Expect to hear plenty of political banter with your country music when the Dixie Chicks pull their "Accidents & Accusations" tour into the Jobing.com Arena (formerly Glendale Arena) on Sunday.
With the Democrats taking control of the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate last week, it's a safe bet lead singer Natalie Maines won't "Shut Up and Sing" — the title of the trio's just-released documentary chronicling the time they've had over the past three years defending themselves for their anti-Bush comments.
Perhaps it's sweet victory for Maines and her bandmates, sisters Emily Robison and Martie Maguire. In the three years since Maines blurted out at a London concert that she's embarrassed to share a home state with President Bush, the band has seen its CDs smashed, their names dragged through the mud, sales of albums plummet and attendance at concerts half of what it was pre-Bush-bash. There also have been death threats, political commentaries and a nearly across-the-board banishment from country radio.
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The Chicks were last in Arizona not long after Maines made those remarks. They played before a sold-out Phoenix crowd at America West Arena (now the US Airways Center).
They're playing the Jobing.com Arena in Glendale and, if trends hold steady from earlier concerts on this tour, they will likely get about 9,000 people, which will fill the venue to about half its capacity.
Nine thousand is nothing to sneeze at, to be sure, but by Dixie Chicks standards, it's a blow to the ego. In 2003, in the middle of the Bush fiasco, the Chicks boasted country music's top-grossing tour at $62 million and 1 million-plus attendance.
But those attending on Sunday can rest assured they will see one of the best shows in country music. The trio is a blast to experience live. Musically, they are beyond reproach: Robison on banjo and guitar and Maguire on fiddle and mandolin are phenomenal, and Maines has a lovely, rough-around-the-edges, soulful voice that sticks with you long after the song has ended.
When: 7:30 p.m. Sunday
Where: Jobing.com Arena is at 9400 W. Maryland Ave., off Loop 101.
Tickets: $44.40-$65 through Ticketmaster, 321-1000.
See review in Tuesday's Accent section.
