Chicks click

True country roots, passionate playing prevail over flashy gimmicks

By Joshua Klein, Special to the Chicago Tribune

Don't hate the Dixie Chicks because they're popular. Unlike some female country superstars who sometimes put makeup needs and well-toned navels above their Inusic, the Chicks exhibit a passion for their songs that's hardly plastic and reliably honest.

The band has taken its share of abuse, mostly accusations of blatant image mongering. There's an element of truth to this claim that is backed by the gaudy stage costumes and goofy choreography. Gimmicks such as giant flies and simulated indoor snowstorms won't encourage outsiders to take the group seriously, either.

Still, there's a lot about the band left to admire.

All three principals (Natalie Maines, Martie Seidel and Emily Robison) play their own instruments and they've begun to write their own songs. And what other female act would mark each career achievement with a new tattoo? At this rate the trio must be running out of space on their bodies, as the group continues to rack up awards, sales numbers and sold-out shows.

Sunday night was not the first time the Dixie Chicks filled the United Center, and judging by its continued exuberance it won't be the last.

Lead singer and band spazz Maines, now several months pregnant, was slightly more subdued than in the past, but her powerful voice remained impressive.

"Ready To Run" took off with fiddler Seidel's Celtic-inspired lead, while "Sin Wagon" and "Give It Up Or Let Me Go" prominently displayed Robison's banjo and dobro playing, respectively.

The latter song, written by Bonnie Raitt, was just one of a few choice covers that showed the Chicks' willingness to embrace other music besides country. Sheryl Crow's "Strong Enough" was given a faithful interpretation, while the group unveiled a new song by friend Patty Griffin that may make it onto album number three.

No doubt this open-minded approach accounts for part of the group's popular appeal, but it also demonstrated the Chicks' personal dedication to the music it plays. These were songs the women liked, and they should be applauded for avoiding a strict diet of Nashville-bred schlock.

The same goes for their decision to belt their hit "Goodbye Earl" down from the nosebleed seats rather than up to the rafters, a populist move that paid off in enough adulation to offset the steep price of the hustle upstairs.

The somewhat controversial song is a catchy but creepy counterbalance to the misogynist anger of artists such as Eminem, but its infectious na-na-na chorus disguises the rage as dark humor. Yet the song about killing an abusive husband apparently began as a harrowing, serious ballad, and who knows if the Chicks would be in the same position had they released such a downer of a tune. The band keeps growing more popular and powerful, so time will tell if such risks will meet the same watered-down fate in the future. But now, the Chicks appear determined to keep things light and fun for the whole family.

Proving once again that fame offers countless perks, the Dixie Chicks are also now in the position to hand pick their tour mates. While other mainstream country artists might choose someone safe that jibes with their sponsor, the Dixie Chicks chose perennial underdog Joe Ely, whose 30-year career has arguably been the polar opposite of the Chicks' relatively rapid ascent.

Ely has come to symbolize the outlaw country alternative to Nashville conformity Is it any wonder the Clash also asked him to open, back on that band's first U.S. tour?

It was heartening to see someone like Ely play the United Center, and the legend from Lubbock, Texas, may have even won over some new fans with rough and tumble renditions of "Workin' For The Man," "My Eyes Got Lucky," and Jimmie Dale Gilmore's Flatlanders standard "Dallas."

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