Jay Reatard Not Big Enough

Jay Reatard hit Toronto with far less fanfare than his previous few visits to the city, all of which were tempered by low ceilings and punching audience members and, um, private parties for Fred Perry. Seriously.

It's too bad because with a new album on the horizon and a stat holiday only days away, it was the ideal environment to get heated and showcase some new tunage, which is exactly what Reatard and his bandmates did at The Mod Club. They tore through their customary half-hour set, but there wasn't much on the platter besides pure sonic fury and some badass headbanging. Luckily, these Memphis goofballs specialize in both.

"Blood Visions" led off the set and with the stage awash in strobe lights and split ends, the three-piece band did their darndest to fill up The Mod Club. The venue looked positively cavernous given the lax attendance and that the boys are more accustomed to playing rooms half the size.

There was nary a pause between songs as the band tore through 14 tracks, a mix of live favourite and sneak peeks at Reatard's upcoming Matador full-length, Watch Me Fall (slated for an Aug. 18 release). While the new disc promises to be a somewhat more subdued affair, new tracks like "Ain't Gonna Save Me" carried forth the traditional Reatard bluster and then some. The output was no less torrid, even when his Flying V guitar was swapped for an acoustic.

While the new material certainly inspired some less than stellar slam dancing from attendees, it was really older tracks like "Greed, Money, Useless Children" and "It's So Easy" that really set the crowd off — a odd mixture of girls and guys that strangely saw the former take the aggressor role in the pit.

"Let It All Go" capped the set and with extended feedback freakout and usage of stage props, and it was perhaps just that song that topped the four-minute mark. To punctuate things, Reatard wheeled a road case out on-stage (featuring a Grifers label — perhaps a reference to the defunct 1990s indie rockers?) and proceeded to shred atop the box, completely unself-conscious and/or self-aware.

It wasn't exactly the most dangerous performance given the tepid crowd and oversized room, but Reatard definitely showed some gamesmanship by keeping his temper in check and simply focussing on "the rock," which isn't a bad approach at this stage in the game.