Porno for Pyros End Farewell Tour in Montclair, NJ

Could this really be the band’s last show ever?

March 11, 2024March 11, 2024 Ron Hart 0 Comments 2024, Etty Lau Farrell, Good God’s Urge, Horns Thorns en Halos Tour, Mike Watt, Montclair, New Jersey, Perry Farrell, Peter DiStefano, Porno For Pyros, Robin Hatch, Stephen Perkins, Wellmont Theater

Porno for Pyros Horns, Thorns en Halos Farewell Tour 2024 poster (Image: Porno for Pyros)

Sometimes there are concerts that come to town where you just have to buy the ticket and take the ride.

It was an hour before showtime when I decided to drive to Montclair, NJ, to catch Porno for Pyros at the Wellmont Theater on their Horns, Thorns en Halos Farewell Tour. In fact, it was the final night of the trek that saw the classic lineup of frontman Perry Farrell, drummer Stephen Perkins, bassist supremo Mike Watt (seated on account of his knees) and guitarist Peter DiStefano playing onstage together for the last time. Considering it’s been almost 25 years since Porno toured last, we should be grateful they even came around at all.

Even while perched in the upper decks of the Wellmont, the band sounded amazing, expanded into a sextet with Perry’s wife Etty Lau Farrell on backing vocals and Robin Hatch on keyboards and samples. Flanked by big screen drenched in urban psychedelic imagery, Farrell rhapsodized between songs as only he can do while slinking between the band’s two classic albums, 1993’s eponymous debut and 1996’s Good God’s Urge.

Porno for Pyros at the Wellmont Theater in Montclair, NJ 3/10/24

DiStefano, in particular, was on fire, especially on such first album highlights as “Sadness,” “Cursed Female” and “Bad Shit” and a riotous rendition of The Stooges’ “I Got A Right.” “Black Girlfriend” was understandably left off the set list, but so was “Kimberly Austin,” which the reunited group played at the Lolla20 free online event during COVID in 2020. “Packin'” and “Freeway” were absent as well. We did, however, get the remainder of both albums across this 75-minute set, including “Dogs Rule The Night,” which made its tour debut on this evening. Everyone sang along to “Pets,” all of us aging Gen Xers in the audience who staved off sore joints and Sunday night fatigue to be there.

On July 20, 2021, DiStefano announced on his Facebook page that he, Farrell and Perkins were working on what will be the first new material from Porno for Pyros in over two decades. Last night we got a taste of what they had been working on with “Agua,” a song that seamlessly picks up where this band left off on Good God’s Urge. We can only hope more new tunes emerge now that they are off the road.

There’s no word whether a second leg of the Horns, Thorns en Halos Farewell Tour is in the works at press time. According to the band, this was it.

“At long last, the final farewell” they wrote on social media. “It will be a blaze of glory, one magnificent ball of fire. This is the final chapter for all the weirdos and unsung heroes. We can’t wait to share these final performances with you!”

But getting off the couch and witnessing this incredible performance of what could possibly be the last Porno for Pyros concert ever was so worth it.

Setlist from the Wellmont Theater