Jay Reatard Played The Independent: Pics, Review

This past Sunday night, HAD headed over to the Independent and caught an incendiary set by the notorius Jay Reatard. In many ways the show was exactly what one would expect who was familiar with Reatard's music: quick songs, blazing guitars, heavy distortion, and a mosh-y crowd. But at the root of it, the set had the same charm that underlies the man's records, and what makes him far much more than just a punk.

Let us start by saying that rumors of Reatard's "misbehavior", as far as we can tell, have been wildly exaggerated. Sure, he spat on the stage a bit, and sure he tossed a girl into the crowd after she started attempting to mangle his guitar. Still, at the end of the day, the show was all business: rapid delivery of solid rock tunes, without a whole lot of drama or conflict.

The delivery of tunage that took place was, we must say, completely awesome. Granted, Jay's tunes are pretty simple, and probably offer themselves up pretty easily for live consumption. That being said, the performance was streamlined, and a complete validation that the records that Reatard creates at home on his own translate extremely well to a live environment.

The band is a tightly-knit three piece unit, but they definitely had their rock sensibility and chops thoroughly in place. In particular, the bassist (name, anyone?) seemed to have been thoroughly schooled in the practice of rock acrobatics. At the end of the day, this trio delivered on the promise of Jay Reatard's records: fuzzy, blazing hot, and extremely fun rock and roll. We'll be back again, for sure.

Many more pictures @ the HAD Archive