Concert review | Chicks stick to the music

A piped-in recording of "Hail to the Chief" marked the Dixie Chicks' entrance at the Tacoma Dome Saturday night, a nod to the country music trio's history of speaking out on U.S. foreign policy. But the Chicks focused on music, not politics, at the nearly sold-out show.

The band played a tight set that ran one hour and a half, treating enthused listeners to some 18 songs culled from its most recent CD, "Taking the Long Way," as well as older favorites from "Home," "Fly" and "Wide Open Spaces." Stylishly hip in black attire, lead singer Natalie Maines, Martie Maguire (violin, mandolin) and Emily Robison (banjo, lap steel guitar) were backed by a band of seven. Key players were acoustic guitarist/songwriter Keith Sewell (who's played with James Taylor and Ricky Skaggs) and drummer Fred Eltringham (of the Wallflowers), who seemed to drive the band's high energy with his rock-like intensity and long hair flying the entire night. Two additional musicians on cello and violin joined the band for a good number of the tunes, too.

Six large silver panels hanging vertically at the back of the stage displayed seemingly random graphics throughout the night, while a large white screen hanging from the ceiling offered audience members a bird's-eye view (Chicks'-eye view?) of the band members up close. The crowd was overwhelmingly female and white, though it spanned a wide age range. A smattering sported cowboy hats and some wore cowboy boots; a few drank too much. (This reporter was smacked in the back of the head several times when an over-exuberant woman jumped to her feet to dance and sing; a friend sitting elsewhere ended up with a wine-soaked coat by night's end.)

The sound was mostly crystal clear—not an easy feat in a domed stadium. The opening chords of the third song in the set, "Goodbye Earl," a ditty about domestic violence in which a woman takes command of an abusive situation, sent a roar rippling through the crowd. It was a little surreal to hear many gleeful women sing, "And it didn't take 'em long to decide/That Earl had to die."

Fans likewise cheered lead singer Maines when she crooned "Not Ready to Make Nice," a tune the band wrote after Maines maligned President George W. Bush onstage at a show in London in 2003.Audience members also appreciated "The Long Way Around," a cover of the Fleetwood Mac hit "Landslide," and "White Trash Wedding," a track that Maines dedicated to Kevin Federline, Britney Spears' soon-to-be-ex.

The outspoken petite one didn't get political in her chatter until the end of the set. Acknowledging the results of this past week's elections, Maines said she felt like it was Christmas. The Chicks then closed out the set with "Wide Open Spaces" and "Sin Wagon," one of several songs during the night that had Maines cutting loose with a few dance moves that showed her strength lies in her vocals. The group's three-tune encore—including a cover of Bob Dylan's "Mississippi" and ending with "Ready to Run"—had the feel of a spirited jam session, with the musicians strolling around the stage and continuing to enjoy what was fun for all.