By Geoff Boucher
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
May 2, 2003, 8:03 AM EDT
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Even as President Bush told the nation last night
that the major conflict in Iraq is over and it's time for rebuilding,
the beleaguered Dixie Chicks came to Greenville, S.C., hoping for a
similar message regarding their country music career.
Judging by the boisterous cheers, warmth and standing ovations that
greeted them here at the first stop of their national tour, they may
have that renewal. The reception here at the 14,000-seat BI-LO Center
was in sharp contrast to the vitriol directed at the group after lead
singer Natalie Maines criticized Bush on the eve of the war. On March
10, Maines was on a London stage when she told the crowd she was
"embarrassed" that Bush was a fellow Texan.
That offhand remark touched off a firestorm. In the following weeks
there were anti-Chicks rallies, endless talk show screeds, and bans on
Chicks songs at some country radio stations. The Chicks, who have sold
more albums than any female group in music history, saw their newest
release, "Home," plunge on the charts.
That context made the kick-off show here in conservative South
Carolina a dicey proposition. There was talk that fans would boo, not
show or stir up trouble. Instead, it was a landslide of fan love,
especially for Maines, who wore a black tank top emblazoned with "Dare
to be Free." It was clear the audience was ready to reach out to the
trio of Maines, Martie Maguire and Emily Robison: Before they even
arrived onstage, the audience was doing "the wave."
. . . .
Maines has apologized for the wording of her comment, but the issue
continues to roil here in Greenville, where the tour kickoff was
scheduled and sold out weeks before the London incident. The city is
home to conservative Bob Jones University and falls in line with this
state's stalwart support of Republicans. The state House of
Representatives even passed a resolution demanding the musicians
perform for troops as a gesture of apology.
. . .
In the music industry, there is no consensus on the group's future,
although the strong showing in such a conservative setting may bode
well for the band. Sales of their album also rose 30% last week after
the two nationally visible interviews. Country radio, meanwhile, is
listening to market research and tour coverage to see when -- or if --
the group can return as a force on the airwaves. In country music,
there has been mostly silence on the Chicks matter, but there is a
clear sense that the genre is at ideological odds with the group.
On the Billboard charts for the genre, there are six songs this week
with patriotic or anti-Iraq imagery, led by the No. 1 song, Darryl
Worley's "Have You Forgotten," which warns U.S. enemies of smart
bombs. In concert, Toby Keith has been getting cheers when his
overhead screens flash fabricated photos of a beaming Maines in an
embrace with Saddam Hussein.
The Chicks themselves also had some fun with pointed messages: Before
they took the stage, the Greenville arena sound system played songs
such as "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" by Tears for Fears, "Our
Lips are Sealed" by the Go-Go's and "Band on the Run" by Wings.
Copyright © 2003, The Los Angeles Times