Dixie Chicks let fly with flair

By Jennifer Barrs, Tampa Tribune

With all that romping and stomping, wiggling and giggling, one thing was made abundantly clear at the sold-out Ice Palace Friday night.

The delightful Dixie Chicks are purebred party animals. And that was in elaborate evidence even as they made their way to the stage.

Minutes before the trio opened with a raucous version of "Ready to Run," a huge, inflatable fly hovered over the crowd of 15,000-plus, an apparent salute to the group's latest CD, "Fly." In addition, a curtain fashioned after a pair of pants -- the zippered fly front and center -- circled the apron of the stage, eventually ripping open to reveal lead singer Natalie Maines and the mighty musician sisters, Emily Robison and Martie Seidel.

From that moment on, it was simply a wonderful production, whether the women were singing traditional sawdust shufflers such as Tonight the Heartache's on Me" or kick-butt country tunes such as "Let It Rip."

Among the highlights was a swampy, soulful rendition of "Fly," written, coincidentally, by the evening's opening act Patty Griffin. Another moving ballad was "Without You," which Robison explained was written when she and Seidel's parents were in the midst of a divorce.

Though prettily pregnant Maines sang and danced with incredible vigor, lending a lovely achy-breaky quality to a cover of Sheryl Crow's hit "Strong Enough to Be My Man." The sisters, meanwhile, showed their stuff on a rip-roaring instrumental with a swift and sassy bluegrass vibe. Another hot number: Their salute to blues diva Bonnie Raitt, "Give It Up or Let Me Go."

While the music drew most of the focus, there was also a hilarious interlude when the women "set aside a portion of the show where we embarrass ourselves," Maines said. They then went about showing slides chronicling their gangly youth, joking that "the lesson we learn is that every single one of you is ugly at some point," Maines added.

The hottest commodity in, Nashville then closed the show -- how could they not? -- with their current hit, a twisted take on domestic violence called "Goodbye Earl." And, as they played "Cold Day in July," soap suds floated down from the ceiling.

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