Dixie Chicks play through technical difficulties at Verizon

By Jack W. Hill, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

The Dixie Chicks were just finding their groove Friday night in front of 9,067 fans in Verizon Arena, opening with "The Long Way Around" on a stylishly designed stage. And then, as they roared into the second song, the unthinkable happened — a fiddle screech so loud and long that people were covering their ears if they were quick enough.

The band’s lead singer, Natalie Maines, calmly assessed the situation, noting that it had never happened before and that "Trump and the Russians were involved somehow." A delay ensued as the band left the stage while those in the know made adjustments.

And then the band returned to play again. And then the horrible screech came back again. But rather than just walk off in a huff, the band obviously respected that old show business maxim, "The show must go on," and it did.

The Dixie Chicks played for more than two hours, as well as perhaps adding another 15 minutes for technical delays. And while the set list might have undergone some changes or rearranging, the fans still got what they had come to hear from a band that had not toured the United States or released any new music in a decade. The performance included "Some Days You Gotta Dance," "Sin Wagon," "Cowboy Take Me Away," "Wide Open Spaces," "Easy Silence," "White Trash Wedding," "Ready to Run," a nice version of Prince’s "Nothing Compares 2 U," a rollicking sing-along of "Goodbye Earl" and even a shout-out to Beyonce with her "Daddy Lessons."

"Travelin’ Soldier" and "Don’t Let Me Die in Florida" led to an encore that featured "Not Ready To Make Nice" and Ben Harper’s optimistic closer, "Better Way."

Maines’ bandmates and founding members, sisters Martie Maguire and Emily Strayer were almost as wild as Maines, with Maguire on fiddle and mandolin and Strayer on banjo, lap steel and other instruments. Five men also ably backed the Chicks on guitars, bass, keyboards and drums.

Special effects were extremely special, as the stage lit up in various ways and there were projections on the back of the stage that seemed to be state-of-the-art.

The show opened with a set by newcomer Elle King, who delivered an energetic 40-minute set, highlighted by her big hit, "X’s & Oh’s," along with a cover of what she called her all-time favorite song, The Beatles’ "Oh! Darling." She later returned to join the Chicks for their well-loved version of Fleetwood Mac’s "Landslide."

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