Hallelujah!! I thought it may never come but we finally reached the end of the MUTEMATH summer tour season. After 46 shows the buses rolled into Nashville for a show and a quick rest before heading up to New York for back to back nights at Madison Square Garden. Since I didn’t get a chance to go to one of the other coolest venues of the tour, Red Rocks in CO, and because I was obviously pretty desperate for some quality Todd time at this point, I decided to come along for the trip and soak up as much of the city as I could in just 2 days. We were here with the band back in November for the release of their record and a Seth Myers taping, but the schedule was so full we didn’t really get to do anything off the schedule and this time seemed like a chance to get out in the city a bit more.Traveling on the bus is generally a little easier than this trip because I’m usually sleeping while the bus is rolling on to the next location at night, but since we were driving during the day this trip I got to discover how incredibly terrible my balance apparently is. I mean, it’s not that easy to walk around, use the bathroom, make food, etc. while the whole room is swaying back and forth (especially in the area where the bunks are because it’s completely dark in there). I had to crawl on my hands and knees to the bunk one night because I thought I was going to fall into someone else’s on the way if I didn’t!Anyways, we made good use of our time on the way up by watching the entire season of Stranger Things in the back lounge. A little dark and creepy for sure, but I’m the worst at being a scaredy cat and it was totally worth it. Just maybe don’t watch it alone at night. Always with a friend.
Our first day in New York had a bit of rain, but it passed on through and gave us plenty of time to go shopping at a few stores near the Empire State building (ZARA!!) and we checked out the Ace Hotel nearby that has a really cute old-timey photo booth and a Stumptown coffee at the front of the building. Can’t resist a photo booth on a trip!

The show that night was really exciting since it was the first time that Todd has gotten to play MSG so I was really happy to be there and see him play a venue that’s a pretty big milestone for a lot of people. You can tell above he really appreciated my presence and would be lost without my support.The next day we decided to take the subway and walk through a bit of Central Park to get to the Metropolitan Museum of Art which I’ve never gotten to go to before. I was an art major in college and my Mom was an art teacher so I’ll go to just about any art museum I can get to. Except for some modern art museams…I’ve been to a few of those that just didn’t do anything for me. Even through all my art history classes I’ve always preferred artistic technique to more concept art, but that’s a debate for another time. Like most museum experiences, I spent the most time in the European Impressionist wing but I also love to see all the giant portrait paintings that rich people commissioned. How they paint all that delicate floppy lace and velvet and taffeta fabric is so beyond my comprehension!!Since our mini stroll through Central Park on the way to the Met was so pretty we decided to walk the entire length of the park on the way back and just Uber back to the bus once we got to the other side. Even though Todd has been to NYC a lot more than I have, he’s never been to the park either and we were both so impressed with the area. It was such a pretty and peaceful place to spend an afternoon although I also couldn’t stop thinking about all the Law & Order SVU episodes that take place there as well. I kept half expecting Ice Tea to pop up from behind a rock, but he never did…
One of the best parts of touring with other bands is that the guys get to make new friends over the season, but so do us wives as well! I got to know Jenna and Caroline of the Twenty-One Pilots gang a little bit this summer and they are both so sweet and contributed to some much needed girl chats along the way! They are just too cute!
In case you didn’t know, the last night of tour is generally the “prank night” of the tour since it’s the last time everyone will be together. Darren (the MUTEMATH drummer) got this amazing dinosaur costume to wear during a segment of the Twenty-One Pilots show where the opening bands come out and play cover songs with the TOP guys, and he was somehow not only able to dance in the costume, but perform all his drumming duties as well. YES!!

The last show was a little sad in some ways to say goodbye (or at least “see you later”) to some people that we like, but after 49 shows in 2 1/2 months, well, everyone is ready for a break!!Overall, it was a relatively short trip but one that I was definitely glad to be a part of. Now we get to ease back into “normal” life for a bit and remember what it’s like to live together again (always an adjustment, amiright??). After all the time we’ve spent apart this summer, normal never sounded so good!

xo. Laura

I feel a bit like a yo-yo this summer going back and forth between seeing Todd on tour, but this current tour with Twenty One Pilots is a bit of a long stretch to say the least (almost three months) so I guess back and forth it will be! I was so happy to be able to go out the weekend that I did because we got to be together for our 6-year anniversary and celebrate it with a day off in Austin, TX. Since Todd has quite a bit of time on his hands with all the tour downtime I had him plan our anniversaryextravaganza and he created a day full of thoughtful little trips to get crepes, a rooftop pool, massages, a delicious dinner, and a beautiful historic theater that was playing classic movies. Such a sweet day!
The restaurant he took me to was called Geraldine’s and it was so beautiful! I kept seeing exact items that I have pinned onto Pinterest wish boards (like that black and white tile at their gold bar). I swear there was about 6k worth of lighting fixtures in just the women’s bathroom—it was amazing!

