Dixie Chicks and Pete Yorn in Vegas

After going to see Prince at Club 3121 the previous evening, Saturday's entertainment was the Dixie Chicks at the MGM Grand, a venue worth looking at, as it often has a great variety of performers such as Paul McCartney, Bette Midler, or Lewis Black. I am not a big fan of country music, but I love concerts and am often surprised how much I enjoy music I wouldn't normally listen to. The Dixie Chicks were on the final stages of their Accidents and Accusations Tour, and the Vegas tour was opened by Pete Yorn who played for about 45 minutes. Pete Yorn became more well known when his song Strange Condition was chosen for the movie Me, Myself & Irene and his music is also used on CW television's Veronica Mars. He was a great opening act whose sound was not unlike a young Bruce Springstein singing a mix of his own songs from his latest album, Nightcrawler, and other well known songs, like Elivis Presley's, Suspicious Minds.

When the Dixie Chicks finally came on stage, they were greeted with cheers and applause from the almost full arena. I wasn't sure how full this show was going to be, as the group's ticket and album sales were badly affected by their 2003 controversial statement in London where lead singer, Natalie Maines, said she was ashamed to be from the same State as the President of the United States. The things that followed are well known to most people - many country fans disowned the group, radio stations blacklisted their music, tours had to be canceled and they even received death threats from people outraged at what they had said, all of which has been chronicled in the upcoming movie, Shut Up and Sing. There is no question that the Chicks are willing to speak their mind on politics, global warming and aids in Africa, but this audience was definitely receptive to what they had to say.

Their latest album, Taking The Long Way, featuring their hit single, Not Ready to Make Nice, has already gone platinum, and after hearing them perform, I am not surprised. When you listened to their music you could tell it was very personal for them and they sang with an honesty and vulnerability which reflected their experiences. They didn't fill the show with talk about politics, instead they sang, made the odd joke, and to most people's amusement, dedicated their hit "White Trash Wedding" to Britney's ex, Kevin Federline. Then, of course, their was the ever-popular "Goodbye Earl" which set everyone in the audience stomping and singing. Apart from their singing, I did not realize that the Dixie Chicks were such multi-talented musicians. Natalie Maines sings and plays guitar, Martie Maguire plays the fiddle and mandolin, and Emily Robison plays the banjo, dobro and lap steel guitar producing an energetic mix of country, western and bluegrass music. I am certainly glad I had the opportunity to see such talented artists perform and could even become their next fan!