Dixie Chicks Concert

Laurie and I both like the Dixie Chicks. When I found out they were playing at Great Woods (I refuse to call the concert venue in Mansfield, MA the Xfinity Center, because the name will change within a year or two anyway) I decided to get tickets. On a whim, I checked Stub Hub. I am not a fan of these resale sites that are nothing more than glorified ticket scalpers, but I figured it couldn't hurt to look.

Regular price for a lawn seat was $30. There were tickets selling on Stub Hub for less than fifteen dollars a piece. Needless to say, I bought a pair. Both tickets combined after fees cost me a grand total of $28.

The Dixie Chicks career took a nose dive many years ago when the criticized G.W. Bush during the Iraq War. Being in the genre of country music, the Chicks were in the minority. They almost lost their careers. Their lives were threatened and they lost millions of dollars in future revenue.

To be clear, I could care less about politics in my entertainment. I don't care if Tom Brady is the biggest Trump supporter, just keep throwing touchdown passes. I don't care that Hollywood is liberal or that country music is hardcore Republican. Just give me good quality entertainment.

All that said, I have huge respect for the Chicks. They didn't back down. They chose to sacrifice their

Natalie Maines

career instead of their beliefs. They were basically thrown out of the country music genre. Yet they stayed together, and they kept making music.

So on to the review- I really enjoyed the show. I knew almost every song. There was about four that I didn't. The crowd loved the fast stuff such as Goodbye Earl, Sin Wagon, and White Trash Wedding.

The concert opened with my favorite song they play " Long Way Around" . It's a song about taking the road less traveled. They wrote it after the big controversy.  They played "Nothing Compares to You" which was their tribute to Prince because he wrote the song. They did "Landslide" by Stevie Nicks. I don't know how many songs they played, but it was over two hours. The last two songs before the encore were "Wide Open Spaces" and "Cowboy Take Me Away" .

They played two songs during the encore. "Not Ready to Make Nice" and a song called "Better Way"

The screen during "Cowboy Take Me Away"

 which was clearly about hope in society. It was prudent after the tragedy in Orlando.

The Chicks had two opening bands. The Truth and The Heavy. I heard of a couple songs by The Heavy, a pop rock band. I didn't really care about either band, I just wanted to see the Chicks.

Natalie Maines sounded amazing. Even after ten years since the last cd, she was awesome. She has amazing stage presence. The two sisters are terrific musicians. They  both had multiple solos. The thing I most took away from the show was the amount of fun they were having. They were smiling all night. It wasn't a fake politician smile. They were having a great time. After the real crowd pleasers like "Goodbye Earl" they were smiling from ear to ear.

If the Dixie Chicks come to a town near you, and you were a fan in the heyday, you won't be disappointed in the concert. They sound as good as ever. If  you can get tickets for half price, all the better.    

Their Tribute to the Victims in Orlando