Waking Up, Weirdly

This tour had a few firsts on it, our first time playing without a drummer, our first time playing in a church, our first time playing a matinee and, of course, our first morning show ever! Our other screening/performance at True/False was part of an event called Weird Wake Up and, as the title suggests, it was weird and it was about the time one should wake up: bright & early at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday!

The show took place in probably the strangest place we’ve played yet The Independent Order of Odd Fellows Temple Lodge #207 (pictures of rarely seen space seen here). I had never heard of the Odd Fellows before coming to Missouri and, after some internet research,  I've learned a ton about their wonderous ways! As I understand it they are a sort of fraternal order that does serious community outreach in order to "elevate the character of humanity" and, in keeping with that creed, were extreme supporters of RagTag (the epicenter of the film fest) from its inception! The Odd Fellows were so welcoming and their den was crowded with interesting artifacts on their history making the setting feel like a mix between a friendly museum & a jolly secret society.  

To make it a genuine morning breakfast was even served to the crowd, brought to you buy Café Berlin- a restaurant that creates meals out of locally grown & organic products! Speaking of eggs…the film organization Chicken & Egg Pictures are also an important part of fest support, granting funding and mentorship to aspiring female filmmakers and aiding in production of various programs at True/False. Overall every organization involved in our Weird Wake Up, the film festival, and Columbia MO as a whole seems to foster growth both in filmmaking and as members of the human race! A perfectly inspiring thing to wake up to!

As for our bright and shiny performance, it was a bit softer musically (probably due to our tiredness and the weary crowd) and the room was so resonate people were actually gasping at some of my frightening foley skills! By the end of the show Brent even tried to join the Odd Fellows Lodge but was denied due to his out of state status… maybe when I can convince him to move to Columbia Missouri he can be a real Odd Fellow?? Yes? Brent? Missouri??