Review: Dixie Chicks soar at Shoreline

By Jim Harrington, The Mercury News

It had been 10 years since the Dixie Chicks last toured the U.S.

Yet, it might not have felt that long to some local fans as the multiplatinum country-rock trio finally brought its long-awaited DCX MMXVI World Tour to the Shoreline Amphitheatre on Tuesday.

Credit that to Neil Young, who selected the band -- consisting of lead vocalist Natalie Maines and multi-instrumentalists Martie Erwin Maguire and Emily Erwin Robison -- to perform at his most recent Bridge School Benefit concerts at the same Mountain View venue in October.

The Dixies were great at Bridge and, no surprise, they were superb during their return trip to Shoreline.

"We are the Dixie Chicks," Maines said to appreciative crowd of 18,000-plus fans on Tuesday. "And we are going to attempt to entertain you."

They'd do that by performing a two-hour set that balanced cover songs with originals, mostly from 1999's "Fly" and 2006's "Taking the Long Way." They pretty much ignored their older work, including their most-successful album, 1998's diamond-certified "Wide Open Spaces."

Backed by five other musicians onstage, the three Dixie Chicks opened the evening with "The Long Way Around," the lead track from the 2007 Grammy album of the year winner -- and still the band's most recent effort -- "Taking the Long Way."

The instrumentation was country, with Robinson on banjo and dobro and her sister Maguire mainly on fiddle, but the edge was far more rock 'n' roll. And it suited the Dixies just fine.

The band would, however, find several opportunities to slow it down and show its tender side, often with glorious results. One of the top tracks of the night was the soothing "Easy Silence," another "Taking the Long Way" offering, as Maines mesmerized the crowd with the calming, thoughtful and hopeful lyrics.

You can always count on a few interesting cover songs at a Dixie Chicks show. Back at the Bridge School Benefit, for instance, the band included a great version of Lana Del Rey's "Video Games."

This time around, the Dixie Chicks upped the ante and paid tribute to Prince with a gorgeous, straight-ahead take on "Nothing Compares 2 U." It was five minutes of pure Purple bliss. The Dixies also scored big time with their major reworking of Beyonce's "Daddy Lessons," which was likely the most country-sounding effort of the evening.

Of course, we knew we were going to get the band's acclaimed version of "Landslide," which stands as the second best cover -- after Smashing Pumpkins' version -- of that Fleetwood Mac classic.

And, as often is the case, the trio took time to champion Patty Griffin, performing three of her songs, including the fun "Don't Let Me Die In Florida," at Shoreline.

The group approached the finish line in style, belting out the "Fly" favorite "Ready to Run," as Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton and other election-year-related images were shown on the big screen at the rear of the stage and red, white and blue confetti rained down on the crowd. The band also played "Wide Open Spaces" — the sole offering from that album to make the set list — before rolling offstage with "Sin Wagon."

"I sure hope you don't wait another 10 years before you invite us back," Maines said near the end of the concert.

Fortunately, we won't have to wait long before the Dixie Chicks return to the Bay Area. The band performs Oct. 7 at Oracle Arena in Oakland. Tickets are $49.50-$125,

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