The food was some of the best that we have had in a long time as well. Everything we got was so good, but try the Pig Faced Candy Bar if you ever go—it sounds crazy but it was delish!This visit out was also special because all the wives and kids were out at the same time (which hasn’t ever happened in the five years that Todd’s been with the band). It was so nice (although a bit cramped and crazy at times) to have our little MM family all together and see the kids all play together. #CUTEMATHSpeaking of band babies, there was an ice rink attached to the Dallas arena and my pal Amelia and I apparently had the same vision for what one should wear when ice skating. Her posing skills are off the charts!! A Twenty One Pilots song came on while skating—HA!

Also, in case you are wondering what the backstage magic looks like at arenas…well, it’s basically a whole lot of gear cases and cinderblock hallways. Pure romance people.

Saturday in Oklahoma City was our actual anniversary day and I didn’t know that the arena was part of a zoo that (wait for it) would give us a VIP tour of the zoo next door!! Todd is a big animal fan (I took him to meet and feed monkeys for his 30th birthday 4 years ago) so it was an extra special treat to get to feed 90-year-old galapagos turtles, get a hug and kiss from a sea lion, see a 2-week-old seal pup baby (squeal!!), feed stingrays, and pet a baby elephant. Feeding the stingrays was awesome because you have to hold the fish under their bodies and they suck it up into a hole like a vacuum cleaner. It freaked me out so much that it took me three times to do it right without dropping the fish out of panic! Those turtles were hilarious! They were born in 1926!!

I can’t even tell you how cool this was! She felt like the thickest wetsuit you can imagine and she just plants a big smackaroo right on your face!

I think I could feel my heart breaking into one billion pieces watching a little baby seal. For sure on the of the cutest things I’ve ever seen!

My last day was in Kansas City, MO and we only had the morning and afternoon before I had to fly back home so we went for a late brunch at Succotash where I got some great vegan blueberry pancakes. I was feeling pretty sad about leaving so there were a few tears before the pancakes came but the food was a good distraction.Lately I don’t like to go more than 2 weeks or so without seeing each other but it looks like this span will probably be about a month until we are back together and that thought was making me extra weepy as I packed my bags to go home. I was so glad to get back to the cats (and they were so happy to see me too) but the house feels extra empty it’s going to be a long summer on our own.

Maybe I can get that seal pup for some extra company…

xo. Laura

As you may or may not know, MUTEMATH has the amazing honor of opening for Twenty One Pilots on their summer arena tour this year I recently got to tag along to support Todd for the opening week.  It’s been a few years since Todd has gotten to do the arena circuit (last time they opened for Linkin Park and Incubus) so it’s been fun to be in such large venues again and get some of the perks of the arena tours (like ALL DAY CATERING!!). I just found out only a few weeks ago that I have moderate to severe food sensitivities to eggs, dairy, rice, and soy, so being out on the road and eating well was quite a challenge for me at times (especially on our days off with only chain restaurants and fast food options). The good new is that most of the other days there was awesome vegan-friendly catering options that were really helpful..

Our first two days of the tour were in Cincinnati with one rehearsal day before the opening night of the tour. What was amazing to me was that people were already lined up to get into the GA floor area of the arena the morning of the day before the show. They even slept outside overnight to stay in line! It was so cool to see that people can still have that level of fandom for their favorite band—amazing!! Since the first day was mostly for crew to set up the show, Todd was pretty free and we got to ride bikes around the city and sneak in a late night movie at a theater nearby.

The next day was full of anticipation and it was so fun to get to watch the first show of the tour and experience everything with the crowd for the first time. One perk to MUTEMATH being an opener rather than the headlining band is that they have a lot more free time during the day than they did out on their headlining fall and spring tours (I think one day I saw him for a total of an hour on one of those tours—so busy!).

Once the Cincinnati show was over we moved on to Pittsburgh (which is my hometown)! I got to see a bunch of our favorite people that day (including my parents and some college pals) and my brother and new wife Sarah even came straight from the airport from their honeymoon trip to see the show and hang out for a bit. It was a super hot outside show and I felt to bad because there were teenage girls passing out all over the place from the combination of heat, excitement, and probably not drinking enough water while waiting in line all day. DRINK ALL THE WATER GUYS!! It’s always special to see a show with my family and friends so it was probably my favorite day of the tour that week.

After Pittsburgh, we headed up to Detroit where we had a day off before an arena show there. You usually have a hotel room to use on a day off so you can still take a shower and what not and we were parked right by a pretty big mall too which was handy. We spent a few hours shopping before I tagged along to watch Todd play a round of frisbee golf (his favorite thing to do on tour) with their manager Chris. I basically watched them root around in large patches of poison ivy for lost discs for 2 hours, but I guess that’s better than sitting on the bus by myself!

