usic Review
Strong, Independent and Taking Their Own Advice


This was a concert that felt like a homecoming, which is odd, since the group is called the Dixie Chicks and the lead singer is from Lubbock, Tex., and the place was Madison Square Garden. But then, New York is always eager to adopt homeless out-of-towners, especially — which is to say, only — if those homeless out-of-towners happen to be rich and famous.

The Dixie Chicks have been homeless, in a sense, since 2003, when Natalie Maines, their lead singer and lead troublemaker, told a London audience she was “ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas.” What followed was a strange and riveting spectacle: a feud between the Dixie Chicks and, it sometimes seemed, the entire Nashville establishment. (A word of advice to young country stars looking to remain country stars: Criticize the President if you must, but by all means leave Texas out of it.) The recent Dixie Chicks album, “Taking the Long Way” (Open Wide/Columbia/Sony BMG), has been marketed with hardly any help from country radio. As a result, one of the top-selling female groups of all time has to content itself with moving merely a million and a half (so far) copies of its new CD.

Which is still plenty. And during Tuesday’s concert, which drew a monumentally enthusiastic crowd, the controversy made it easier to hear old hits in new ways. Songs like “Wide Open Spaces” and “Ready to Run,” about women leaving home and striking out on their own, sounded more than ever like mission statements. “Long Time Gone,” with its criticism of country radio, all but predicted the current estrangement. Even the famous “Goodbye Earl,” about two women killing off an abusive husband, well, no doubt these three wouldn’t mind a little revenge.

If the controversy echoes across the old songs, it positively dominates many of the new ones. You could hear it in “Everybody Knows,” which achieved a gorgeous soft glow. “You say I’ll pay the price/That’s the chance I’ll take,” Ms. Maines sang. Her bandmates, Martie Maguire and Emily Robison, locked into a harmony, and a pedal steel guitar commiserated. And “Not Ready to Make Nice,” the new album’s defiant lead single, earned an extraordinary ovation that only ended when the group started playing the next song.

But sometimes this overwhelming context was less welcome. The exuberant “White Trash Wedding,” which pokes fun at a ringless groom and a pregnant bride, sounded more mean-spirited than ever: it almost seemed as if the Dixie Chicks were sneering at the world they left behind.

And when Ms. Maines mentioned Mel Gibson, there was a loud roar because listeners knew something was coming. “You know how it is when you’re drunk,” she said, offering sarcastic sympathy for the actor, who is trying to live down his anti-Semitic rant. Then, noting that Mr. Gibson has reportedly entered rehab, she said, “All of our controversy would have been over if I had checked myself into rehab and said I was drunk and didn’t know what I was saying.” Another thunderous ovation.

There is something familiar, and quite discouraging, about this split. The liberal singers versus the conservative Catholic actor; New York versus Nashville; Kerry voters versus Bush voters; blue versus red. If there’s no room in country music for the Dixie Chicks, and no room in the Dixie Chicks’ music for country’s core audience, then each side loses something.

But you can hardly blame the Dixie Chicks for following the advice in their own songs and setting off on their own. Tuesday night offered a glimpse of a brilliant and stubborn pop group trying to figure out what’s next. And two of the best moments were quiet ballads from the new album, “Easy Silence” and “Lullaby,” in which the three murmured, “How long do you wanna be loved?/Is forever enough?/’Cause I’m never ever givin’ you up.” This is a song for a baby, but it was possible to imagine that the three were addressing their fans instead. If you’re going to split town, it helps to bring a few million friends along with you.