Hamptons Journal: Graham Nash in Montauk/ Longhouse/ Chuck Manion’s Paintings at Duck Creek

OM—though that’s not my mantra. Dan and Maureen Cahill hosted an event for the David Lynch foundation to support veterans by providing them with TM—transcendental meditation-- life changing according to most practitioners, some of whom attended the concert and sit-down dinner on a gorgeous property between the old and new highways leading into the town of Montauk, with an ocean view, a large vegetable garden, and a chicken coop. 

Milling about on the manicured lawn, drinking wine, munching on canapes, attendees—among them Drew Barrymoore in an oversized hat pulled down (I took her for Julianne Moore at first, who really does live in Montauk) and Paul Jarrod Frank, MD, author of The Pro-Aging Playbook—(can’t miss the irony of that)--the night recalled Edenic times. Bob Roth led a meditation.

The full moon took pride of place as Graham Nash performed “Bus Stop,” “Marrakech Express,” “Our House”—dedicated to Joni Mitchell, as his roadie of 25 changing his guitar every few songs. The occasion marked the 50th anniversary of the iconic Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young album, Déjà vu. Older now as we sang along and refused to let the band leave, that’s exactly what we felt, for the bygone ‘sixties and for a time when we could sit side by side unmasked and just let it rip.

LongHouse Reserve’s Annual Summer Benefit, themed “Say Yes,” switched things up extending the cocktail party to the entire evening. Food trucks served tacos and charcuterie as the bars featured drinks infused with CBD. The signature swimmers frolicked in the narrow pool, and bands throughout the grounds made dancing a must against the many art installations including colorful ribboned hangings. Robert Wilson, Cindy Sherman, Laurie Anderson, Ralph Gibson and Mary Jane Marcasiano mingled. Many contributed work for the silent auction.

At Duck Creek, Chuck Manion’s paintings—cloud forms, abstracts, big and small, adorn the barn walls, the rustic feel adding to a joyful, life-affirming opening. A Julian Schnabel essay accompanies the work and goes far to explain its spirit: “Touch is like voice, some have it. It is inexplicable. It is a gift. In Chuck Manion’s work idiosyncrasy is poetry, painted objects, touched with divinity and purity.” Riffing on his friend Hal Willner’s words about musicians and how you can tell their talent by the way they touch their instrument, Schnabel honors the artist—whose work he helped to hang, and the music producer extraordinaire who succumbed to COVID early on.