The show in Detroit was kind of in the middle of nowhere so we couldn’t really walk to any stores nearby but we did sneak out the back and walk along a golf course that was pretty. The arena was next to a ski slope and had waterfalls and pretty landscaping so you kind of felt like you were at a park which was nice. We bought a blanket on the day off and tried to lay and read in grass patches where we could. The “trapped in a parking lot” vibe can make you crazy pretty fast otherwise…

Todd is always up for a laugh…The last full day I had was in Grand Rapids. This arena was more downtown so we could walk around a bit and explore until it started raining. I found a coffee shop that was just about to close and sneaked in a decaf almond milk latte right under the wire. It was so good!!

One of the toughest parts for me out on a summer tour is that it’s so hot outside but the bus and the arenas are freezing (unless it’s an outside show, then you are roasting) so you are constantly switching back and forth from boiling to freezing and back again. So what the hell am I supposed to wear? Shorts and a sweater? Boots and a tank top? I changed like 10 times a day to try and keep up with wherever we were hanging out at the moment. Todd and I would probably just turn off the AC and open the bus windows if we could, but we would get immediately outvoted on that move fo sho by the rest of the bus…

I left Chicago that next morning and headed back home. It was so nice to be back and I missed our kitties so much, but I also immediately felt sad and the house seemed so empty. Thankfully in two weeks Todd will come home for a few days on a break before they head out again for another six weeks to finish the tour. You can bet you’ll see more “on the road” posts from me this summer!! Wish me luck!!

xo. Laura

If you’ve ever seen the movie Almost Famous or the MTV reality show Bus of Love (the sequel to Rock of Love which is possibly the greatest reality tv show ever made), then you totally know what happens on a tour bus. The the young girls, wild late night parties, the drugs…well, sort of. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’ve heard enough stories from the various crew members and bus drivers over the years to know that the aforementioned scene is totally normal for some bands, but if your band members are a more family-oriented crew, then it’s not quite the party you might imagine. I went out with Todd last week for the first few days of their US tour but the only young girls on the bus were two adorable pre-schoolers. My Little Ponies and Shopkins were everywhere and I’ve also been instructed which MLP I’m supposed to dress as for Halloween/their upcoming birthday party. Spoiler alert: I’m Lemon Hearts. I do remember one late night party, but it mostly centered around excitement over BBQ and a huge tray of banana pudding someone was kind enough to bring the guys. And as far as the drug use goes, well, I did pop two advil and use prescription dermatitis creme, so I guess you could say it got wild.

Anywho, here are some things that may or may not happen when living/riding on a tour bus:

1. You may never sleep soundly on a bus again when someone tells you that by law you have to sleep with your feet towards the front of the bus because it’s better to break your feet than your head if you crash.
2. You may wish someone had not said “it looks like it will be snowing all night while we drive through the mountains” right before you go to your bunk to sleep.
3. You may not be able peacefully snooze in your bunk because you have the gnawing guilt of the bus driver having to be awake and drive by themselves while everyone else is asleep. The fact that they slept all day while you were awake will mean nothing to you.
4. Your lack of quality sleep may also be due to the fact that there are a lot of extra people on tour that week and you’re sharing a bunk with your soul mate, your best friend, your raison d’etre, your oh-my-god-if-you-don’t-get-your-armpit-out-of-my-face-I-swear-I-will-end-you husband.
5. You may not know that it is definitely time to wake-up because it’s actually 2:30 pm (a fact that feels impossible to be true because the bunk section is a hermetically-sealed lightless tomb).
6. You may learn that you are not supposed to drink the water from the tap before the coffee you were making with it is ready but after you have already brushed your teeth with it.
7. You may wonder why there is a printed sign for every other thing you should know on the bus (including the wifi password and a list of the best brunch locations within walking distance) but no sign that tells you not to drink the H2O bacteria punch.
8. You may not hesitate to ultimately blame your imminent case of diphtheria on your husband because in reality he was the one that should have warned you in the first place.
9. You may inadvertently end up eating someone else’s Oreos from the food cubby because they weren’t labeled with their name and even though they should have labeled it with their name and you honestly didn’t know and that’s why you ate them and you still feel bad and wonder if you should pick them up one of those 6-pack of Oreos that they sell at the front counter at gas stations to replace the ones you ate.
10. You may be told that’s ridiculous and it’s #buslaw and they #shouldhavemarkedthem.

Well, I hope this little slice into bus life has been informative for you. I was certainly sad to leave Todd just a few hours before Valentine’s Day, but glad to be back in my own bed where you can believe I spread out all over that mattress. I’ll be back out again in another week and hoping for some warmer weather in sunnier states. I’ll be snapchatting the experience again if you want to tag along (find me under gummergal). Until then, I’ll be drinking that water straight out the tap yo!!

xo. Laura