Chicks Dish Up Powerful Performance

Dixie Chicks Friday night, June 9, Spokane Arena

Chicks ruled in more ways than one Friday night at a packed Spokane Arena.

With Emily Robison picking a mean banjo, Martie Seidel burning up her fiddle and Natalie Maines belting out one great song after another, the Dixie Chicks wowed an admiring crowd all night.

Before the first note was played, the other chick power became clear as Arena officials scrambled to convert some men’s restrooms into women’s.

Estrogen was everywhere.

The moment Seidel started with show playing the opening Irish jig from “Ready to Run,” the standing fans busted out in a thunderous cheer. Maines’ dancing and spinning boosted the decibel level here and throughout the night.

The next tune, “There’s Your Trouble,” sparked a spontaneous singalong - one of many on the night. Two others, “I Can Love You Better” and “Tonight the Heartache’s on Me,” also showed why fans snatched up all the tickets to this concert in half a day.

The Chicks and their six-man band paid tribute to the blues and Bonnie Raitt on “Give It Up or Let Me Go,” knocking out hot solos on keyboards, fiddle and guitar. Maines showed off her vocal chops with a bit of flash - vents in the stage blew her platinum blond curls straight back. Robison and Seidel played off the effect with the vents on each side stage, too.

At that point, Maines told the crowd that this was the point in the show where the Chicks endured some humiliation. Pictures flashed on each of the three video screens in back of the stage - a slide show of each of the girls growing up, from baby and toddler shots to those posed class pictures. The capper in the humiliation department had to be Maines wearing huge glasses.

The Chicks brought out the opening act, the talented Patty Griffin, to help them sing “Let Him Fly,” which Griffin composed. That kicked off a set of smooth ballads while the Chicks sat on a sofa and stool around a coffee table.

“Let ‘Er Rip” turned the heat back on. Maines cut into her slow intro lyrics to sass a man up front along one side: “Are you trying to look up my dress? There’s nothing up there for you.” Once they got into the song, Robison and Maines traded some slick dance moves.

They closed with the rollicking “Sin Wagon,” but came back out for “Goodbye Earl.” Maines sang and played guitar from a small stage at the back of the floor while Robison and Seidel performed on opposite sides of the upper deck, each bathed in a spotlight while the video for the song played on the screens. Fans sang every word and cheered Earl’s demise.

The Chicks finished up with the title track from “Wide Open Spaces,” the album that brought them fame a couple years ago. During their 90-minute set, they played most of the songs off their two Grammy-winning discs (the other being “Fly”).

Thanks to spicy showmanship and musical skills, the Dixie Chicks dished out a heaping plate of fun.

This sidebar appeared with the story:

COMING SOON

Tim McGraw and Faith Hill

A second blockbuster country show is headed to Spokane.

Tickets go on sale Saturday for an Aug. 13 concert by husband-and-wife team Tim McGraw and Faith Hill at the Spokane Arena. Tickets are $49.50 and $39.50, available at G&B outlets (325-SEAT or 1-800-325-SEAT, or www.ticketswest.com).

The “Soul 2 Soul Tour 2000,” their first as a couple, will feature solo performances from both artists and a special set of duets.