The Chicks click with new empowerment messages without saying a word

By Jodie Valade, The Charlotte Observer

The Chicks had already belted out songs about independence and righteous anger, about fierceness in the face of betrayal and the bravery of striking out on your own as a single woman, when the band leaned fully into its message of female empowerment and its reputation for sharp political commentary Thursday night.

As lead singer Natalie Maines playfully crooned at PNC Music Pavilion in Charlotte about “Tights on My Boat,” a song about her own husband’s marital deception, cartoonish images flashed on enormous video screens behind her. Beside her, fiddler Martie Maguire, multi-instrumentalist Emily Strayer and their six-member band played along.

First, a caricature of Russian President Vladimir Putin appeared in a boat that traveled across digital waves before a flash of orange, fiery light appeared where the boat was, and Putin disappeared. Message No. 1 sent.

They were just getting started.

Next, a boat carrying formal photos of five grinning members of the U.S. Supreme Court burst onto the right side of the stage and began working its way to the left.

Yes, the same five members who voted to overturn Roe v. Wade just weeks ago.

“You’re gonna get what you got coming to ya,” Maines sang. “You’re gonna get what you got coming to ya. Can’t be the first one to ever tell ya.”

Another flash of orange appeared, and suddenly the entire boat was gone.

The crowd roared.

Unlike in 2003, when Maines first got in trouble for commentary about then-President George W. Bush and the Iraq War, there were no words needed for the crowd to get the message.

The Chicks were once the Dixie Chicks, were once more country than pop, slightly more bubblegum than power. But since Maines’ commentary led to one of the first cases of “cancel culture,” the group has fully embraced their roles as strong, female leaders in entertainment.

They might have lost many of their traditional country fans, but they’ve gained a loyal core of fans of outspoken women.

The crowd of about 12,000 at PNC was maybe 90% women, and mostly white women. Many wore shirts that showed support for Roe v. Wade or for The Chicks’ lively vigilante justice anthem, “Goodbye Earl.”

And every time Maines powered through lyrics about strong women or simply scowled indignantly as she sang, they responded with cheers and whoops.

Like in “Sleep at Night,” from the 2020 album “Gaslighter,” when Maines sang about her “husband’s girlfriend.”

“Remember you brought her to our show at the Hollywood Bowl; She said, ‘I love you, I’m such a fan,’ ” Maines crooned. “I joked that, ‘You can love me as long as long as you don’t love my man.’ There’s nothing funny about that.”

And then angrily flashed both middle fingers as if to show her real opinion.

Or when just before launching into their protest song “March March,” a long list of city names and numbers flashed on the video screen behind the band, starting with “Uvalde” and “21.” They were all sites of mass shootings and the number of people who had been killed.

As the song closed, the video focused on a single sign held in a protest that read, “Keep your laws off our bodies.”

FUN WITH THE FANS

Amid all the strong messages, there were lighthearted moments, too. Mid-concert, Maines spotted someone in the crowd holding a sign that said it was their birthday.

“You know who else’s birthday it is? My son Beckett turns 18 today,” she said. “So I was wondering if you guys could do me a favor. He’s back in L.A. and I haven’t had time to get him a gift yet. So I was hoping you guys could sing Happy Birthday to Beckett for me.”

Maines held up her phone to record thousands singing the song, and promised to forward it along.

She shared, too, that her 21-year-old son, Slade, was among her six-member band... just before singing the cover of Fleetwood Mac’s “Landslide,” that she said The Chicks recorded right after Slade was born in 2001.

“I heard this song my whole life and all of a sudden thought, ‘Yes, ‘I’m getting older, too,’ ” she said. “I was 25.”

The 47-year-old rolled her eyes.

And even The Chicks’ one noticeable flub — when Maines briefly forgot the lyrics to the second chorus of “Travelin’ Soldier — was played off with a laugh and a smile as the band carried on until she rejoined them.

THE ULTIMATE SONG OF SISTERHOOD

Through it all, Maines’ powerful, distinctive voice was at times somewhat restrained — perhaps still lingering effects from vocal rest she needed mid-June that resulted in three canceled concerts. She still hit many of her long, high notes, but seemed to be holding back from full-throated belting at times.

But Maguire’s skillful violin play and Strayer’s impressive picking skills on just about any instrument — banjo, guitar, violin and piano — carried the lively melodies throughout.

And the harmonies of the three women were as melodious at graceful as ever, showcasing the music that launched them into the spotlight in the late ‘90s.

That is, when they could be heard over the voices of the crowd who sang along with nearly every word. From classics like “Wide Open Spaces” to “Not Ready to Make Nice,” the message of female empowerment carried throughout the night, up until the very last song.

“OK, Charlotte, we just have one piece of business to take care of,” Maines said before the finale.

It was, of course, “Goodbye Earl,” their ultimate song of sisterhood, bravery and fierceness. Which is what everyone came to hear about.

THE CHICKS’ SETLIST

Sin Wagon

Gaslighter

Texas Man

Julianna Calm Down

The Long Way Around

Hope it’s Something Good

Sleep at Night

Ready to Run

Wide Open Spaces

Tights on My Boat

 Lubbock or Leave It

Cowboy Take Me Away

Long Time Gone

Landslide (Fleetwood Mac cover)

Don’t Let Me Die in Florida (Patty Griffin cover)

March March

For Her

White Trash Wedding

Everybody Loves You

Not Ready to Make Nice

Travelin’ Soldier

Goodbye Earl