Madness, Mayhem, and Multi-Color Light-Up Toilets - Lovejoy Tour Tales

Adventure is out there. Pluck me out of my everyday routine and put me back down in a new, exciting place? Yes, please! I’m a big fan of adventure. I’m an even bigger fan of Lovejoy. Combining the two has created some great core-memory moments over the past few years.

For example, my daughter Pebble and I took a few jaunts last fall during Lovejoy’s U.S. leg of the “One Simple Tour”. We kicked things off with a road trip to Chicago for a reunion with the entire Pumpkin Gang. It’s incredibly special to re-connect in person when you’ve all met via pure online kismet. The meet and greet was fantastic – the boys are always so friendly and gracious. Pebble gave Ash an outfit for his Labubu, which he seemed to enjoy. I’m pretty sure I died and came back to life at least three times during the show. The ENERGY. The TALENT. The “We’re MEANT to be on this stage” vibe. I could write (and have written) an entirely separate blog post about it.

The day after, Pebble, Alex, and I drove six and a half hours to Minneapolis, stopping at a Culver’s and a touristy gas station in our home state. Pebble bought an utterly atrocious light-up Wisconsin license plate keychain inscribed with “MARK” as a belated birthday gift for Mr. Boardman. Have you ever seen something so awful it’s actually sort of cool? You get the idea, then. We stayed at a Moxy hotel - inexpensive, very hipster-cool, great loft-style rooms with tons of wall hooks for our bags & gear. 10/10 recommend. Another killer show, another road trip in the books.

A month later, Pebble and I packed our bags again, this time headed for Washington D.C. and Philadelphia. Lesley, my sister from another mister, would be at both shows, which was the icing on the cake. Thanks to a steady stream of frequent flyer miles, we had the luxury of flying into the nation’s capital.  We lucked out with yet another fab hotel, Citizen M. The rooms are teeny-tiny, but you can’t beat the price and the bed is great – plus, the shower/toilet combo (not a typo) has a multicolor light show and there’s sugar cookies in the lobby. Literally heaven on earth.) Also 10/10 recommend. 

When traveling for shows, I try to soak in as much of the city as possible, and visiting Washington D.C. has always been one of my bucket list items. Because of Lovejoy’s tour schedule, we were able to stay an extra day and play tourist. ADDITIONAL DETAILS? 

The next day was all about eventually getting in line for the show, or “queuing”. Queuing for Lovejoy is always wildly fun. It feels like one big, silly, happy family. It feels like home - meeting new people, hugging old friends, giving (and receiving) bracelets, and joining the group singalong as Asher – the man, the myth, the legend - cranks out tune after tune on his acoustic guitar.

We hopped onto an Amtrak train the next day, bound for Philadelphia. After an eyebrow-raising taxi ride with a driver who welcomed us to Philly and then recalled the number of times he’s nearly been murdered in said city, we arrived at the hotel, no worse for the wear. As we hadn’t yet encountered any cold-blooded killers, we went downtown for dinner and exploration. 

The next day brought another queue. New this go-around – rain. Undaunted, we dug out our rain gear and it was business as usual. NEED TO FILL OUT THIS PARAGRAPH 

Later that night, Philly’s meet and greet solidified its place in Lovejoy Nation lore – the guys recorded our podcast intro video! Pebble also activated stealth mode, snagging a surprise “Happy Birthday” video from Lovejoy to Lesley and I (we share the same birthday). Post-meet and greet, a bartender who’d been watching commented on the sincere conversation and interaction the guys had with their fans. She observed, “Most meet and greets here are just the band saying “hi”, someone snaps a photo, and that’s it. Lovejoy actually cares.” She was absolutely right. In fact, we’d all also noticed at previous shows that each one of the band members (especially Will) are terrific at gently encouraging a conversation with a VIP who’s too nervo-xcited to speak. If you haven’t yet had the chance to meet them, I’m absolutely manifesting for your moment to come along soon!  

Philadelphia was our last show of the tour. We flew home the following morning, already looking forward to the next tour. NEED TO FILL OUT THIS PARAGRAPH 

If you ever have the opportunity to take a multi-show trip, do it! It’s not just the shows – it’s the new experiences, the people you meet, and the memories made. You’ll never, ever regret it.