Live podcasts can connect hosts to fans in ways not possible with just audio. It can also lead to surprising, unplanned moments. Christie Wallace and Heather McKinney of the hit podcast Sinisterhood experienced this during a recent stop in Boston where they referenced actor/director Ben Affleck, whose persona revolves — to an arguably obnoxious degree — around being a big time Beantownie.
“I put up a picture of Ben Affleck kind of as a joke,” McKinney tells Pittsburgh City Paper. “And I just was like, 'Oh, he's from Boston,’ and got booed so badly. I’m sure Ben Affleck could hear it wherever he was at.”
The Dallas-based co-hosts will visit Pittsburgh for the first time as part of their Full Moon Energy Tour. Taking place on Thu., Aug. 17 at City Winery, the show promises a humorous spin on true crime, cryptids, paranormal encounters, and other spooky subject matter.
Launched in 2018, Sinisterhood gives Wallace and McKinney a platform to showcase their comedy chops and love of everything creepy. Wallace says they knew of each other as comedians and performers and originally met several years ago at the now-defunct Dallas Comedy House. The two did not pursue the podcast until Wallace posted in a comedy Facebook group asking if anyone wanted to “get together and talk about true crime and cults and stuff like that."
“I had just had my first baby and was binging The Keepers, and I’ve always been into true crime and anything spooky,” says Wallace. “And I was super bored and wanted to get out of the house and wanted adult interaction, and I asked my husband one day, ‘Do you think they have book clubs but instead of books you just talk about true crime and cults?’”
McKinney responded to the call and soon Sinisterhood was born.
While there are countless podcasts about subjects like true crime, especially ones that weave in comedy, Sinisterhood has a leg up due to McKinney’s law background. A licensed attorney who credits work with organizations like the Innocence Project, a nonprofit focused on exonerating wrongfully convicted individuals, McKinney provides insight not often found on your average podcast.
McKinney says this helps her and Wallace determine how can they can “add to the conversation and not just add more noise” when it comes to covering big, sensationalized cases like Lorena Bobbitt or Amanda Knox.
“We both have experience working directly with victims of crime on a responsive basis,” she continues, referring to Wallace's psychology background. “Sitting across from somebody who's going through one of the worst things in their life also gives you a deeper sense of empathy that, although we are comedians, we also know how to read the room, right? And so, understanding certain episodes, we say at the beginning, ‘This is not going to be a very funny one, guys, we have something really serious to talk to you about.’”
Wallace explains that, unlike their previous two tours, Full Moon Energy will present the same show in every city, with some material added to pay homage to each place they visit. As for content, audiences can expect — as the name suggests — plenty of Moon talk.
Wallace says the theme serves to prompt discussions about Sinisterhood’s usual areas of interest, roping in subjects such as the faked Moon landing conspiracy and the celestial object’s connection to werewolves. McKinney says the tour’s name also comes from the belief that a full Moon can affect the way people behave, causing them to act in bizarre or emboldened ways.
Since announcing the tour, the women say fans have reached out to them with articles and information about the Moon, as well as recommendations for things to see and do in each tour city.
McKinney says the City Winery show will provide an entertaining, possibly informative look at the Moon, as well as at their friendship.
“We have so much fun joking around,” she continues. “And so, to be able to do it live in front of an audience, and being able to walk that tightrope together and making eye contact across the stage and kind of silently directing the show with each other, it’s just so much fun. … Even if you record it, just something about being a part of that energy — because it's not just us on the stage talking at you, it's kind of this whole thing we're going through, and learning about, and having fun together.”
Sinisterhood: Full Moon Energy Tour. 8 p.m. Doors at 6 p.m. Thu., Aug. 17. City Winery Pittsburgh. 1627 Smallman St., Strip District. $30-65. pittsburgh.citywinery.com
Sinisterhood podcast duo talks touring, true crime, and titillating Moon lore
