Cantalouper plays

A view from Noah's porch

We were pretty late getting into Columbia due to a load of laundry thoughtlessly started in St. Louis. A group bike ride had been planned to occur right before the show, with Blind Pilot riding as the prominent champions of bicycle-centric Utopian ideals. New Belgium brewing was also involved somehow. I missed the ride in order to have some time to warm up my horn and catch up with Kate.

Columbia, MO is a sleepy college town with a very Southern feel to it. The people that we met were all very nice. Mojo’s, the venue, was like playing in a long skinny barn with a patio on the opposite end from the stage. Conversely from all the other headlining shows so far, the club didn’t sell out, but the 50 or so people there were a great audience.

The first band, a local group called Cantalouper, sounded and looked so much like Pedro The Lion that I was convinced this was a secret warm up gig for the band. It turns out that David Bazan did indeed produce their EP and they are friends with him. Similarities aside, I really enjoyed watching them. The next act was Noah Earle, a singer songwriter that had shared a bill with Blind Pilot during their bike tour in Monterrey, CA. He was very nice and invited us to stay at his farm outside of town.

Noah’s place was very beautiful- it was a non-working farm with areas of old orchard, hardwood groves, gardens, horses, and some fantastic dogs. I spent the night on an air mattress on the roof of the van, under the vibrant stars and remainders of the previous night’s meteor shower.