Odyssey Visits Linsday Lou a Wishing Well and Leaves a "Queen of Time"

Written by Odyssey Old Soul

2024.01.17 – MilkBoy Philadelphia - Philadelphia, PA

Headliner:  Lindsay Lou (vocals, guitar, banjo)

Queen of Time Band:

Mimi Naja (electric guitar, mandolin, backup vocals)

          Michelle Pietrafitta (drums, backup vocals)

            Heather Gillis (bass guitar, some backup vocals)

Opener:  Griffin William Sherry (acoustic guitar and vocals)

Photography: Benjamin Owens*

*Griffin William Sherry Photograph: Odyssey Old Soul

  Intrigued by the beautiful sounds and soul of what I’m calling a modern-day folk singer/songwriter with bluegrass roots and hippie vibes, I purchased tickets to spend an evening with the Queen of Time herself, Lindsay Lou.  This would be my first time seeing her after recently becoming a fan.  She was playing at MilkBoy in Philadelphia, PA, which I thought was an interesting name for a venue, but I was in for the adventure!  It was my birthday eve and my boyfriend, Joey, accompanied me to the show.

MilkBoy, as I’ve come to find out, is primarily a restaurant on the first level with a small music hall on the second.   

Because Lindsay Lou now lives “Simple and Sober,” a signature mocktail was available at the bar called “Lou’s No Booze Ooze.”  The recipe was 1:1:1 ginger beer, soda water, and grapefruit juice; garnished with mint leaves and a lime wedge.

We were thirty minutes early for the opener and scored a front row spot in the wildly intimate venue (200 person max capacity).  We stood stage right where the artists had to pass through since there was no backstage.  All of the band’s equipment and instrument cases were stacked next to us as well. 

Griffin William Sherry opened the show, a singer songwriter from Maine with a fly-fishing tattoo on his guitar-strumming arm which also serves as his logo.  He played an acoustic guitar, and had an incredible voice that, just for comparison purposes, resembled the style of Chris Stapleton.  There was a surprising amount of people that seemed to be there just for Griffin, and one of the couples in the audience let Griffin know that one of the songs he played was “their” (couple) song.  Adorable! 

One of my favorite songs that he performed was one that he wrote for his wife, which I didn’t get the name of, but was very sweet!  Then he surprised us with a chilling cover of Led Zeppelin’s “Going to California” that had me (and everyone else) mesmerized.  You know that a song is great when people are hooting and hollering over it, but you know that it is excellent when you can hear a pin drop.  Everyone remained silent, hanging on every soulful note both on his guitar and on his breath.  With Led Zeppelin being one of my favorite bands and “Going to California” being one of my favorite songs, my eyes welled up, I smiled ear to ear, and I nodded my head “yes” to the melody the whole way through.

In the time between the opener and the headliner, we made friends with the photographer, Ben, and his girlfriend, Kailey.  They traveled three hours from Selinsgrove, PA to see Lindsay Lou perform.  Ben is a photographer by trade and reached out to Lindsay’s management team as a fan, offering to shoot the show and to give the photos to Lindsay afterward in exchange for being able to capture one of his favorite artists through his lens.   

The room grew deep with people and Lindsay and her band walked past us in their funky “sweat suits” and fuzzy hats for what she was declaring the “comfy cozy” leg of the Queen of Time Tour through the icy, frigid Northeastern states.  Lindsay carried a bouquet of dried flowers onto the stage, placed them into a vase next to some crystals that rested on a table near the drum kit, and lit a candle before doing anything else.

I looked at Joey and said, “She has an all-female band with her!  That’s f*cking awesome!!!”

He replied, “Yeah, Ben (the photographer) was telling me that Mimi, the one with the guitar, is a pretty badass mandolin player too!  She plays mandolin in her own band that she has called Fruition.”

Lindsay doesn’t always play with an all-female band, so it was cool to experience this unique collective of ladies; let alone be able to support so many females in a male dominated industry.

The energy of the room was on point; light, bright, and joyful, yet her fans were ready and eager for whatever heartbreakingly beautiful words and sounds that were going to have the pleasure of hearing.

The format of the show was that they’d open and close with a couple of hand-selected favorites, and in between that, they’d perform Queen of Time, in its entirety, in album order.  What?!?!?!?!?

I know that you don’t know me yet because this is my first blog, but concept albums and listening to albums all the way through are 100% my jam (my Spotify wrapped even tells me so); and to experience the album literally come alive through Lindsay and her band and to hear about the subtleties in the backstory of the songs that pulled at our heartstrings along the way was a dream come true of a show. 

