Synchronicity and Sourdough in the City of Odd Fellows - Tour Day 6
Our final stop on tour was at Downtown Ale House in Red Bluff, CA — and they literally opened up just for us to perform. Not only that, but they fed us fresh, homemade pizza. Huge shoutout to Cisco & Thomas for firing up the oven and topping those pies with tomatoes straight from their garden. Absolutely delicious.
As if that wasn’t enough, Mandy from the Red Bluff Daily News came out and even wrote an article about us for the local paper. Here’s the link if you want to check it out (just a heads up, it’s behind a paywall):
Genre-Bending One-Man Shows Under One Roof
The night ended with one of those moments of tour magic. While I was hurriedly breaking down my gear for the 10-hour overnight drive home, Lawrence Sawyer from Stoning Giants walked up and asked if I remembered him. I thought he looked familiar — and turns out, I had met him before. Two years ago when I booked a show at The Big Legrowlski in Portland, the venue suggested a few local bands. I chose Stoning Giants and It & I — the first time I met Dylan and was absolutely blown away. And here’s the kicker: Larry is married to Mandy, the writer of that article. Killer synchronicity.
When I first rolled into Red Bluff earlier in the day, I had about four hours to kill, so I drove around exploring the historic buildings. One that caught my eye was an old IOOF building from the early 1900s. I’d seen another just like it in Blue Lake, CA, so I finally looked up what IOOF stands for — Independent Order of Odd Fellows. If that isn’t the perfect description for a lineup featuring Polybanderous, Arthur Buezo, and It & I, I don’t know what is.
The IOOF building in Red Bluff, CA near the Downtown Alehouse
The IOOF building in Blue Lake, CA across the street from the Logger Bar.
The IOOF’s mission is basically philanthropic work without the baggage of religious dogma or political agendas. Honestly, in our current era, that’s something the wealthy of this country could stand to revisit. Just imagine — rich people using their power for actual good. Now that would be a plot twist.
