It’s been ten years since the country music trio, Dixie Chicks, have been on tour in the U.S., since Maines criticized President George W. Bush on the eve of the invasion of Iraq in 2003 sending the country music world into an uproar. And what better time for these three outspoken “chicks” to make their comeback with their DCX MMXVI tour than an election year.
The Dixie Chicks rocked Wednesday night (July 20th) at Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre where a sold-out crowd anxiously awaited their return to the stage. Starting off with a booming version of Prince’s “Let’s Go Crazy” followed by the strum of Natalie’s guitar leading into their first song of the night, “Long Way Around” sending the crowd into a frenzy.
Followed by “Lubbock or Leave It” and “Truth No. 2” (the first of three Patty Griffin covers) in what seemed to be they were telling a story with their set list choices reminding the crowd what the Dixie Chicks are all about.
Their pre-Bush bashing hits such as “Cowboy Take Me Away” and “Wide Open Spaces” received a huge response from this audience with the whole crowd singing along. “Goodbye Earl” a crowd favorite that got everyone on their feet… (clips from old movies told the story of men who abused women and those who took their revenge & having to throw Trump in the mix), and Maines certainly didn’t just “shut up and sing” although we wish she would have done a little more of just that.
The concert didn’t start off “political” but as the night went on brought more and more political moments. During “Ready to Run,” the stage turned to red, white and blue, and the screen behind them scrolled some images of the variety of Republican and Democratic candidates who have ran for the presidency this year. When the song was over, red, white and blue confetti burst into the air and onto screaming fans in the packed crowd.
Although they presented no new music for the crowd their set list was full of covers. (See full set list below)
Complete Set List:
Let’s Go Crazy (Prince cover)
The Long Way Around
Lubbock or Leave It
Truth #2 (Patty Griffin cover)
Easy Silence
Favorite Year
Some Days You Gotta Dance
Long Time Gone
Nothing Compares 2 U (Prince cover)
Top of the World (Patty Griffin cover)
Goodbye Earl
Ace of Spades (Motörhead cover)
Travelin’ Soldier (Bruce Robison cover)
Daddy Lessons (Beyoncé cover)
White Trash Wedding
Ready to Run
Mississippi (Bob Dylan cover)
Landslide (Fleetwood Mac cover)
Silent House
Cowboy Take Me Away
Wide Open Spaces
Sin Wagon
Encore:
Not Ready to Make Nice
Better Way (Ben Harper cover)
Their latest album “Taking the Long Way” which is now a decade old…still makes its point politically and socially, especially with songs like “Not Ready to Make Nice” and “Easy Silence.” We are all entitled to our own opinions, but instead of feeling like we were at a political rally I would have much rather enjoyed more of the music that made me a Dixie Chicks fan in the first place.
We don’t want to leave you mad and angry. We hope everybody stays safe, happy and sound,” Maines thanked the crowd for making the band feel so welcome on their return, “We hope it’s not another ten years before you invite us back!”
All in all, the Chicks are still here, they are still singing and rockin’ the crowd and from the looks of it, it doesn’t seem like they are ready to make nice any time soon.
For more information on the Dixie Chicks, visit their website and follow them on Facebook and Twitter.
