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Dixie Chicks perform at Xcel Center
by Jon Bream / Star Tribune
Why did 16,000 people cross the
river?
To see the DixieChicks perform in St. Paul at the new Xcel Energy Center.
OK, not all of the people came
from the west metro, but judging by the traffic backup on Interstate Hwy. 94 in downtown St. Paul shortly before showtime
Monday, there were quite a few who had never been to the new arena. (There is more than one freeway exit that will get you
to the Xcel.) However, most of the concertgoers had seen the Chicks in concert before, judging by the reaction when lead singer
Natalie Maines took an informal survey.
The Chicks performed an unforgettable show in July at Target Center in Minneapolis.
Since then, their career has soared even higher, with the trio taking four Country Music Association awards, including entertainer
of the year and album of the year. And one other important thing: Maines is pregnant.
That seemed to make a big difference
(no pun intended). One of the most hyperkinetic live wires in any style of music, Maines, 26, traveled pretty much in first-gear
physically Monday (baby's due in April). She wasn't that dancing dervish full of spunk and swagger this time. Instead, she
was an aggressive, sometimes brassy singer, pushing the conventional limits of country music while retaining the heartfelt
conviction expected from one of Nashville's finest.
Otherwise, this was pretty much the same show -- same staging and
same songs (although they didn't do the rockin' "Let 'Er Rip" on Monday). To be sure,the Chicks wore different outfits this
time. Banjoist Emily Robison, 28, actually wore the same glitzy Queen Elizabeth T-shirt that Maines had sported in July, along
with a gold-lame skirt. The lead singer was less flashy this time, in a black smock and bell-bottoms with silver studs. Martie
Seidel, 31, whose fancy fiddling fueled the Chicks' sound, opted for a wintermint-green sequined top with brown leather pants.
There
was one other significant change. In July, the Chicks did a cute segment featuring childhood photos projected on large screens,
accompanied by wise cracked commentary. This time, the trio goofed around by visually speculating what their babies would
look like with such celebrity fathers as Garth Brooks, Jay Leno, Bill Clinton and O.J. Simpson. Maines said that if the Chicks
had been friends with Nicole Brown Simpson, history would have turned out differently.
Indeed, the Chicks, who celebrate
the varied emotions in women's lives, take a no-nonsense-from-my-man attitude in their songs. Sure, some tunes -- including
"Loving Arms" and the hit full of hope, "Cowboy Take Me Away" (during which couples cuddled and available cowgirls sang at
the top of their lungs) -- are submissive. But the pointed pieces, including the rabble-rousing "Goodbye Earl" and an intimate
treatment of Sheryl Crow's "Strong Enough," are why so many women will cross the river -- or the road -- to be with the DixieChicks.
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