Dixie Chicks keep true to roots for performance

By Mike Curtin, Post Star

Suburban teens have Britney Spears and the Backstreet Boys, and college kids have Phish and the Dave Mathews Band. But for young country fans, the band of choice is the Dixie Chicks – an immensely talented trio who presented a whale of a show Friday at Albany’s Pepsi Arena.

With combined sales of their two Monument albums lopping 10 miilllon. their popularity shows no sign of subsiding. They drew a near capacity crowd, 16,000 hooting, hollering fans with women outnumbering men by a margin of at least 3-1, enchanted by the trio’s message of empowerment, of doin’ it yourself (be handling a tricky bluegrass breakdown or taking care of some messy domestic business on "Goodbye Earl"), and just plain having fun.

With the spotlight first on fiddler Martie Seidel as she struck the Celtic refrains of "Ready to Run" (featured in the Julia Roberts film, "The Runaway Bride"), the Chicks commenced their crowd-pleasing exercise in modern day country music, albeit a blend infused with more tradition than any major country act in recent memory.

Widely considered the spark that took the group from obscurity to superstardom, lead singer Natalie Maines was a gem, reminiscent of a young Brenda Lee in her spunk and vitality.

On a pair tender ballads. "Don’t Waste Your Heart" and "Without You", her twang was as broad as West Texas, and as deep as an Appalachian "holler", but still capable of sharp vocal pitches, and on the latter song, a glorious held note that ranks among the finest bit of pure singing I’ve heard in ages.

When Maines joined with Seidel and her sister, Emily Robison, in high, lonesome harmonizing, it sent chills up the collective backs of those in attendance.

Among the early highlights was a version of Bonnie Raitt's "Give It Up Or Let Me Go" with Robison substituting sinuous lines on her dobro for Raitt's original slide guitar riffs, and matched by a sizzling rejoinder by her sister on fiddle, a tour-de-force performance that deserved a standing ovation, except that the crowd hadn’t yet bothered to sit, nor did they for the bulk of the performance.

They later honored another modern woman rocker, Sheryl Crow on the latter’s "Strong Enough", during a dell midset acoustic segment.

A love of blues and rock did not obscure their solid foundation in traditional country music. The dragging beat and weeping steel guitars of "Hello Mr. Heartache" and the tear in beer sentiments of "Tonight the Heartache's On Me" were fond remembrances of when the genre’s stars looked lo Hank Williams, Lefty Frizzell, and Loretta Lynn for inspiration, and not Billy Joel.

Hearts ached and broke through most of their show, with the Chicks giving as good as they got. "If I Fall You’re Going Down With Me" succinctly defined their romantic philosophy -- no longer the door mat, rather the feet doing the scraping.

A furious romp through "Sin Wagon" was their ostensible closer, although everyone knew they had a pair of aces up their sleeves.

Unfortunately, the giddy murder anthem "Goodbye Earl" was their only miscue, performed from literally all corners of the arena, with Maines at the rear, her partners in the upper level sides, and their band dutifully playing onstage, while a screen in front showed the tune's hilarious video,

A long time "NYPD Blue" fan, this writer’s attention wandered instead to Dennis Franz’s scene stealing performance as Earl rather than the more fetching in-person headliners.

Reunited again at center stage, the trio sent their tans home with a haunting. "Wide Open Spaces,"

When first released in 1998, it was the most traditional song country music radio had played in ages, with roots stretching far beyond Nashville, to Appalachia, even to the fabled Arcadia of Canada's Maritime Province.

More "girl" power lo a group that has succeeded in righting a dangerously listing ship, one too full of Ken and Barbie cowgirls and boys.

Taking a monster leap from the club and small theater circuit was the show's opener Patty Griffin, who contributed a compact set of sell-penned folk-country compositions. She also joined the group and shared load vocals on her "Let Him Fly", recorded by the Chicks on their most recent album "Fly".

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