Chelsea Wolfe at Lee’s Palace

Tortured crooner Chelsea Wolfe has put out somber album again and again. Her latest work Abyss is some of her strongest material to date. On that album, she blends the PJ Harvey twang with gothic hurt and black metal angst. While the latter two styles aren’t as prevalent as her love of drone, they exist enough to be a part of her character. Having said all of this, it was a question of what her live show would be like. Would Wolfe be internal or explosive?

The lights were dark and everyone on stage at Lee’s Palace in Toronto was shrouded. There was the odd glimmer of brightness that would appear without notice. There wasn’t too much of a rhythmic focus on when this would happen. Almost the entire night was cloaked by shadows, and this covered the stage presences too. Wolfe was reserved and to herself. She played because she wanted to play. She kicked into each droning song as soon as she saw fit. Her punchy yet depressing music was quite effective live, as the personalities of each member came out with each guitar strum and drum hit. It was an armospheric show, and the band members were camouflaged within the mist.

Wolfe said hardly a word. She gave out the occasional thank you before she looked down at her guitar’s neck and steadied herself for the next song. It was a small look at who she really is behind the gothic imagery, kind of like her piercing blue eyes sometimes coming out from behind the dim lighting. Her music works the same way. She is very personal, but she is also quite impersonal. She was present as were we, and we were all lost in the cavern together. Worth noting: It all felt soothing.

Thanks to Collective Concerts for media access.