Chelsea Wolfe & Mary Jane Dunphe @ Academy 2, Manchester, 28th October 2024

This was another one of those gigs that intrigued me, as I had only heard snippets of Chelsea Wolfe beforehand, but from the chatter amongst fellow scribes at The Sleeping Shaman, it seemed that as a band they were worth watching, but also, as a vocalist, Chelsea was one to catch live. So off to the Academy 2 in Manchester I went, to see what the evening would bring.

The venue holds around 950 people, it was packed when we arrived and waited for the arrival of support act Mary Jane Dunphe. Now, I for one, knew very little of Dunphe and as she stood on stage, guitar in hand strumming and singing away over an industrial drumbeat, I wasn’t quite prepared for what happened next.

‘Hi, I’m from New York, and happy to be here. If you are confused or excited about what I’m about to do, then please come and talk to me afterwards at the merch stand’ and then proceeds to go off on some crazy dance rituals throughout each song. Moon Halo was soft and gentle, with a barely audible guitar, but the whole set was like a performance piece.

I could see many quizzical faces around me, with the set seemingly being more about how a person interprets what’s happening rather than the song itself. Seasons and Uriel hold up well, but at one stage the mic sound completely disappears, ‘You never know what’s going to happen and that’s what makes it so magical’ Dunphe states before rolling around on the stage. At one point she asks for the house light to be ‘a little darker’, it all feels a bit surreal, almost like she’s missed her calling and belongs in the Andy Warhol era.

We get a few more songs, Honeysuckle and Fix Me, I think, and with the dying embers of her synth pop slowly ending, Dunphe disappears from our view to decent applause from the audience. It opened my eyes to something new and different and once again challenged my perception of what music and art is all about, which can only be a good thing.

The sound of a soft piano opens the set and with a dimly lit stage, a trio of musicians walk on to get settled before Chelsea Wolfe appears to loud applause, and they begin to play the haunting melody that is Whispers In The Echo Chamber. When the song ups its tempo, the sound of the synth and guitar riff reverberates around the room and the atmospheric music starts to take control of the audience.

As a novice to her output, I was enjoying listening to her vocal range and with songs like Everything Turns Blue and House Of Self-Undoing, she already has the masses captivated, but it’s the electronic music that is drawing me in further. With pink flashing lights adorning the room, Tunnel Lights follows, which has a rendition of The Cranberries Zombie at the end of the song.

We then get Chelsea with her guitar, and 16 Psyche draws a significant applause from the audience, and for me, this was the best song of the night, so far, as it felt powerful, deep and emotional. With what looked like a gas flame on the screens behind, The Culling is another decent song before the lights go all mad. With the immense vocal and great drumbeat, Feral Love delivered again before we get our first audience interaction. ‘How are you doing today’ Chelsea asks, ‘Thanks for coming down tonight. Gonna take it down a bit now’ as we are treated to the gentler, softer notes of ‘The Mother Road’.

As it quietens down, we hear one lone voice shout ‘I love you Chelsea’ just before the best song of the night for me, Flatlands. It’s a bewitching and tender song that leads perfectly into Salt and followed by Unseen World. There was a huge synth sound for Eyes Like Nightshade, almost drum and bass-esque, which I particularly loved, and with the dramatic Place In The Sun up next, the variation on show is quite something to behold. The startling part of the penultimate song Dusk was the two side stage lights, which focus in on Wolfe at the exact time, lighting up her face, albeit in the darkness, to add more to the visuals, thus leaving the crowd even more mesmerised by the vocal performance.

With the ending rapidly approaching, the final song sees the three supporting musicians leave the stage, as Chelsea stands front and centre, armed with her acoustic guitar for the finale The Liminal. A tender moment for all inside, as it rounded off what was an enthralling evening of music. A performance that people won’t forget and one that will once again challenge people’s perceptions of what a gig is all about.

Chelsea Wolfe

Mary Jane Dunphe

Scribed by: Matthew Williams
Photos by: Lee Edwards