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Dixie Chicks bring peace, politics to Kemper performance
Kansas City Star ^ | May 12, 2003 | Timothy Finn

Posted on 05/13/2003 12:15:06 AM PDT by fightinJAG

Music Review Dixie Chicks bring peace, politics to Kemper performance By TIMOTHY FINN The Kansas City Star

When a band goes through what the Dixie Chicks have been through, nothing it does publicly is a matter of coincidence.

So the songs that came through the public address system before the Chicks' show at Kemper on Saturday didn't just happen to be tunes by the Go-Gos, Elvis Costello or Paul McCartney & Wings. They were songs with a sly, wry and pertinent message: "Our Lips Are Sealed"; "What's So Funny About Peace, Love and Understanding"; and "Band on the Run."

The "past two months" (as they called the March 12 incident in London) might have cost the Chicks peace of mind and radio airtime, but it sure didn't kill their sense of humor.

Nor did it affect in the least their ability to entertain a house packed with devotees, none of whom showed a hint of dismay or protest over what has happened over the "past two months." Instead, this was loud and raucous lovefest for hands-down the best live act in country music (and pop, too).

The Chicks spent little time talking to the crowd, but their clothes said a few things. Singer Natalie Maines had the slogan "Fight War Not Wars; Destroy Power Not People" inscribed along the bottom of her torn T-shirt; and Martie Maguire wore a "Free Natalie" T-shirt, glossy combat boots and military pants.

Those weren't the only political statements. Just before the Chicks took the stage, the P.A. system blared "Born in the U.S.A." by Bruce Springsteen, who explicitly supported the Chicks before their U.S. tour began. The crowd ate it up.

Later, during "Truth No. 2," a video featured documentary footage from the civil rights, gay rights and women's suffrage movements and footage of teens destroying Beatles' (and then Dixie Chicks') music as words like "tolerance" popped up on the screen. It was a very U2 moment.

The show lasted nearly two hours and covered 22 songs, and there wasn't a dead spot the whole night.

All the hits got huge ovations, especially the tunes from the "Fly" album, but so did a few lesser-known cuts: "Lil' Jack Slade," the breakneck bluegrass instrumental from "Home"; "Mississippi," a Bob Dylan tune they turned into a rollicking country-rock anthem; and "Am I The Only One (Who's Ever Felt This Way)," a Maria McKee song, in which Maines shared lead vocals with Joan Osborne, the opening performer.

Maines is a powerful, demonstrative singer -- one of the few who can make clunky, cavernous Kemper sound almost like a chamber hall. The sound was unusually crisp all night, especially during the Chicks' two- and three-part harmonies.

The stage Saturday was set in the middle of the Kemper floor, but it wasn't exactly a "round." Instead it was nearly an acre of platforms, peninsulas, islets, walkways and ministages -- which meant all three were in near constant motion, trying to play to all four sides of the arena.

There were some visuals, too: the plants along the ends of the stage bloomed into flowers during "Landslide"; a disco ball sprayed bits of light across the crowd during "Godspeed"; and at the very end of "Sin Wagon," the place erupted in confetti, streamers and clouds of smoke.

None of that gravy was necessary, though. It was apparent from the start why this crowd had come: to hear some great music and to pass along a little peace, love and understanding to three ladies who deserved it as much as they seemed to need it.


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1 posted on 05/13/2003 12:15:06 AM PDT by fightinJAG
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To: fightinJAG
Singer Natalie Maines had the slogan "Fight War Not Wars; Destroy Power Not People" inscribed along the bottom of her torn T-shirt; and Martie Maguire wore a "Free Natalie" T-shirt, glossy combat boots and military pants.

Cute, girls.

2 posted on 05/13/2003 12:15:55 AM PDT by fightinJAG
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To: fightinJAG
Singer Natalie Maines had the slogan "Fight War Not Wars; Destroy Power Not People" inscribed along the bottom of her torn T-shirt; and Martie Maguire wore a "Free Natalie" T-shirt, glossy combat boots and military pants.

Free Natalie -- while supplies last!

3 posted on 05/13/2003 12:17:03 AM PDT by NYCVirago
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4 posted on 05/13/2003 12:23:56 AM PDT by SMEDLEYBUTLER
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To: fightinJAG
Easy to tell where this $8-an-hour hack author's sympathies lie.
5 posted on 05/13/2003 12:25:45 AM PDT by martin_fierro (A v v n c v l v s M a x i m v s)
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To: fightinJAG
At first, I thought that Maines just wanted attention but now I know she desperately needs it. I'm not going to give it to her. Any future discussion of them will get the following responses from me;

Who?

Who cares?

You would have to pay me to care about what the Dixie Tarts think.

I know what Maines said about President Bush but any discussion of the Dixie Strumpets is just a waste of my time.

I don't intend to even waste another keystroke on this subject ever again.
6 posted on 05/13/2003 12:49:20 AM PDT by Hillarys Gate Cult ("Read Hillary's hips. I never had sex with that woman.")
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To: fightinJAG
Just before the Chicks took the stage, the P.A. system blared "Born in the U.S.A." by Bruce Springsteen, who explicitly supported the Chicks before their U.S. tour began. The crowd ate it up.

