June 8th, 14th and 15th. For all tour dates go to http://perryfarrell.com/