Chelsea Wolfe @ First Unitarian Church, Los Angeles. 2/8/13.

 Chelsea Wolfe. The name alone sounds ominous right? Then there's her music. It's dark and brooding stuff. The type of music you'd want to crank as you enjoy your final glass of wine before heading off to the guillotine. This (currently) Los Angeles based singer-songwriter has made big waves in both the indie and metal scenes over the past two years. Everyone from my favorite misanthropes in Gaza and the "Extremely Extreme" folks at American metal rag Decibel Magazine have been singing her praises, it was only a matter of time before I fell under her spell. Her music has been described as "doom-folk" or even  "indie-black metal." I just think it's rad.

Touring in support of her latest album, 2012's Unknown Rooms: A Collection of Acoustic Songs, Chelsea played a stripped down set of, you guessed it, acoustic songs. Her music is pretty low key anyways but she usually has a full band backing her during live shows (or so YouTube has informed me). Not this night however. No, tonight it was just Chelsea, her trusty acoustic guitar and gnarly voice, and a pair of homies on cello and keys/synth. Oh and it was in a dark and drafty old church. Oh yeah.

I knew nothing of the opening acts beforehand but was glad they didn't suck. In fact they were the opposite of suck. Sarah Jaffe and Deradoorian, both low key female singer-songwriter types, served as the perfect opening acts for Ms. Wolfe. Jaffe brought the catchy songs and Deradoorian (and her two back up singers) brought the vocal acrobatics. I was officially warmed up...not really though it was cold as shit inside that church.

friends don't let friends take subpar cellphone pics

When Chelsea Wolfe and co. took the stage, shit got real...real dark. But only for a few minutes. The dude who ran the lights had no idea what he was doing. The sound guy either for that matter. There was a string of technical problems that led to a false start or two, and caused the house lights to flash on and off several times during the first few minutes of her set. The dramatic mood that the candles, animal skulls and crimson red lights had conjured might have been squashed by the technical flubs but none of that bullshit mattered. Chelsea Wolfe's voice and damn fine songs are strong enough to stand on their own. Holy fuck she was amazing. If I could describe this show in one word it would be this: spellbound.

That's right. I didn't bother trying to take many photos or record any video for a change. I was in the moment, spellbound. Chelsea's voice was awe inspiring. She did the haunting little whisper thing she does on her albums, but unleashed her powerful set of pipes as well. Ms. Wolfe could huff and puff and blow some damn houses down if she were so inclined. Her all encompassing voice, the dramatic atmosphere of the church, and the fact that Chelsea towered over her seated audience, made this show feel more like theater than a traditional concert...and I loved it.

more photos HERE at grimygoods.com

I'll leave you with this haunting version of "Halfsleeper" some lucky soul in the front row of the church recorded. The sound quality is great so ignore the dude in the hat (he's Chelsea's homeboy....I creeped them on Instagram =p ) and enjoy the Wolfe in action.