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Dixie Chicks play it fair in first of two grandstand concerts
The country trio avoided politics and stuck to (freshened-up) oldies.
By Chris Riemenschneider, Star Tribune
The visual backdrop and stage outfits for Saturday’s first of two sold-out State Fair grandstand concerts
by the Dixie Chicks all matched in black and white, and for performance itself mostly followed suit.
It was a concert. Nothing more, nothing less. Just a very well-paced and musically rich concert.
Back on the road 10 years since their last U.S. tour — and 13 years after they staked their career on
trash-talking President George W. Bush — the widely celebrated and sometimes fiercely scorned Texas country trio did
not serve up any blatant political grandstanding to the 13,162 fans in the grandstand.
It was the singer in the opening soul-rock band Vintage Trouble who actually made the most fiery firebrand
statement. "We have to always speak our mind for what we believe in," Ty Taylor yelled to introduce "Not Alright By Me," one
of the few slow songs in his group’s impressively hard-shimmying set.
Instead of catering to any blue-leaning Minnesotans, the Chicks played more to the state’s purple hue.
They took the stage to a recording of Prince’s "Let’s Go Crazy" and then played their own version of his most
fragile classic, "Nothing Compares 2 U." Anyone who’s called Chicks lead singer Natalie Maines "mouthy" over the years
would be hard-pressed to argue with what her pipes were spewing during those four purely riveting minutes.
Before she stepped out in the Prince showpiece, Maines came off like just one of the Chicks again. She and
her bandmates — banjoist Emily Strayer and violinist Martie Maguire — easily fell back into the harmonious chemistry
that made them the top-selling all-woman band of all time with their 1998-2003 albums.
Saturday’s set list was mostly plucked from that heyday era, although they opened the show with the
title track off their last album, 2006’s "Taking the Long Way," and kicked off the encore in dramatic fashion with that
LP’s "Not Ready to Make Nice" (co-written with Minnesota’s own Dan Wilson).
The visibly excited crowd — which bought up tickets fast enough for Sunday’s concert to be quickly
added to the fair schedule — especially went ga-ga for the oldies "Wide Open Spaces," "Cowboy Take Me Away" and their
battered-woman battle song, "Goodbye Earl." The latter was greeted with a Springsteen-like singalong, making a nice mid-show
peak before an acoustic set that kicked off with "Travelin’ Soldier."
Without new material, the Chicks and their tight five-piece backing band freshened up their set with several
more cover songs, including one from another Minnesota legend: Bob Dylan’s "Mississippi," which they gave a swinging
rocky vibe. They veered more to pure bluegrass with the more surprising choice of the night, Beyoncé’s "Daddy Lessons,"
a perfect fit with their own songs’ feminist undercurrent.
Maines didn’t entirely steer clear of controversy, however. Near the start of the set, she coyly told
the crowd "the first things she thinks of when she thinks of Minnesota." Her answers were "Wayne’s World" and "Laverne
& Shirley," both Milwaukee exports.
Let the hate mail begin again.
Dixie Chicks thrill sold-out Grandstand crowd with old hits and stirring Prince tribute
By Ross Raihala, Twin Cities Pioneer Press
Given the tenor of the current presidential race, it’s crazy to look back at the sheer outrage the Dixie Chicks endured
back in 2003, shortly before the invasion of Iraq. That’s when, from a concert stage in London, lead singer Natalie
Maines told the crowd: "We do not want this war, this violence, and we’re ashamed that (George W. Bush) is from Texas."
Maines herself brought it up again earlier this month on Twitter: "I get banned for not liking Bush and now Trump can practically
put a hit out on Hillary and he’s still all over country radio! Hypocrites!"
The Dixie Chicks sold 28 million copies of their first three albums, but country radio dropped them immediately after the
show in London, effectively ending their Nashville career. The trio found a new audience for the record that served as their
response to the controversy, the Grammy-winning "Taking the Long Way," and then pretty much disappeared.
Now back on the road for their first major tour in a decade, the Dixie Chicks have played to packed houses across the country
and drew a sold-out crowd of 13,162 to the Minnesota State Fair Grandstand on Saturday night. They’re also booked Sunday,
the first time in almost 30 years an act has headlined the Grandstand two nights in a row. It’s also the only U.S. venue
the band is playing twice.
Politics, however, barely played a role in Saturday’s wildly entertaining show. During a raucous run through "Goodbye
Earl," the band showed images of various controversial figures, from Chris Brown to Robert Durst, on the massive screen across
the back of the stage. At one point, a shot of Trump with drawn-on devil horns flashed by, much to the delight of the cheering
crowd. Later, the band employed JibJab-style animation for "Ready to Run" that used cartoonish depictions of presidential
hopefuls from both parties.
Other than that, the show was about nostalgia and unbridled fun. The trio doesn’t have a new album out, but their
old hits would fit in perfectly on country radio today. From the Zac Brown Band to Keith Urban, many of the genre’s
current stars draw just as much from ’70s rock and ’80s pop as they do from country music.
The Dixie Chicks, too, have never been afraid to cross boundaries, and the full range of their talents was on display Saturday.
They went acoustic for the tender "Travelin’ Soldier" – the 2002 song that turned out to be their final country
radio hit – and fused the White Stripes’ "Seven Nation Army" and Beyonce’s "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on
It)" during a bluegrass instrumental jam. Maines told the crowd she was obsessed with Beyonce’s "Lemonade" and then
covered Queen Bey’s own "Daddy Lessons."
Early on, Maines said she loved Minnesota, claiming it was the home to "Laverne and Shirley" and "Wayne’s World."
Clearly one of her bandmates – two of whom hail from the Twin Cities – informed her of the gaffe, and she later
offered a humble apology.
But she certainly remembered Prince was from Minnesota. They’ve been paying tribute to him throughout the tour by
playing "Let’s Go Crazy" before they take the stage – and, wow, it sounded terrific blasting over the loudspeakers
– and covering "Nothing Compares 2 U" with Prince’s famous symbol displayed behind them. They performed it almost
as if it were old-school arena rock, and the result was both magical and touching.
The band also turned in a stunning version of Bob Dylan’s "Mississippi," while their cover of Fleetwood Mac’s
"Landslide" had the crowd singing along. Of course, they also aired all their own big hits as well, with "Wide Open Spaces,"
"Cowboy Take Me Away" and "Long Time Gone" all receiving a huge response from the audience.
While that audience skewed heavily female, there were also plenty of men, of all ages, who clearly weren’t just dragged
there by their wives/girlfriends. A guy in front of me who was built like a basketball star spent most of the show jumping
up and down and cheering wildly. Clearly, there are plenty of folks out there who were ready and waiting for the Dixie Chicks
to return.
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