Pitchfork

As previously noted in these pages, Jay Reatard pulled the plug just a few songs into his April 17 gig at Toronto's Silver Dollar after rowdy fans wrecked his (and his bandmates') gear. At least, that's how Jay put it in a MySpace message he posted in response to the incident. Jay blamed poor security and a club filled way past capacity for the mess, decrying "greedy promoters...who don't care about doing right by the audience."

The promoters Jay called out in his MySpace message, however, strongly disagree. One of them is Jeff Cohen, co-owner of Against the Grain, the promotions company that put on the Silver Dollar show. As Cohen wrote in an email to Canada's ChartAttack.com, "Jay's rant on his blog...was not only highly unprofessional[,] it was factually inaccurate. While passionate, it was just a blame the promoter diatribe.

"Not cool. [In my opinion], Jay, everyone who works with him, his agent, his label, the promoters he works with, and especially his fans, deserve much better."

Cohen specifically takes issue with Reatard's handling of the situation (Jay did tear some kid's shirt and jack that kid in the face, after all) and insists there was, as the ChartAttack.com story puts it, "a security person present." He also calls into question Reatard's claim that he "refunded people's money out of [his] own pocket" by insisting Reatard did not take up an offer from Cohen's colleague, ATG co-owner Craig Laskey, to refuse pay and refund show attendees.

Silver Dollar booker Dan Burke, who launched into an anti-Jay Reatard onstage rant following the performer's abrupt departure from the Toronto show, also spoke out to ChartAttack.com. He claimed there were not, as Reatard suggested, 350 people at the Silver Dollar show, and also noted that previous events at the club in question have attracted crowds on par with the Reatard gathering, sans incident. Neither Burke nor the ChartAttack.com report, however, mention how many people were in fact at the Jay Reatard gig.

In non-sensational Jay Reatard news, the previously reported "Painted Shut" 7" single arrives in late May thanks to Matador. The label's signing of Reatard has been extended to a worldwide, multi-album deal, with a brand new Jay Reatard full-length due in early 2009. Additionally, Jay's former label, In the Red, is preparing a collection of early Reatard singles for June release.

For the latest Jay Reatard tour dates, including a newly-minted happening with another crowd-friendly bunch called Les Savy Fav, check out the listings below. And for an admittedly awesome shot of a smiling Ripped Shirt Dude just microseconds before Jay Reatard clocks him in the face, check out photo #11 here.

Jay:

04-28 Atlanta, GA - Lenny's *
04-29 Chattanooga, TN - JJ's Bohemia *
04-30 Nashville, TN - Mercy Lounge *
05-01 Memphis, TN - Hi-Tone *
05-08 London, England - Old Blue Last
05-11 Rye, England - Camber Sands Holiday Centre (ATP vs. Pitchfork) $
05-13 London, England - White Heat @ Madame Jojo's
05-14 London, England - Cafe Otto ^
05-15 London, England - Old Blue Last (Stag and Dagger) ^#
05-16 London, England - Pure Groove Records (in-store)
05-17 London, England - "Secret Warehouse Show"
05-18 London, England - Best Laid Plans @ Proud
05-19 London, England - Astoria %
07-15 Brooklyn, NY - Prospect Park Bandshell ~
07-19 Chicago, IL - Union Park (Pitchfork Music Festival) !
07-25 Seattle, WA - Capitol Hill Block Party
07-26 Vancouver, British Columbia - Commodore Ballroom +
07-29 San Francisco, CA - The Independent
07-30 Los Angeles, CA - The Echo

* with Cheap Time
$ with Dirty Projectors, Bon Iver, the Hold Steady, Man Man, Jens Lekman, Caribou, Hot Chip, Les Savy Fav, No Age, Black Lips, Of Montreal, Los Campesinos!, Glass Candy, Vampire Weekend, Times New Viking, Meat Puppets, the Black Angels, Marissa Nadler, Wooden Shjips, Deerhunter, Shit and Shine, Sebadoh, Ween, Girls Against Boys, Redd Kross, Pissed Jeans, Yeasayer, Fuck Buttons, Apse, A Place to Bury Strangers, the Clientele, Black Mountain, Harmonia, Born Ruffians, Howlin Rain, Car Sick Cars, Even, Various Production (DJ set)
^ with Times New Viking
# with Lovvers
% with the Black Keys
~ with Spoon, Constantines
! with Animal Collective, Jarvis Cocker, the Hold Steady, !!!, Vampire Weekend, Dizzee Rascal, Fleet Foxes, Caribou, Jay Reatard, Titus Andronicus, No Age, Atlas Sound, Extra Golden, Elf Power, the Ruby Suns, Icy Demons, A Hawk and a Hacksaw, Occidental Brothers Dance Band International, Boban i Marko Markovic Orkestar
+ with Les Savy Fav