The Dixie Chicks rock!

I was at the Dixie Chicks concert last night at Scotiabank Place, and it gets two Big Bro thumbs up! Those Chicks can rock!

The Accidents and Accusations Tour has added Canadian dates to replace American venues that are hostile to the Chicks, because of their stand on George Bush and the war in Iraq. Radio stations in the States won't play their songs and even organize Dixie Chicks CD burning events. Natalie Maines mentioned last night that they just learned yesterday that NBC won't air the commercial for the documentary Shut Up & Sing, about the Chicks and the redneck backlash against them that includes death threats. She mentioned how strange that is, considering that her husband (Adrian Pasdar) acts in an NBC series (Heroes).

Question to Americans in general and Bush-ites in particular: Whatever happened to The Land of the Free? You preach democracy and say it's essentially what the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are all about, but a little high-profile dissent evokes such insanity? I'm glad I'm Canadian, and glad the Chicks at least have the democratic freedom to come here.

I also want to congratulate the thousands of fellow Canadians who gave a standing ovation to "Not Ready To Make Nice", the Chicks' song that in a veiled way says "Kiss my ass, George Bush and the rest of you rednecks".

And I'm sure there have been no death threats over Maines's discussion of going to Australia and mentioning that the U.S. has Bush, but the Ozzies have Mel Gibson, leading into notable Canadians such as William Shatner and Pamela Anderson, dedicating "White Trash Wedding" to Pam and Kid Rock.

Yes, the Chicks have the right attitude about all the brouhaha, and the concert ticket and CD sales record that thumbs its nose at the backlash. You go, girls/Chicks.

One more concert note to the two women in front of us. We were second row from the boards at Scotiabank Place, right on the back corner to the left of the stage as you face it. From the first note of the Chicks' two-hour set, those two stood and swayed. The woman sitting next to me couldn't sway them to sit down, so that she and her husband could see the concert. Ushers told the woman that they couldn't allow the swayers to go down on to the floor, because they didn't have floor tickets. Instead, they found other seats for the woman and her husband. So to the Sway Sisters, I say next time, get floor tickets, or keep your scrawny asses in your seats. The rest of us paid for tickets, too.

Alright. I have vented and feel much better now, except for this stupid cold I picked up, just before a very busy weekend. Hockey in Kingston late this afternoon, then a Halloween party, and more hockey tomorrow in Maxville.

Have a good weekend, fellow Bloglodytes.