Wardruna and special guest, Chelsea Wolfe stopped at Oakland’s historic Paramount Theater. The experience was three and a half hours in length, and it’s at venues like this where you’re taken into a whole another world for a little while. The lineup proves that point further.
Keep reading to hear our thoughts on the evening.
Those who know Chelsea Wolfe know how rare of a treat it is to see her on the stage. Her performance was not only ethereal, but chill-inducing as her voice thundered through the crowd. The first part of her set was spent with just her, her acoustic guitar, and a key player. The sound continued to build as she played tracks such as “Birth of Violence” and “Dusk.” Then her instrument shifted to an electric guitar as the intensity built, and Chelsea’s sound grew ever darker and heavier. The audience was left at a cliffhanger, after playing her final track, hungry for more.
During the fifteen minute intermission, kulning played to set the tone.
Then Wardruna joined the stage. Few musicians leave me lost for words, but I will do my best.
The experience left the audience tucked away, into a trance within a few breaths. Not only could you not look away because of the allure of the sound, the spotlights casted an incredible shadow on each musician and they used it to their advantage.
To say you’re taken on a journey when listening to Wardruna is an understatement. And live, you’re taken out into the most primal parts of yourself, sent deeper; where there’s good and hurt, and you unpack just a little of it along with everyone in the room. By the end of the show you’re feeling just a little lighter. Near the end of the last song they played, you could nearly hear a pin drop as the audience was left hanging on every note.
As the encore, lead composer Einar Selvik said a few words before parting the crowd with a lullaby:
It’s very overwhelming…impossible to get used to this [a standing ovation after their performance and packed out crowd]. Thank you.
For us, this project is not about traveling back in time or escapism in any form or way. It’s about taking something ancient and timeless and create something new with it for the here and now, and sew seeds for the time to come. And at the same time, strengthen our roots because a tree with no roots would fall.
You know, the very things that gave birth to everything, every note we play and everything we sing, it’s born out of the very ground we still walk on. Nature is what creates culture… it’s what creates all of these traditions…
There are many things in the past that belong in the past, in my personal opinion. But there are things from the past that I wish we had more of, and what we used to have such rich traditions of doing. Singing. Singing is our most powerful language. And for whatever reason, we’ve stopped singing. Singing is medicine for you but singing together is even more medicinal, and it binds people together.
We need to be doing more of it, or else it’s dying in our generation. I sing enough, but I am assuming many of you aren’t. So go home and sing.
Get your tickets to the remaining dates of the tour here, and stay tuned for more updates on Wardruna.
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