I kicked off my second day at SXSW with Jeremy Jay at Flamingo Cantina - the perfect way to ease into a full day of shows. Flamingo Cantina is open and airy, a dappled combination of sun and shadow that lets the sleep-eyed brighten up and the hangover-headed hunker down. Both types were in abundance to check out Jeremy Jay.
The word I would use to describe his set is "collected," a calm, easy show that fit the legs and heads of people not quite ready to start dancing again. Under a mop of hair, Jay cuts a boyish picture. His music, though, is far from immature - although they maintain an air of innocence about them, the songs are developed and full-bodied. At his best, Jay combines the sensibilities of Joy Division and The National; his are unassuming tunes, sung full voice, that have an intangible, growing quality to them. Like The National, he may take some time to win over fans. But he's the kind of artist you want to spend some time with anyway.
