Dixie Chicks make nice at Riverbend
Bill Thompson, Enquirer contributor
The message was
simple and clear: Hello, America, the Dixie Chicks are back, recharged and rarin’ to go after a 10-year hiatus from
touring.
Natalie Maines,
Emily Strayer and Martie Maguire took the Riverbend stage Wednesday night as a thunderous version of Prince’s "Let’s
Go Crazy" whipped the sold-out crowd into a frenzy of anticipation – not that it needed much of a nudge. When Maines
strummed the opening chords of "The Long Way Around," the fans knew the Texas trio was ready to make music again, but wasn’t
going to kiss anyone’s butt while they did it.
The band, which
was among the biggest acts in the early years of the century, were effectively banned from mainstream country radio after
Maines criticized President George W. Bush on the eve of the invasion of Iraq in 2003. America chose sides, and after the
women said they were "not ready to back down … can’t bring myself to do what it is you think I should" on the
2006 album, "Taking the Long Way," they retreated from the spotlight to raise children (they have nine among them), make solo
(Maines) and duet (Strayer and Maguire) albums and watch as a number of acts tried to replicate their magic.
It didn’t
take long for the Chicks to remind people that no one else does what they do. The revved up the crowd with "Lubbock or Leave
It" and "Truth No. 2" (the first of three Patty Griffin covers) before Maines greeted more than 15,000 of her friends. "We
only thought we had fun in Europe (where they toured this spring)," she said. "This is fun!"
And just that
quickly, it was like the women were never gone.
The stage was
starkly designed in black and white (was that a subtle message?), and everyone was dressed to match. The five-man band was
in black, save for a white stripe around the bottom of their shoes and a white edge on the bill of the cap worn by keyboard
player John Ginty.
Each song had
its own accompanying visual on the video screen (clips from old movies told the story of men who abused women and those who
took their revenge during "Goodbye Earl") while an almost psychedelic kaleidoscope of politicians (Republican and Democratic),
clowns, flags and animals played behind "Ready to Run" as red, white and blue confetti showered the pavilion.
The set list
was packed with favorites. "Goodbye Earl" drew the loudest cheers until the trifecta of "Cowboy Take Me Away," "Wide Open
Spaces" and "Sin Wagon" closed out the two-hour performance. Those four songs originally endeared the women to country radio
audiences, but it was their take on tunes by other writers – "Top of the World" (Griffin), "Travelin’ Soldier"
(Bruce Robison) and "Landslide" (Stevie Nicks’ Fleetwood Mac classic) that helped to expand their audience to fans of
Americana and alt-country before they stopped recording.
Of course, it
doesn’t hurt that sisters Strayer and Maguire are virtuosos on stringed instruments. Wednesday, Strayer took a turn
on banjo, dobro, guitar and mandolin before showing her pedal steel chops on the second encore, a cover of Ben Harper’s
"Better Way."
Meanwhile, Maguire’s
fiddle (she also played mandolin) provided foot-stomping excitement on "White Trash Wedding" and almost made people weep during
"Top of the World."
Although the
night seemed to be designed to remind fans that the Chicks hadn’t forgotten what made them popular in the first place,
it wasn’t simply an exercise in nostalgia. They were in Europe when Prince died and added "Nothing Compares 2 U" to
shows. When Beyonce dropped "Lemonade," they added "Daddy Lessons." In addition, another Griffin song, "Don’t Let Me
Die in Florida," was a standout as was their rendition of Bob Dylan’s "Mississippi."
The encore began
with the battle hymn of the political brouhaha, "Not Ready to Make Nice," where Maines spits out the lines:
"How in the world
can the words that I said
Send somebody so over the edge
That they’d write me a letter
Sayin’ that I
better shut up and sing
Or my life will be over."
After the hair
on everyone’s neck stood down, Maines thanked the crowd for making the band feel so welcome on their return, then said,
"We don’t want to leave you mad and angry. We hope everybody stays safe, happy and sound."
Then she introduced
"Better Way," a clear-eyed take on the world’s insanity, but with a resolve to fight for everyone’s right to their
dreams.
As the women urged the crowd to sing along to, "I believe in a better
way," it must have occurred to many of them that one of their dreams had come true Wednesday night.
