Dixie Chicks' spirit soars

By VALERIE Q. CARINO

© St. Petersburg Times, published October 1, 2000

TAMPA -- If you're one who can't be bothered with the you-broke-my-heart twangs of country music lyrics, surely you could be convinced otherwise by the boldness, sexiness and sheer talent of the Dixie Chicks.

The trio -- lead singer Natalie Maines and sisters Martie Seidel and Emily Robison -- rocked the Ice Palace during a two-hour concert Friday. At one point, they even reached out to the fans in the nosebleed seats, with Seidel and Robison heading to opposite ends of the arena with their instruments to perform Goodbye Earl.

It was that kind of intimacy that stirred the fans and kept some of them happy to have forked over their 70 bucks.

"I think the Chicks were beautiful," said 24-year-old Joe Peleaz. "I'd go see them every night if I had the chance."

Yes, Joe, they are beautiful.

Britney Spears might ask to go into Seidel's closet for the gold drape-front handkerchief top and dark liquid denims that made male fans swoon. Or she could go into Robison's for her turquoise halter and jeweled jeans.

She couldn't borrow Maines' clothes, though: The newly married lead singer talked happily Friday about her baby on the way.

"Either the kid's going to be deaf or a musician," she said.

If the child has a voice anything like his/her mother's, he/she might consider following on the Judds' heels.

This major label group certainly does its share of "He doesn't love me the way I want to be loved" songs, but you're too taken by the trio's showmanship to notice. From the concert's opener, Ready to Run, to There's Your Trouble, to I Can Love You Better, the women make borderline country music-haters potential converts.

"I got these tickets last minute through a friend and wasn't sure if I wanted to go," said 22-year-old Carrie Matthews. "I'm not so much into that twangy stuff, but these chicks were actually good. Real musicians."

Taking a little from their bluegrass roots, sprinkling it with rockabilly, and not forgetting the more melodic ballads, the Chicks exchange instruments among themselves without anyone fumbling her chord.

During one of the more visually pleasing parts of the show, the Chicks served up a sweet rendition of Cold Day in July, complete with a suds show from the sky. From the back of the Ice Palace, it must have looked like snow.

And who could forget the slide show in the middle, with the band members berating each other's mall-style bangs, gapped teeth and dreadful choice of sweaters?

As they sang Heartbreak Town, about a man who packs up for the holy music land of Nashville only to find failure, you get the feeling that the song hits close to home.

"We know a lot of people who should be stars but aren't," Robison said.

Thank goodness the Chicks are no longer among them.

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