25 October 2023 – Brisbane Entertainment Centre – words by Charlotte Poynton – photo by Valerie Lee (supplied)
After a six year wait for The Chicks to return to our Aussie shores, they have brought their anticipated World Tour across the country with three shows in Meanjin, of which I got the pleasure of attending on the evening of Wednesday the 25th of October, ahead of their closing shows of the tour in New Zealand.
From the moment of entering the gates of the Brisbane Entertainment Centre, it became apparent that we had been transported far from our suburban lives and whisked into a world of cowboy hats and country music. The ability of a concert to take you to another world before it even begins is a magic that is very rare to find, but existed in abundance with The Chicks this evening.
The show opened with a traditional welcome to Yugambuh country as the diverse crowd ranging from ages 6 to 76 filtered through the doors and into their seats, anticipating the night ahead.
The official entertainment of the event began with opening act Elle King and her band, who set the scene as the perfect precursor to the night ahead of us. In between her toe-tapping tunes, she recounted her day of visiting Australia’s local wildlife and having “earnt my sunburn” at our Meanjin beaches. The audiences’ voices filled the stadium as she broke into chart-topping debut single ‘Ex’s and Oh’s’, and carried strong as she performed songs about her son Lucky, whom she brought on tour with her. Elle closed her set with ‘Drunk (And I Don’t Wanna Go Home)’ before professing her love for the city of Brisbane, and claiming it will be her first stop on her next trip down under.
And with the end of Elle King’s set came the part of the evening filled with the most excitement – the wait for The Chicks to grace the stage.
To preserve the audience high after that lively set, a masterfully curated music video playlist of powerful female-fronted hits from the 70’s to 90’s entertained the crowd. This worked successfully to prevent the loss of any excitement in the wait for the main event. The audience all ecstatically sang along to the video of the 4 Non Blondes hit ‘What’s Up?’, and that level of euphoric connection to the music stayed consistent and ever-present throughout the rest of the evening.
Suddenly, the music videos came to an abrupt glitching halt, as the audience was enveloped in darkness and a distorted video of career-highlight mashups welcomed The Chicks onto the stage. Lights shone upon Emily, Martie and Natalie individually, illuminating their silhouettes through a sheer curtain before they broke into the title track of their touring album, Gaslighter. The curtain dropped, encouraging the cheers of a crowd that could easily be confused with the cheers of teenagers at a Taylor Swift concert.
The band cycled through an evening of tracks from their latest 2020 release, as well as playing hits from their discography spanning over 25 years. After getting the crowd’s feet stomping through ‘Sin Wagon’, Natalie sarcastically criticised the audience for “looking tired” and for being their “first sit-down concert since “97”. This prompted a rippling effect of standing through the crowd, until there was not a single seated body in plain sight.
Natalie braced the audience for the worst with the warning of bad news, before announcing that The Chicks had whipped up a new song for the tour, and followed the crowds’ happy cheers with the further exciting news that it was a Miley Cyrus and Dolly Parton cover. She explained the cover by stating that “we like to celebrate pride month 365 days a year” before encouraging the audience to get involved with their rendition of ‘Rainbowland’ by singing along to the karaoke lyrics on screen. Touring guitar player and Natalie’s son, Slade, had a progressive pride flag hanging on the headstock of his guitar, which further amplified the voice of inclusivity and the welcoming nature of the band.
The Chicks then progressed into the protest song phase of the evening, playing through ‘March March’, ‘For Her’ and ‘Everybody Loves You’, all songs accompanied by compilation videos of those fighting for their rights. There is particular attention drawn to victims of racial discrimination, young women faced with abuse, and the perpetual fight for LGBTQ+ equality and rights. This section of the evening reminded audiences that even though all was safe and sound inside the doors of this concert, our society is still a cruel and unjust place, especially for those voices highlighted in the videos played. The prolonged social activism of The Chicks is a refreshing contrast to the fear of falling victim to cancel culture that we see in musicians frequently these days, though that is one battle that this band has triumphantly risen from the ashes of before.
To close off a night of wavering emotions, raging passion and awe-inducing performances, The Chicks performed two of their most iconic songs, ‘Not Ready To Make Nice’ and ‘Goodbye Earl’. A quick gaze around the venue saw a packed-out room of dancing bodies, cathartically singing along to the story of Mary-Anne and Wanda. At the conclusion of the song, the audience gave an extended standing ovation to the three extremely talented women, beaming as they soaked up the cheers of praise and screams of “I love you”.
This evening has only left us wanting more and more from The Chicks, and we can only hope that their next return to Australia is soon.
