Oak: Ephemeral

We went to see Christine Lavin and the duo Buskin & Batteau at the Bottom Line in Greenwich Village last Friday. John Platt of WFUV was the MC. It was one of those shows that's so wonderful it leaves you feeling drugged, euphoric, even when all you've had is one plastic cup of absurdly overpriced coffee and Nutrasuc. Christine, I'm sure, will keep touring and playing out in addition to all the producing and other things she does with her career. But this bloody well better not be the last time Buskin & Batteau appear.

( lavin )

( buskin & batteau )

( not enough )

Where there's life, there's hope. I gather that there's some possibility that Buskin & Batteau might continue to play and tour together. I will keep wishing for that. But still I rail at the injustice of the ephemeral. Once-in-a-lifetime experiences derive part of their beauty from the poignant element of will-never-come-again. And will-never-come-again comes even when your band hasn't broken up, when none of its members have been murdered on their own doorsteps or overdosed on drugs. People age, and die. Peak performances are sometimes never repeated. Death is one of the things that render life precious and beautiful. All things pass away.

But dammit, I just hate that.

And you can't say these guys didn't leave the audience wanting more. Way to go. :)