While trying to remain impartial and objective, there was
only ever going to be one act to open this review and be the lasting legacy of
Country to Country 2014. Even though expectation and anticipation was high, the
reality of the Dixie Chicks London return could not have been a starker reminder
of why they were, and still are, a highly respected country music act and
unilaterally responsible for the literary indulgence you are reading. For a
solitary hour on the Saturday evening of this 2 day festival, Natalie, Martie
and Emily enchanted a sold out arena with a spellbinding display that not only
gold-framed their talents for your memory bank but also defined the directional
path of their career. At 7.30 on Saturday 15th March the Dixie
Chicks were back. By 8.30 they were triumphant.
 |
| Martie Maguire |
For the second year running, only the Saturday of this 2 day
festival, which brings the cream of mainstream US country music to the UK, was
attended. However with all due respect to the four artists appearing on Sunday,
from a personal perspective they would have had a tough task surpassing the 4
hour pleasure of being in the presence of a certain Texan trio along with the
excellent Martina McBride, Dierks Bentley and Zac Brown Band. The first three
were right there at the outset of my country music journey, while it has been
an intriguing experience discovering why the latter could become a great contemporary
Americana rock band.
 |
| Martina McBride |
Martina McBride possesses one of the most powerful voices in
country music and has taken many a great song to the summit of genre
appreciation. ‘Independence Day’ is
one of the finest country songs ever written and we have been privileged here
in the UK to listening to many versions sung by its writer. There is little
doubt that Gretchen Peters herself would have had a little grin as Martina
closed the opening set of this festival with an absolutely stunning version of
the song. The day may have belonged to the Dixie Chicks but the champagne song moment
of the evening was the honour of Martina. For the remainder of her time on
stage, there was a leaning towards the years at the top of the country charts
with ‘A Broken Wing’, ‘Whatever You Say,
‘Love’s The Only House’, ‘Wild Angels’ and another Gretchen Peters song ‘My Baby Loves Me’, all featuring. While
there may be a few eyebrows raised to the subject content of her latest
project, a non-country covers album, Martina related the release to that of
TIMELESS in 2005 where she delved into the back catalogue of traditional
country. Regardless of any negative responses, and from this evening’s evidence
‘Suspicious Minds’ sounded pretty
good, Martina has earned the right to experiment at this point of her career.
Radio may not call anymore but the talent clearly remains.
 |
| Dierks Bentley |
Back in 2008, Dierks Bentley owned the stage of a tightly
packed Borderline in central London. Tonight he owned the cavernous O2 Arena
with a display that merged the very best of new country with an honesty and
integrity essential to keep the evolution of the genre on a sane track. Dierks
can rock it with the best as witnessed in ‘Sideways’
and ‘5-1-5-0’ but the constant
reference to banjo fiddle and steel saw the words backed up with actions on
tracks such as on ‘Up On The Ridge’.
The genuineness of his musical journey from Arizona to Nashville was perfectly
portrayed in ‘I Hold On’ from his
excellent new album RISER. Engaging humour is never far away from Dierks who certainly
had the audience in the palm of his hand for the hour-long set. For me, any
songs from LONG TRIP ALONE are welcome and when he selects ‘Free and Easy’ and ‘Every Mile A Memory’ total connection is made. The reaction Dierks
Bentley received here can only inspire him to not wait another six years to
play the UK again.
 |
| Emily Robison |
With regards to the date of a last UK appearance, it has
been eight years since the ‘return to the scene of the crime’ for the Dixie
Chicks. Of course their hiatus from band activity has been the contributing
factor but the years were rolled back as the ‘finest female trio in the history
of country music’ served a luscious helping from all four studio albums. ‘Earl’ continues to meet his fate, those
who so wish, are again invited to be whisked away by a ‘Cowboy’ and we can all rejoice in the freedom offered by the vision
of ‘Wide Open Spaces’. Perhaps the
most fervent moment of the ‘return of the Chicks’ is that Natalie is still as defiant
as ever which was passionately displayed in an emotional version of ‘Not Ready To Make Nice’.
However while Martie fired up the fiddle with the spirit of
the past and Emily made the banjo as relevant as it should always be, there was
still evidence as why it was inevitable that times would change for the Dixie
Chicks. The shadow of Rick Rubin loomed over ‘Lubbock or Leave It’ and it was interesting to note that Dylan’s ‘Mississippi’ hasn’t left their set list over
the years. Natalie was never going to be shackled by the country music industry
regardless of the ‘incident’, best exemplified in her excellent solo album of
last year, and her performance tonight in London highlighted why she is one of
the best female band leaders of any genre. The interesting inclusion of Miley
Cyrus’s ‘Wrecking Ball’ showed that a
desire to experiment is still present. While this magnificent hour was always
going to be defined by a dose of nostalgia, pondering the future of the Dixie
Chicks is as intriguing as it has ever been since that eventful day eleven
years ago.
