From long and psychedelic to fuzzy and distorted, the Saturday Afternoon Eastside Showcase featured music by Axis: Sova, Flïïght and Laika, three bands with ties to Columbia. Flïïght celebrated a 10-year reunion, and Axis: Sova and La!ka looked to the future with new music, all with the same goal of jamming out and having fun.
The doors to Eastside Tavern opened at 1 p.m. with a lowkey atmosphere. People slowly began to enter, and the excitement was in the air for the bands and the attendees.
Nathan Forck, lead singer and guitarist of Laika, expressed his excitement for performing at True/False Film Fest.
“Just trying to kick it with the homies,” Nathan Forck said. “I got friends visiting, so, playing for them, and playing for the homies that are coming back.”
At 1:30 p.m., Laika opened to a packed audience. The four band members make use of heavy reverb and hazy guitars. The shoegaze-style music washed over the crowd standing shoulder-to-shoulder.
Laika finished at 2 p.m. to applause, and Flïïght took the stage at 2:15 p.m. The group consists of nine rotating members, ranging from the guitar, to the flute, to the tambourine. It was their first performance together in 10 years.
“I’m just glad to do it, glad to get the gang back together,” said Flïïght guitarist and singer Josh Cochran.
Flïïght’s set felt like one long song playing non-stop from start to end. Their music was psychedelic, with a lot of drawn-out sections that built suspense between movements.
This pattern gave the crowd time to soak in what they were hearing as they waited for the payback of the rising instruments. These pieces of instrumentation were amplified with diverse sounds. The use of droning feedback and the on-screen visuals of colors moving with the melodies added to the trippy vibe.
After Flïïght’s set, the owner of The Trouble With Normal fanzines, Boone Stigall, talked about the importance of the Columbia music scene.
“If The Trouble With Normal had a small role in keeping Columbia a little bit more unique than what’s expected from Missouri, then damn it I take pride in that.” Stigall said to applause.
After that impactful speech, Chicago-based band Axis: Sova came to the stage. Some of the members had connections to Missouri, which made it more of a visit back home.
“I lived in Columbia for a long time, and played in bands, and played a lot of really fun shows here (at Eastside Tavern) and hung out here all the time,” said drummer Josh Johannpeter. “I’m really glad that they’re still open and they haven’t changed a bit from what I can tell.”
Their performance was the most energetic of the three bands, with song structures that were punchier and to the point. This type of performance made for a fun and head-banging ending to the Saturday Showcase.
The Saturday Afternoon Eastside Showcase showed the high quality of the local bands in Columbia. Ranging from shoegaze with Laika, to more psychedelic rock with Flïïght, to Axis: Sova with alt-rock, the audience was captivated the whole afternoon.
You can keep up with The Maneater’s 2026 True/False Film Fest coverage here.