Oh, golly, I get it! What profound symbology! Wow, the Chicks are reaaally deep.

7 posted on 05/13/2003 1:01:06 AM PDT by vikingchick
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To: fightinJAG
"Dixie Chicks bring peace"

just the title deserves a barf alert
8 posted on 05/13/2003 1:09:15 AM PDT by fightinJAG
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To: Hillarys Gate Cult
I know what Maines said about President Bush but any discussion of the Dixie Strumpets is just a waste of my time.

I don't intend to even waste another keystroke on this subject ever again.

I'll ditto that. And the same goes for butthead Flatstein as well.

Have you noticed they arn't packing for Iraq to entertain the boys they said they support. Lying bunch of twits. And they dare call themselves Americans.

I and my friends will NEVER watch or listen to them.

9 posted on 05/13/2003 1:12:22 AM PDT by Robert Drobot
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To: fightinJAG
The Clucks could have sounded like the most inept musical group in history, but I'll bet this hammerhead would have still praised them. My own observation is that while also being seriously musically stupid, most rock and pop reviewers are strong leftists who will write kind words for horrible acts as long as they toe the party line. Ani Defranco is an example. I've never heard her, but after reading glowing review of her "music" by a number of rock critics, I decided to check out her lyrics on the internet. Her grade-school quality lyrics represent the most self-indulgent, paranoid, radical-feminist ramblings of the far-left that you could possibly find. They are so embarrassingly bad, the worst hack in Nashville is Cole Porter compared to her.
10 posted on 05/13/2003 1:34:47 AM PDT by driftless ( For life-long happiness, learn how to play the accordion.)
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To: driftless
Ani Defranco is an example.

We had a major thread ( I can't find it ) about her song from the Sept 11 attack. My response to her lyrics upset several libs on another board when I posted "Wow, I didn't know Vogons were real". Her song was that trite and horrible.

11 posted on 05/13/2003 1:47:16 AM PDT by Hillarys Gate Cult ("Read Hillary's hips. I never had sex with that woman.")
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To: fightinJAG
Dixie Chicks may be the bane of mainstream America, but they have won over a crucial and influential group- American journalists. East-coast elites who spoke pejoratively of country music as something "rednecks" occupy themselves are finding themselves feigning an appreciation for the genre, at least enough to profess their admiration for the Dixie Chicks. It's pitiful to watch these "journalists" in action. They have no respect for the truth, no intellectual curiousity to understand the root of people's anger towards DC's remarks, and no willingness to be evenhanded in their reporting. I have never had less respect for journalists...they are lower on the totem pole than lawyers and repo men.
12 posted on 05/13/2003 1:57:52 AM PDT by jagrmeister
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To: Hillarys Gate Cult
I posted "Wow, I didn't know Vogons were real". Her song was that trite and horrible.

ROFL! I wish I could see that thread.

13 posted on 05/13/2003 2:02:47 AM PDT by Timesink
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To: fightinJAG
Sounds like FreeWillie has a girlfriend.

prisoner6

14 posted on 05/13/2003 2:16:22 AM PDT by prisoner6 ( Right Wing Nuts hold the country together as the loose screws of the left fall out!)
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To: prisoner6
As for FreeWillie girlfriends, she can take a number.
15 posted on 05/13/2003 2:18:31 AM PDT by fightinJAG
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To: fightinJAG
You can't get further left than this waste of good pulp garbage/rag. Years ago it was owned by Capitol Cities/ABC and in recent years it was a Knight-Ridder property, I've no idea of it's current ownership. In it's heyday it claimed Ernest Hemingway as a writer/columnist/whatever; that, in itself, should be enough to discredit anything attributed to this trash.
16 posted on 05/13/2003 2:38:21 AM PDT by hmmmmm
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To: fightinJAG
You've gotta hand it to them, they took a bad situation and turned it to their advantage and are now trying to come off like the beleaguered minority. What a buch of shite. BTW, the slogan "Fight War, Not Wars. Destroy Power, Not People" was a slogan used by the anarchist punk band Crass. Crass were serious anarchists who lived on a commune, put out their own records, etc. See, there's a difference between a band like Crass who walk the walk and pathetic poseurs like the Dixies who just use their "deeply held convictions" as a way to further their careers. It takes no guts to criitcize this country or the (Republican) President in Europe, I'd have more respect for her if she had tried it in Texas. The point is, these are just fashionable politics that mean nothing, and that's what is so annoying. And how exactly does Spirngsteen (another liberal blowhard who turned a blind eye to Clinton's wrongdoing) support Maines? What the f**k does that mean? The whole thing is a sick joke. For these bimbos to actually try and put out serious messgages is ridiculous, they are far too trivial.
17 posted on 05/13/2003 2:53:34 AM PDT by drew
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Comment #18 Removed by Moderator

To: Robert Drobot
I heard that their name had been removed from the roster of musicians who volunteered to entertain the troops.
19 posted on 05/13/2003 5:49:48 AM PDT by sarasota
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To: jagrmeister
Dennis Miller recently said that the firestorm against the Chicks came full circle and they're back where they started--"on top of the world" (the name of their current tour).
20 posted on 05/13/2003 5:52:35 AM PDT by sarasota
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