Anybody at James Taylor/Dixie Chicks Friday 10-1?

[RamboLiberal]

What's your response to below.

I was at that concert(Pittsburgh - Friday) and he is full of BS - the crowd applauded the song - there wasn't whoopin' and hollerin' of course like there is for the more upbeat songs - but I thought that the applause was respectful to the dedication to the troops. I did write an email to the critic - as apparently did many others. I'll post his critique - then his reply to emailers. Oh and he also claims their career suffered a severe hit from their comment about *. I refuted that as well.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/04276/389346.stm

<snip>

The Chicks, whose career was severely damaged by their political statements, kept mostly mum on the Bush-bashing, leaving it to the laid-back adult-contemporary Taylor to turn the political dagger.

Even the crowd was a contradiction. Obviously there for the message instead of the music, they responded to slight political jibes with standing ovations instead of the customary titters. And when the Dixie Chicks dedicated their hit "Travelin' Soldiers" to "the troops," a sentiment that normally draws huge applause from their fans, barely got a response from this audience.

His email. If any DU'ers were at Pittsburgh concert - email him.

Hey readers,
Thanks for writing in about my review of the Dixie Chicks / James Taylor concert and MoveON PAC fundraiser. Since some of you asked the same questions, I'll try to answer them in a single reply. Sorry for the mass mailing.

On whether I was at the same concert as you:
Yes.

On mentioning Natalie Merchant's appearance:
Most performing artists spend a lot of time working on their stage appearance and overall image, but it's generally wise to keep unflattering comments about the way they look out of print. That's what I had planned to do until Natalie brought it up herself in her comment about performing so soon after having a child. I probably should have worded it as a response to her comment.

On not mentioning James Taylor's bald head:
If James's stage appearance had changed suddenly and dramatically since his last Pittsburgh concert, and if he intentionally drew attention to it on stage, I would have included it in the review.

On audience response to Natalie's dedicating "Travelin' Soldier" to "the troops":
It's a huge applause line when the Chicks say that before playing the song for their regular country crowds. The audience at Heinz Hall, most of whom were there to support a partisan agenda, responded quite differently to that introduction.

On the Dixie Chicks' drop in album sales and radio play:
The trade magazine Billboard has covered in detail the precipitous drop in sales of "Home" after Natalie's political remark last year in London. Even James Taylor mentioned at the concert how much the Chicks had "sacrificed" for expressing their political beliefs. As for radio, the group's absence from the airwaves has been well documented and extends beyond Clear Channel stations. Of the two country broadcasters in Pittsburgh, both have dropped the Chicks and neither is Clear Channel.

On having an anti-Chicks bias:
I wrote that the show was "one of the coolest concerts of the year" and praised in detail the artistic collaboration. I've rated the Chicks' most recent CDs, "Home" and "Top of the World Live," among the year's Top 10 Country CDs, and rated their previous Pittsburgh performance the year's best country concert. This show is on a short list of contenders for Top 10 Concerts of 2004.

For those of you who wrote to compliment my review:
Thanks. I needed that.

Those e-mails intended as letters to the editor have been forwarded to the appropriate person. Somebody may contact you about publishing parts of your note. If you asked that your letter not be published, it won't be.

And, by the way, Natalie agrees with some of you: At the following night's concert, she insulted me on stage for mentioning "baby weight."

Thanks again,
John

John Hayes
Post-Gazette Staff Writer
412-263-1991, [e-mail]

[UdoKier]

1. For one thing, the album sales rebounded.

Their sales peaked at 202,000 unita on Mar. 2, 2003 after they appeared on the Grammys, then plummeted naturally to 123,000 by Mar. 16 from market forces. After the controversy, the sales fell to a low of 33,000 by April 13. From that point on, however, the album sales not only recovered, they kept the album in the top ten for months afterwards, in spite of the fact that the album had been out for a year or so. Also, Their sold-out tour was one of the best-selling tourse of 2003. For every fan they lost, they gained one.

I wish I could find more stats on this, but I know ofr a fact that the sales were very good throughout the end of 2003.

[Mixxster]

2. ??????????

On mentioning Natalie Merchant's appearance:...



Were Ten Thousand Maniacs there, too? :eyes: He obviously means Natalie Maines.