Band, disband

Lots of things in life prove transient.

Unfortunately, that sometimes includes bands in Cape Girardeau.

Surtsey will play a farewell show at 9 p.m. Saturday at Pitter's Cafe and Lounge. The trio hit the Cape Girardeau scene in 2009. It played shows around town, a slot the River City Music Festival and in cities across the Midwest but has been far less active in the past year or so.

The members -- guitarist, singer and founder Joseph Bassa, drummer Aaron Essner and bassist Drew Koeppel -- live in different cities now and have done the typical drifting apart that some bands just do.

They'll reunite Saturday to perform their rocking indie sound one last time. Blue Whale and Cody M. Mitchell will pitch in. Doors open at 7 p.m.

Surtsey's not the only band to say goodbye.

Rockface Barband recently departed. The members just got too busy to keep up with practice. The band leaves behind an album, a post-mortem CD and the promise of a reunion show or two.

Fists of Phoenix, Oh for Audio, the list goes on.

Part of me wants to throw my hands up. Yell gggrrrr. Ask what's the point? Great bands come along and then just disband.

But then I realized we should just enjoy them while they're here for what they are.

The members obviously have fun and, I'm sure, don't start a project with killing time in mind.

If history tells us anything, one or more members will reincarnate as a different ensemble for a while.

And I guess it keeps my job interesting. There are always new bands to introduce to the scene. I promise not to think about a possible ending if you promise to rock your time on the stage.