Chicks Storm The Castle

 

The Chicks at Cardiff   Photo©Nigel Summerley

I seem to be making a habit of attending great gigs in the grounds of ancient fortifications...

After seeing Dylan at the Alhambra [see previous blog], I found myself at Cardiff Castle for another sublime performance – this time by the Chicks.

Formerly the Dixie Chicks (but dropping the politically incorrect Dixie a while back), the Chicks are Texans with a twist: they opposed the Iraq war and they have pilloried the fakeness of Donald Trump. Their liberal and feminist standpoints didn't play well with some US country fans and radio stations, but they did cement the band's reputation for being unafraid of singing "protest" songs and handling the attendant controversies.

These three country women also rock and swing like the proverbial clappers – and their sweet vocal harmonies combined with razor-sharp songwriting are an irresistible combination.

They are the most acceptable face of so-called "new country", much of which is formulaic and anodyne. These women have immense talent – and they're not afraid to use it.

On A Night Like This...

 

On stage, Bob Dylan tends to be a man of few words – but then, why would the most creative and articulate lyricist of the 20th and 21st centuries need to say anything between his songs?

He made an exception the other night, however, when he played an extraordinary gig in the gardens of the Alhambra in Granada.

"Such a beautiful place to play... I wish it was like this every night," he said.

I think those of us privileged to be there in the audience had similar feelings. A Dylan concert is almost guaranteed to be memorable... but this one really was something else.

The Spanish ladies and gents were dressed in their finery, the gardens were warm and fragrant, and Dylan and his travelling band played great song after great song, beneath the darkening sky and amid the lovely trees and greenery of the Generalife.

Everything sure felt right... on a night like this...