The Chicks review – exquisite harmonies and hard-won vindication in anniversary show
Beacon Theatre, New York Two decades after country music blacklisted the band for their Iraq war protest, the trio celebrate their unapologetic album Taking the Long Way Last month, with almost no fanfare, the US formally completed its withdrawal of troops from Iraq, after 23 years of violent quagmire. But it was the beginning of that conflict that loomed over New York’s Beacon Theatre on Monday night, where the…
Key points
- The Chicks played the second of three sold-out shows at New York's Beacon Theatre on a Taking the Long Way 20th anniversary tour.
- The shows mark 20 years since the 2006 album that answered the 2003 backlash over Natalie Maines's Iraq war comment.
- Maines told the crowd she would now give George W Bush a big kiss, saying people are ashamed the current president is from the US.
The Chicks performed the second of three sold-out shows at the Beacon Theatre in New York as part of their Taking the Long Way 20th anniversary tour. The tour commemorates the 2006 album released two decades ago.
The review notes that the US formally completed its withdrawal of troops from Iraq last month, after 23 years. It was the start of that conflict that loomed over the Beacon Theatre show, the article says.
The 2003 backlash
In March 2003, eight days before the US invaded Iraq, lead singer Natalie Maines said on stage in London she was ashamed that then president George W Bush was from the trio's home state of Texas. The article describes the resulting backlash as swift, self-righteous and scarily prescient.
The review says a single comment, circulated on AM radio and cable news, led to CD-burning protests and death threats. The band played that 2003 clip on stage as a prelude to Not Ready to Make Nice, and the article notes that in the clip Maines is laughing and speaking off-handedly.
Now I would give George W Bush a big kiss. Because now we’re ashamed that the president of the United States is from the United States.
— Natalie Maines
What Maines said now
Maines told the crowd on Monday that they thought that was the worst it could get, and that she would now give George W Bush a big kiss. She added that people are now ashamed that the president of the United States is from the United States.
The review says the trio, formerly the Dixie Chicks, dropped the Dixie in 2020. It describes their harmonies as exquisite and industry-standard, and their bluegrass-pop as liberatory and aged like fine wine.