Because I was there to enjoy the show and not to take notes, I don’t remember the exact order of the songs she opened with or any of the songs she closed with, but two of the highlights for me before she went into the Queen of Time album, were “Southland,” where she sang for us like a beautiful mockingbird, and “The River Jordan.”  “The River Jordan” was prefaced with the story of a swimming hole on the river Jordan, where no matter who you were, what you did, what color you were, what religion you were, etc., you were welcome.  This was a theme throughout the show, and during this song, her powerhouse vocals shined.  Already, in just the first two songs she had us mesmerized by her voice and proved her dynamic range and flawless control that she made look so effortless and natural.  Lindsay sang as high as bird, as growly as a tigress, and everything beautiful in between.  

Next, we moved into the Queen of Time album songs, opening with “Nothing Else Matters,” only to learn from it what DOES matter in life; and after this, we explored that when “Nothing’s Working,” to remember that you are not alone and that you might even have a friend who would feel good about helping you out (“I Can Help”) and being on your side (“On Your Side”). 

When love called, we answered by getting extra groovy and a little dancy (“Love Calls”), and with such, we were primed to be asked “who are you” by the “Queen of Time.” 

We also got to know a sliver of Grandma Nancy, Lindsay’s late grandmother, and some of the wisdom she left for the world.  It was Grandma Nancy who said the “Rules” were made for breaking; an epiphany that may or may not have come to her during an acid trip.  In all seriousness though, before her grandmother passed, Lindsay recorded 27 hours worth of conversation between them and used some of the audio on her Queen of Time album.  This was one of my favorite personal touches about the album, and I found the things that Grandma Nancy had to say to be very important things for people to hear, including, “This Too Shall Pass” and that you never know how your actions might impact someone else, so always lead with kindness. 

Joey and I are the two heads in the shadows on the left (front row).

We were down to the last three songs for this portion of the show, and so far, we’d explored 1.) what matters in life; and 2.) that if you ever feel like a turd and like nothing’s working, to know that you are NOT a turd, you are not alone in this feeling, and you are not alone without anyone who can help you to not feel like a turd anymore.  Lastly, she’d tie everything together with the theme of hope.

Lindsay and her band slowed things down with a gorgeous song of introspection and self-revelation, “Needed;” picked things back up as we metaphorically washed ourselves of “Shame;” and ended with another slow song, “Silent,” which suggests that mother culture is probably not a better guide than the one that can be found within or down by the river (as referenced in “Needed").

By this point in the show, my heart had been ripped out, thrown on the floor, and stomped on; but then picked back up and sewn back into me with a new life to help it to feel even stronger and more whole than before.  Lindsay played two more songs, but being a relatively new LL fan, I didn’t know them, nor could I remember much about them after such a stellar performance of Queen of Time from Lindsay and ALL of the queens of time on stage (not to discredit the last two songs)!       

Before Lindsay was through, she mentioned that she would be at the merchandise table immediately following the show to sign whatever we wanted (so long as we could neatly form and patiently wait in a queue).  She said specifically, “I sign boobs” and that we didn’t have to buy anything to say hello to her; one of her favorite parts about being on the road was being able to meet her fans and hear about how other people connect to her songs.

After the show, I got in the queue to at least say hello and thank Lindsay for doing what she does, and ended up with a signed “Queen of Time” t-shirt as well (which I wore for the next three days straight).  Joey treated me to the shirt for my birthday (Thank you!), and I would have walked away with a signed album printed on pretty, pearl baby blue vinyl too, but they were sold out by the time I got there.  All the more reason to see her again soon; that, and the fact that I forgot to ask if she’d take a picture with me because I was too busy in my head being starstruck and nervous. I felt like Wayne or Garth in Wayne’s World when they bow and say “we’re not worthy.”

Forever when I think of my favorite female albums of all time, “Queen of Time” will be up there, and I can’t recommend going to support your favorite artists live, as well as live music in general.

Until next time, peace, love, happiness, and music.   

All of my love,

Odyssey Old Soul

Grateful for:

Lindsay Lou: @lindsayloumusic

Mimi Naja: @miminaja

Michelle Pietrafitta: @michelle.pietrafitta.drums

Heather Gillis: @heathergillis_

Griffin William Sherry: @griffinwilliamsherry

Benjamin Owens: @owensphoto.co

MilkBoy Philadelphia: @milkboyphilly