Review: Jay Reatard

Posted on by Rebecca Bowe

Garage punk / new wave / indie rocker Jay Reatard drew a sizable crowd to the Joli Rouge Sunday night.

Most known for starting The Reatards, a Memphis, Tenn.-based garage punk band, Jay Reatard attracted the attention of Goner records when he was just 15. His raw, angry music is influenced by “Wipers, Wire, Ramones, Urinals, Brian Eno and Adverts,” according to his MySpace page.

Soundspretty.com gave Jay Reatard’s Joli Rouge show a plug, saying, “I assure you, this is the best thing going on.”

After opening sets from the Chops and the Labiators, the much-anticipated show finally began for an already sweaty crowd. As the furious rush of vocals, drums and crackling guitars began, it became one wild pulsating blob of fists and elbows and spilled beer, jockeying for space, gleefully teetering this way and that, toppling almost onto the stage.

And then, without warning, the quick burst of energy short-circuited, and the show was over. The band stopped playing and started packing up. The dizzy, disheveled fans spilled out into the courtyard to light up cigarettes and wonder what had become of their $8 cover fee.

Estimates of the length of the show varied. A very sloppy and unscientific survey yielded these results: One fan thought it lasted 20 minutes, another said it was only 10, and a third insisted it was 12.

However short, it was harsh, loud and fun while it lasted.

— Rebecca Bowe, staff writer

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5 thoughts on “Review: Jay Reatard”

  1. Ethan Clark

    That’s a funny review Rebecca. Man, people have been looking forward to that 10-20 minutes for months. I wish I could’ve gone. His album Blood Visions, is my favorite thing that came out last year.

  2. djmrthebest

    i thought they played around 20 minutes.
    it was pretty good though. however, i’ve been seeing punk bands for 16 years now and 90% of them played longer than 20 minutes. kind of a rip off for 8/10 bucks.

  4. Orbit DVD

    When I saw Hasil Adkins 9 years ago in Black Mountain he only played for about 15 minutes, and that’s still the best slab of rock and roll I’ve ever experienced.

    marc

  5. lance

    I would say he is best known for the Lost Sounds!
    20 minutes sounds about right for his set length, but no one is mentioning that the total time BETWEEN songs was less than a minute. Total time between all songs added together, that is.

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