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Dixie Chicks Mix Country, Rock In A Spectacular Show
by
Peter North, Edmonton Journal
See ya
Garth Brooks and stick to your lip synching, Shania, because neither of you could ever present a show with a sliver of the
show biz imagination and artistic merit that the Dixie Chicks hatched for a crowd of 14,000 last night at the Skyreach Centre.
Has
there ever been an act anything like this talented trio of ladies who understand how entertainment and high-calibre music
can mesh so comfortably?
We all knew they were coming with the hits as Natalie Maines, Emily Robison, and Martie Maguire
have been dispensing them with regularity since their first disc blew fans and radio programmers away in 1998.
To watch
this daredevil group, which went against the new country tide, evolve as a creative and performing entity is one of the feel
good stories in an entertainment world mired in voyeurism and vapid movies.
Working on a massive multi-level stage
at the centre of the venue linked by ramps, staircases and runways, the three sprang forth from a giant Chinese lantern, lit
into a blistering rendition of "Goodbye Earl" and basically announced "Hello Edmonton, fasten your seat-belts."
Armed
with a pink Fender bass, a very slim Natalie Maines belted out the verses about matrimonial murder while her bandmates darted
forth during the choruses with rapid fire banjo and fiddle fills that served notice that what you hear at a Chicks concert
is the real deal.
While film screens framed solos and vocal refrains, the lighting team set off more cues in a song
than your average Tim Horton's serves doughnuts in a day.
When deafening applause died down it was into another chart-
topping, bluegrass dipped or honky-tonk injected number that never missed a lick or came close to losing a grip on its musical
roots, even though they were being presented with a rock and roll attitude.
Swagger was the order of the day. Its the
foundation of Mainess voice on uptempo pieces like "There's Your Trouble", "Tonight The Heartache's On Me" and "Long Time
Gone." A different kind of swagger was evident and appreciated by all as the three criss-crossed the platforms in front of
a red-hot all-star eight-piece band that included ex-John Mellancamp guitarist David Grissom, and former Waylon Jennings steel
player Robbie Turner.
Stripped down bluegrass segments brought down the pumping pulse of the crowd as did harmony riddled
readings of "Travellin' Soldier" and "Let Him Fly".
Does it get better than this in the big arenas? Not on your life.
These Chicks Fly
By Mike Ross, Edmonton Sun
EDMONTON -- Pay attention to where the beautiful young women
go. Follow their movements. Study their habits. Throughout history it has been the beautiful young women who set the agenda
for what is "in," what is "cool." Elvis, the Beatles, the Dixie Chicks - just take a look in the front row and you'll have
your answer.
Hearing a crowd of 14,000 mainly beautiful young women scream themselves hoarse for a mandolin solo in
a real and I mean real country band is a surreal experience. All this talk about the resurgence of "traditional" country music
sounded like a load of hopeful hogwash until these Dixie Chicks made it to the "top of the world" -- which happens to be the
name of the tour the spicy Texas trio brought to Skyreach Centre last night -- attracting legions of beautiful young
women. These fans are smart, too, career-minded, upwardly mobile. They've got it going on. They are empowered. The Dixie Chicks'
songs speak of empowerment in a way that few female country stars have done before, save Loretta Lynn and she's looking a
little rough these days.
The opening song, for instance, was the galloping Goodbye Earl, about the murder and burial
of an abusive husband, after which the murderesses live happily ever after selling strawberry jam.
Tortured, Tangled
Hearts, a song getting deep into the traditional country flavour, apparently deals with a woman who literally rips her lover's
heart out. In the rowdy White Trash Wedding, the woman says to her intended, "Say I do and kiss me quick, 'cause baby's on
its way." This ain't yer mother's country.
It sure sounded like it, though: banjos, fiddles, steel guitar, gospel
harmonies, drum-less arrangements -- and this crowd of mainly beautiful young women went wild. Not since Garth Brooks has
there been this kind of reaction to a country show in Edmonton and I'm not going to count Shania Twain because that wasn't
a country show.
In the case of the Dixie Chicks, the musicianship is about a hundred times better than anything either
Shania or Garth brought to this space. The 12-piece band, including a string section and all the usual country instruments,
was a cut above the usual bunch of studio cats you often get in such big tours. The mandolin player was especially spectacular.
The production was elaborate, an "in the round" setup complete with wings on two sides, motorized platforms, giant video screens
on four sides as well as a floor constructed of video screens. Country writ large. Seeing such an arena monstrosity, you might
expect an overblown, overdone spectacle of style over substance, but one of the most amazing things about last night's show
is how the Chicks were able to keep it real.
At some points, they all gathered together as if on stage at the Grand
Ol' Opry, knocking off bluegrass numbers like Long Time Gone and later a smokin' instrumental jam Ricky Skaggs would be proud
of. Other times, they made use of the sprawling space, each Chick strutting about the stage in choreographed precision, each
doing her thing in a different corner, wired up with headset mics and wireless banjos, guitars and fiddles. Their three-part
harmonies were perfect. There was no evidence of lip-syncing.
They sing their own songs, they play their own songs,
they write their own songs. Aside from a few public CD-crushings, their popularity has only increased since that Bush-dissing
incident. Again, this ain't your mother's country.
What the Dixie Chicks managed to do last night was deliver a traditional
country concert that showcased real musicianship and real roots and wrapped in the high-production glitz of a giant rock concert.
Top of the world indeed. This was the best country music show I've seen in Skyreach Centre, though I haven't seen all of them.
IN THE SEATS: 14,000
NOTE PERFECT: Opened with murder song Goodbye Earl
SOUR NOTE: Only for Earl
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