Chelsea Wolfe Casts Her Spell Over Riviera Chicago
By Colette Custin Bevard
A haze hung over the Riviera Theatre's stage and softened everything it touched at Chelsea Wolfe’s Chicago stop for her Dark World tour. The room was thick with incense, and the scent was so close to Blomb's Number 3 perfume that it felt like a purposeful artistic choice. Sound, smoke, and scent were all working on the audience at once. The stage featured delicately configured lights and textures flowing throughout the show.
"I'm having trouble staying grounded," she admitted. "Wanna take a deep breath with me?"
The theater breathed in together, then out. It was a small, disarming moment from an artist whose work often lives in the dark, and it felt like an invitation to be present rather than a performance. Settled by it, the room went straight into "Humours," which followed "Seethe". "Swallower" came next, then "Feral Love."
A well-rounded set featuring songs throughout the entirety of Wolfe’s discography culminated in a one-two punch of “Death Is Not The End” and “16 Psyche”. It was truly one of those shows that felt more like a synchronized single song than one made of pieces throughout the span of an artist’s career. She didn’t just play to the room, she changed the air in it.
The show was opened by experimental vocalist and instrumentalist Jonathan Hulten. His calming presence and chant-like vocals served as the perfect opener and set the tone for the evening of mood, calm, and catharsis.
