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The details behind it, at this point, are pretty vague but, after spreading like wildfire throughout the Internet this afternoon, it’s been confirmed: Fast-rising indie garage rock hero Jay Reatard was found dead at 3:30 a.m. today in his Memphis home.
Long-troubled, the musician’s recent Dallas stops were plagued with odd behavior–like two years ago, when he showed up to Club Dada to play a show only to leave the venue and never return. Once made public, news of that move made the rounds on the national music blogosphere, only further adding fuel to Reatard’s notorious unpredictable nature.
Behavior-wise, his most recent, and final, Dallas stop, which took place on December 10, 2009 at the Granada Theater, wasn’t necessarily a huge improvement–although, this time, he did perform.
“He was pretty messed up that night,” recalls Bill Ellison the Granada’s in-house photographer, who was on-hand that night.
And, turns out, that show would also be Jay’s second-to-last official performance: That show marked the final in Reatard’s early winter tour; his only show after was a New Year’s Eve show in Milwaukee. See the Granada’s video from that show right here. And Ellison’s shots from that final Dallas stop, and second-to-last performance ever, can be viewed here.
Update (at 5:34 p.m.): John Iskander of Parade of Flesh booking checks in with the setlist from that night’s performance.
