In the absence of teleportation and time travel
Call it a compromise. This afternoon, what with the unavailability of both time travel and teleportation, I watched the final concert by Runrig, on YouTube. It was great. According to the stats, I joined almost 22,000 others and spent the best part of three hours watching the end of someone’s life story.
The original band has been on the road, with some changes, for forty-five years. Bruce Guthro made the jump from Cape Breton to Scotland fully twenty years ago; when he did, I was already a veteran fan, and I was fascinated by the process of a group finding a new lead singer via teleconferencing. It obviously worked out for all involved.
Yes, I could have cranked my local volume. Put the sub-woofer into play. I didn’t feel the need. Just being able to see the show (without their ambient rainfall), in my own kitchen suited my listening style. And the concert was great! For any band that has more than thirty albums on their collective shelves, a concert is a sampling. Carefully chosen, with due attention to the evolved talents of the members. Still, the tears from the audience and the band showed that they had hit a home run with this one (or whatever the equivalent would be in a match of shinty). The musical reference that belongs with this is “Clash Of The Ash”, for someone who wants to listen and learn.
I don’t know what happens next. Bruce hasn’t retired from performing, and his children are “up and comers”. As for the others, I’m sure we’ll hear new material. That’s what keeps old performers young at heart.
