They say things are always bigger in Texas. Seeing The Chicks in concert for the first time, I finally understand what this saying means. Big vocals, a solid backing band, and the most energetic big crowd, who were ready to be entertained nonstop for the next two hours.
It was a perfect sunny Sunday afternoon to venture up the highway for another afternoon installment of A Day on the Green at Sirromet Winery Mt Cotton. As I entered the venue it soon became apparent that I missed the memo on the non-official dress code. Fans young and old were dressed in cowboy hats, boots, denim, and checkered flannel shirts. I saw a lady old enough to be my grandma dressed in the most amazing denim outfit with knee-high white leather cowboy boots, walking with what I presumed were her two granddaughters, who were kitted out in pink cowboy hats and oversized The Chicks tour shirts.
It has been a long wait for fans as we have not seen The Chicks visit our shores since 2017. In that time Martie Maguire, Natalie Maines, and Emily Strayer, have certainly been busy creating new music to add to their ongoing catalogue. Kickstarting the show with their song 'Gaslighter' lead singer Natalie asserted her presence and energised the crowd from the moment she walked onstage. The diverse crowd immediately got up from their chairs to what was going to be the beginning of a couple of hours of singing and dancing. Joining Natalie on one side was Emily with banjo, lap steel, mandolin, and fiddle, and on the other side was Martie who made the fiddle and mandolin the coolest of all instruments. On top of all this, Brisbane was blessed to have an equally talented six-piece backing band.
Dressed in a black shirt and jeans, the simple costumes didn’t detract at all from the show in any way. When you have great music there is no need for theatrics. After performing 'Gaslighter', 'Sin Wagon', 'Texas Man' and 'Julianna Calm Down' Natalie paused to address the crowd. “Well hello, Mt Cotton! You all look fantastic and I love what you are wearing. We encourage standing, dancing, and singing, and if the person behind you tells you to sit down ignore them. We are going to do our best to entertain you tonight”
Not that the crowd needed prompting, but those who were still in their chairs used that encouragement to dance in the aisles or wherever they could find space. It was at that point in the night when a stranger placed a pink cowboy hat on my head and started to boot-scoot and dance around me. The Chicks continued on with the show performing many other hits spanning their 3-decade career such as 'Ready To Run', 'Wide Open Spaces' and 'Long Time Gone'.
After a quick stage exit, the full band returned to take centre stage side by side for their acoustic set. Taking their seats, lead singer Natalie Maines jokingly introduced Jimmy Paxton (drummer) as the son she had when she was zero. She said it had been a long time since their inception in the 90s before turning and introducing us to her real son Slade, who was accompanying the group as a backing guitarist. It was clear it was a proud mother moment sharing the stage with her son.
After a brief interaction with the audience, the crowd was treated to a favourite 'Landslide', which had everyone on their feet once more. This was followed by the Dolly Pardon and Miley Cyrus cover of 'Rainbowland'. The lyrics were placed up on the backing screen with a unicorn bouncing over them like a karaoke ball, encouraging the audience to sing along. While the mood of the night was mostly of a sing-along and dance-party nature, there were times throughout the concert when it was clear the need to politicize a message or two when the song 'March March' was performed. The audience was visually shown the reality of gun violence and how many people have been affected by this in both the USA and Australia. The band displayed some statistics I was unaware of even in our country, where gun deaths unfortunately still exist. While this was a somber part of the evening, it showed the importance music can play when discussing such sensitive or political messages. This song was followed by 'For Her' and 'Everybody Loves You' which have important political messages within themselves.
While this part of the show was important the band regrouped and left the audience with an energetic final encore. 'White Trash Wedding', 'Not Ready to Make Nice', and 'Goodbye Earl' rounded off what was an incredible night of Texan country music. Pulsating with vigor and energy the 2-hour set left me wanting just a little bit more. I initially missed the dress code, but I left the venue feeling a little bit more country-like as I was gifted a pink hat by some random older country lady as I exited. A great night certainly had by all and worth the six-year wait for The Chick's fans old and newer alike.