After three stellar sets by country music artists, each with
at least a decade of UK appreciation, it was always going to be difficult for
headline act Zac Brown Band to follow. While they have been making inroads into
the UK via alternative routes to the country music scene i.e. Hyde Park and
Glastonbury gigs, there was significant evidence around the arena of their
brand of music being not always to the taste of many present. Despite a
growing gradual trickle of arena exits
during their hour and three quarter set, it has to be said that the Zac Brown
band are one hell of a live act who do call on many other styles to fashion
their sound. In fact, as earlier said, they have the potential to become one of
the world’s great Americana influenced rock acts over the next decade.
 |
| Zac Brown |
There are certainly roots and folk rock elements to the Zac
Brown Band and Jimmy De Martini is one of the finest fiddle players witnessed
live in this genre. There is also a high degree of Georgia-style southern-
tinged country music found within the band who you get the impression are never
going to dwell on a single sound that has in the past encompassed reggae,
Latino, regulation rock and some straight down the middle pop ballads. All were
on display this evening in tracks such as ‘Island
Song’, ‘Toes’, a cover of
Metallica’s ‘Enter Sandman’ and ‘Goodbye in Her Eyes’. There was
definitely more of a rock feel to their live set than what is found on the last
three albums which have proved very popular country releases. Their latest
project with Dave Grohl, which has produced four superb songs to date, has
given their sound a more profound edge. Three of the four tracks were aired tonight with 'Let it Rain’ being the
stand out song of the trio.
 |
| Natalie Maines |
Segments of the Zac Brown Band set may have tested a few
people but fortunately Zac keeps ‘Colder
Weather’, ‘Knee Deep’ and the highly popular ‘Chicken Fried’ up his sleeve to woo an audience and these
effortlessly brought the O2 back to life. By the time the band returned for the
encore, attired in skeleton suits and masks, to leave us with ‘Uncaged’ and the standard fiddle number
‘Devil
Went To Down To Georgia’, there seemed to be a more appreciative
feel to the arena.
So it was inevitable that the efforts of Martina McBride, Dierks
Bentley and Zac Brown were going to play second fiddle (excuse the pun) to the
Dixie Chicks in my eyes, but they demonstrated to being a supporting cast
second to none. All three have had their appreciation elevated to an even
higher level than before and it is a credit to the organisers that such as a
line up graced a UK venue. To sum this evening up, whether it’s as the Dixie
Chicks, Court Yard Hounds or Natalie Maines solo, there is a plea for this trio
to keep making music and maintain the UK market on their radar. Country to
Country 2014 was enriched by their presence.
All artist photographs courtesy of Hels Bels Photography
Check out more of Hels Bels photography here or follow on Twitter @helsbelsphoto
Check out more of Hels Bels photography here or follow on Twitter @helsbelsphoto
Dixie Chicks Set List – The Long Way Around: Truth No.2:
Landslide: Goodbye Earl: Sin Wagon: Cowboy Take Me Away: Wrecking Ball (Miley
Cyrus cover): Lubbock or Leave It: Ready To Run: Wide Open Spaces: Not Ready To
Make Nice: Mississippi (Bob Dylan cover)
Martina McBride Set List – Wild Angel: Whatever You Say:
Anyway: Concrete Angel: Suspicious Minds: Little Bit Of Rain: Love’s The Only
House: A Broken Wing: This One’s For The Girls: Independence Day
Dierks Bentley Set List – Am I The Only One: Free & Easy:
5-1-5-0: Every Mile A Memory: Lot Of Leavin’ Left To Do: Riser: Tip It On Back: Up
On The Ridge: Wish You Were Here (Pink Floyd cover): Settle For A Slowdown: I
Hold On: What Was I Thinkin’: Sideways: Home
Zac Brown Band Set List- Whiskey’s Gone: Keep Me In Mind:
Jump Right In: The Wind: As She’s Walking Away: Island Song: Free: Enter
Sandman (Metallica cover): All Alright: Who Knows: Knee Deep: Colder Weather:
Day For The Dead: Let It Rain: Goodbye In Her Eyes: Natural Disaster: Toes:
Chicken Fried – Encore – Uncaged: Devil Went Down To Georgia (Charlie Daniels
cover)