Chelsea Wolfe

  My first time actually seeing Chelsea Wolfe I did so without knowing much of her work beyond what she was touring for at the time (Pain Is Beauty, or was it Apokalypsis).  And I believed I was surrounded by those that knew her work far better. It was like holding the latest book from Sandra Cisneros without knowing she wrote her most famous House On Mango Street. This was at Thalia Hall and the experience was a wonder filled intoxicant, unforgettable and perhaps never to be felt again. I felt like I was finally hearing the soundtrack for Spencer's The Faerie Queene, John Milton's Paradise Lost or Dante's Inferno. I was hearing the music for  the epic poems I have read....hmm halfway, or read about...like Milton. I'll get around to finishing them, and then start on Milton eventually. Meanwhile, the imagination soars with Chelsea Wolfe. 
    These pictures are when I first saw them at Thalia Hall. I guess that what I say with all this ranting is that in a moment her music seemed fit to tell grand old tales, mythology. . And it was taking off that first time at Thalia Hall, and that is what compelled me to go to Metro to see her this October 2017. I forgot the day, but it was a Tuesday. The Metro show I went late, after Youthcode. I think I got CW in the middle of her set.  The crowd was tightly nit the closest around her, so going to the front of the stage would be impossible, and being so remote from the performer.... that is not how I enjoy shit but oh well.  I go to the balcony where eventually my view is better. I see some friends, Sarah who was the DJ. I actually did not get to speak to her but I did say hi to William. I wanted to thank him for exposing me to Algiers, this awesome band that played Empty Bottle. Then I saw Jennifer, another goth friend who runs the magazine Kilter. I walked to where I parked with a friend from the industrial scene who parked in the same area. I think he nearly fell asleep to CW. He went for Youthcode.
  I got to thoroughly enjoy the show that was before me without the shadow or influence of other works before Pain Is Beauty. Seeing Chelsea Wolfe live was just the beginning, the real exploration would occur in the personal space of my room and driving to and from places. Its by way of this solitary exploration with the actual CDs that I get to indulge in hearing The Waves Have Come and We Hit A Wall from Pain Is Beauty. I do believe this is how she prefers her music to be explored. I marveled at how far back her work goes, (2006).  I needed to take my time and explore her library one book at a time, now that the entire bookcase fell on top of me. Youtube is great for this kind of solitary exploration.
  So this time I bought and took home Pain Is Beauty and her latest Hiss Spun . I was so close to getting a shirt as well, I don't think I had enough. I drove home happily listening to the CD's I bought. You can't listen to a fucking shirt. Metro I rarely go to unless it's Nocturna. I like the intimacy of smaller venues. If its big enough for Metro, I can usually let it go. This one I could not. And I still feel like I'm new in finding this artist. I review the experience with wonder.
    I've read and have seen reviews of her work on YouTube, and I can't review anything like they do, having already processed her other work, and being able to compare and contrast.  Two Spirit haunts like the first time I heard Circuit Des Yeux. It starts very minimally, just her breathy voice, and a guitar. Listening to it arouses curiosity towards her earliest work. And it amazes me that I got this far saying haunt only twice. Chelsea kinda owns that word and all the synonyms connected to it. Everything that you can identify as scary Chelsea has had on a fucking leash already potty trained. I know there is a whole parade of mother fuckers that have been there, done that. Right now, don't wake them up. Seriously, Eva O still scares the shit out of me. Don't bother Diamanda Galas either. Ain't nobody interested in your fucking pissing match.
  Vex  and 16 Psyche sounded sexy as hell, I instantly pictured myself dancing slowly doing all the 90's pre-VNV dance moves I learned in those years. Yeah, VNV Nation...was the first to make us all dance faster than we wanted. Gone gradually were the elegant hand movements.....that's a tangent. That's a train I had to stop before it took off. Vex I found it induces movement. Its probably the closest I will get to hearing and enjoying doom metal, or any type of metal. Even I can tell there are notes of metal in Chelsea Wolfe's music and I like how she makes them work.  I sometimes wait for the conclusions to a post to reveal themselves. That just takes too long. I like Hiss Spun and I like Pain Is Beauty, and will grow my collection from there.
Zig