Election Night was supposed to be the final show for The Chicks’ 20-date Taking the Long Way 20th Anniversary Tour. It would’ve made for a poetic bow for the decidedly political country trio who recorded the tour’s namesake record in Los Angeles.
But a sudden cold struck lead vocalist Natalie Maines that pushed night two of the three-show L.A. run to Nov. 4. That meant the Nov. 3 performance would be L.A.’s night two, which continued as planned thanks to a dose of prednisone. The Chicks, after all, are used to rolling with the punches. Don’t forget that this is the Dallas-originated group who fell from country music grace in 2003 after criticizing then President George W. Bush about the impending Iraq War and yet still holds rank as the biggest-selling female band of all time in the U.S.
“Welcome to our Bluenami,” Maines greeted the audience on Tuesday evening, referencing the election results across the nation that, by the end of the night, saw Democrats win the majority of governorships and seats in the House and Senate.
The Dolby Theatre crowd was already on its feet cheering before the curtain finished raising to reveal The Chicks — unsurprising for a legion of fans (many of whom donned their “I Voted” stickers) who stretched the merchandise line along multiple floors within ten minutes of doors opening.
Maines continued: “I’m so glad we could enjoy this night together. Texas is blue. The Senate is blue. The House is blue. This would be a very different night if that wasn’t the case. … I’m on as much prednisone as a human being is allowed to take. Maybe a pony. But fingers crossed.”
Maines sat flanked by bandmates and sisters Emily Strayer and Martie Maguire for their nearly three-hour set that showcased what country music does best: storytelling. Between songs and archive video clips projected onto theater curtains, Maines, Maguire and Strayer took turns telling stories (and occasionally poking fun at one another) in the same way a group of old friends would gather around a campfire to reminisce. Only here the reminiscing was about a Rick Rubin-produced album that won five Grammys, including Album of the Year, and was certified double platinum.
“He thought we had something to say,” Maines said of Rubin.
The record’s controversial, critically acclaimed first single “Not Ready to Make Nice” almost felt too early to be the show’s third song (it is the album’s No. 3 track, fairly), but riding on the high of The Chicks’ (and seemingly the audience’s) “Bluenami” excitement, the moment only served as fuel instead of the concert’s emotional apex.
Maines’ comments about Bush flashed on the background curtain (“We do not want this war, this violence, and we’re ashamed that the President of the United States is from Texas.”), followed by video clips of the ‘03 controversy’s ensuing backlash, including a woman holding her child, encouraging him to say “Screw ‘em” about The (then) Dixie Chicks.
The incident inspired part of the “Not Ready to Make Nice” bridge, during which Maines delivers fury and bleakness in a single lyric: “It’s a sad, sad story when a mother will teach her daughter that she ought to hate a perfect stranger.”
“She actually wrote us a really nice apology. She saw herself in the documentary we made,” Maguire shared.
Strayer added, “When it happened, we were a little bit going through the stages of grief. It was shock and then we were sad, but by the time we got home [to Texas], we were mad. And we knew we had to put it into songs.”
But the entire album wasn’t about anger. Through lyrics and on-stage memory recollection, The Chicks dove into motherhood, the business of music, artistic collaborators (like Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith), hometowns and family. As Act I wound down, Maines explained how John Mayer ended up on the album.
“I envisioned a solo that was like Slash on a snow-capped mountaintop,” she said of the song “Baby Hold On.” They reached out to Mayer’s team, who approved of the request should he receive “a lot of money and writer’s credit and royalties.”
“We said, ‘thank you, that’s OK. And John Mayer was writing upstairs in the studio [near us], and so we went and asked him [directly],” Maines said. “He said, ‘Of course.’”
“You and Martie are the biggest flirts,” Strayer interjected.
“That’s how we got him to come down and play,” Maines retorted with a grin.
The result was a signature blues-inflected Mayer solo that swells Maines’ emotional urgency as she belts “Lead me by the hand and let’s make up for lost time,” then softened by Maguire and Strayer’s harmonies that plead, “Baby hold on.”
Mayer also lent his talents to “I Hope,” the album closer and final song of the performance’s first act. “I’d almost lost all hope,” Maines shared before wrapping up. “Then a few weeks ago, we had the pleasure of going to the Obama [Presidential] Center in Chicago. I highly recommend that. It was a reminder that the country can be led by something that’s not a deranged nut job.”
When the curtain fell for intermission, the audience was treated to a Sabrina Carpenter tune, followed by an Ethel Cain song that was cut short for the nine-song finale. Off their stools, The Chicks warped the Dolby Theatre ambience to feel reminiscent of a bar along Broadway in Nashville. They blitzed through the likes of beloved murder ballad “Goodbye Earl,” anthem “Wide Open Spaces,” Beyoncé collaboration “Daddy Lessons,” Fleetwood Mac cover “Landslide” and country radio darling “Cowboy Take Me Away,” among others, before taking a bow with bluegrass-country romp “Sin Wagon.”
“Well Los Angeles, we’ve had an awesome night tonight. And our country has had an awesome night,” Maines said. “Not just because the prednisone did its job. But because we won all those elections. Until next time Los Angeles.”
See the full setlist below.
The Long Way Around
Easy Silence
Not Ready to Make Nice
Everybody Knows
Bitter End
Lullaby
Lubbock or Leave It
Silent House
Favorite Year
Voice Inside My Head
I Like It
Baby Hold On
So Hard
I Hope
Intermission
Goodbye Earl
Wide Open Spaces
White Trash Wedding
Long Time Gone / Daddy Lessons
Cowboy Take Me Away
Landslide (Fleetwood Mac cover)
Gaslighter
Travelin’ Soldier (Bruce Robison cover)
Sin Wagon
The post Prednisone, Rick Rubin and the ‘Bluenami:’ Inside The Chicks’ Election Night Show at the Dolby Theatre appeared first on LAmag.
