Top of the World Tour

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Top of the World Tour
Front of tour T-shirt
Tour by Dixie Chicks
Start date March 10, 2003
End date October 12, 2003
Legs 3
Shows 70
Dixie Chicks tour chronology
Fly Tour
(2000)
Top of the World Tour
(2003)
Vote for Change
(2004)

The Top of the World Tour was the Dixie Chicks' 2003 worldwide concert tour. It was in support of their album Home, and named after the closing song on that album.

Contents

[edit] History

The tour began in March with three concerts in Europe and Australia aimed at promotion; it was during the first of these that Natalie Maines made her infamous remarks in criticism of President George W. Bush. The first leg then took place in North America, running from the beginning of May to mid-August. (The Bush controversy, as well as another comment against a Toby Keith song, resulted in the state of North Carolina not wanting to let the Chicks in. Natalie Maines stated, " These fans paid their hard earned money to see us play, and we will give them the show they paid to see!" The concert went through.) The second leg took place in Western Europe in September, followed by a brief third leg in Australia that finished in early October. A couple of concerts back in the United States finished the tour.

This tour grossed $60.5 million dollars, making it the highest grossing country music tour of all time (since superseded by several artists). It was also the 8th highest-grossing tour of any genre in 2003.

The live album Top of the World Tour: Live and DVD Top of the World Tour: Live document the tour, with both being composites from multiple shows. Dressing room and on-stage scenes from the tour were included in the 2006 documentary Dixie Chicks: Shut Up and Sing.

[edit] The show

The multi-tiered in-the-round stage was a feat of engineering complete with shifting hydraulic-lift levels, winding catwalks and walkways that extended over the heads of the audience. It weighed over 80,000 pounds and took up most of the arena floor. A crew of 120 traveled in thirteen busses and seventeen trucks. This tour also boasted the largest touring video show complete with 1.5 million LED lights that displayed graphics on video screens and on the floor of the stage. During the show, artificial flowers, grass, trees and even a windmill sprung up from underneath the stage. It took over 2000 amps of power and 240 pounds of CO2 gas to run the special effects for each show.

A prophetic message on the back of the tour T-shirt.
A prophetic message on the back of the tour T-shirt.

Pre-show recorded warm-up music was obviously oriented towards the band's political situation, including selections such as "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love and Understanding?", "Band on the Run", "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)", and "Born in the U.S.A.".

During the show the three Chicks were used headset microphones to remain untethered, and were frequently well apart from each other. Nevertheless stage patter was fairly frequent, with a notable case of Martie Maguire confessing that her rather unusual clothing assemblage made her look like "Crack whore Barbie".

A new addition to the group's repertoire was a long, churning rendition of Bob Dylan's travelphobic "Mississippi".

[edit] Backing band

There may have been minor changes to this lineup depending on the venue.

[edit] Tour Schedule

Date City, State Venue Notes
March 10, 2003 London, UK Shepherd's Bush Empire The concert at which Natalie Maines made the controversial statement "Just so you know, we're ashamed the President of the United States is from Texas."
March 19, 2003 Munich, Germany Georg Elser Halle
March 29, 2003 Sydney, Australia Enmore Theatre
May 1, 2003 Greenville, South Carolina Bi-Lo Center first American concert after controversy
May 3, 2003 Orlando, Florida TD Waterhouse Centre
May 4, 2003 Ft. Lauderdale, Florida Office Depot Center
May 5, 2003 Tampa, Florida St. Pete Times Forum
May 7, 2003 Knoxville, Tennessee Thompson-Boling Arena
May 8, 2003 Indianapolis, Indiana Conseco Fieldhouse
May 10, 2003 Kansas City, Missouri Kemper Arena
May 11, 2003 St. Louis, Missouri Savvis Center
May 13, 2003 Ames, Iowa Hilton Coliseum
May 14, 2003 Moline, Illinois The MARK of the Quad Cities
May 16, 2003 Birmingham, Alabama BJCC Arena
May 17, 2003 Greensboro, North Carolina Greensboro Coliseum
May 18, 2003 Louisville, Kentucky Freedom Hall
May 20, 2003 Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Ford Center
May 21, 2003 Austin, Texas Frank Erwin Center
May 29, 2003 Chicago, Illinois United Center
May 30, 2003 Chicago, Illinois United Center
June 1, 2003 Cleveland, Ohio Gund Arena Cancelled - Natalie Maines sick.
June 2, 2003 Detroit, Michigan The Palace of Auburn Hills
June 3, 2003 Detroit, Michigan The Palace of Auburn Hills
June 5, 2003 Milwaukee, Wisconsin Bradley Center
June 6, 2003 St. Paul, Minnesota Xcel Energy Center
June 7, 2003 St. Paul, Minnesota Xcel Energy Center
June 9, 2003 Cincinnati, Ohio US Bank Arena
June 10, 2003 Columbus, Ohio Nationwide Arena
June 11, 2003 Cleveland, Ohio Gund Arena
June 12, 2003 Toronto, Ontario Air Canada Center Postponed - SARS scare.
June 13, 2003 Buffalo, New York HSBC Arena
June 14, 2003 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Mellon Arena
June 16, 2003 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania First Union Center
June 17, 2003 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania First Union Center
June 19, 2003 Boston, Massachusetts Fleet Center
June 20, 2003 New York, New York Madison Square Garden
June 21, 2003 New York, New York Madison Square Garden
June 23, 2003 Uniondale, New York Nassau Coliseum
June 25, 2003 Washington, DC MCI Center
June 26, 2003 Washington, DC MCI Center
June 27, 2003 Albany, New York Pepsi Arena
July 6, 2003 Dallas, Texas American Airlines Center Natalie Maines received death threat saying she'd "be shot dead" at this concert.
July 8, 2003 Denver, Colorado Pepsi Center
July 9, 2003 Salt Lake City, Utah Delta Center
July 11, 2003 Vancouver, British Columbia GM Place
July 12, 2003 Seattle, Washington Key Arena
July 13, 2003 Portland, Oregon Rose Garden Arena
July 15, 2003 Oakland, California Oakland Arena
July 16, 2003 San Jose, California HP Pavilion
July 17, 2003 Sacramento, California Arco Arena
July 19, 2003 Los Angeles, California Staples Center
July 20, 2003 Anaheim, California Arrowhead Pond
July 21, 2003 Anaheim, California Arrowhead Pond
July 23, 2003 San Diego, California Cox Arena
July 25, 2003 Phoenix, Arizona America West Arena
July 26, 2003 Las Vegas, Nevada MGM Grand Garden
July 27, 2003 Las Vegas, Nevada MGM Grand Garden
July 29, 2003 San Antonio, Texas SBC Center
July 30, 2003 Houston, Texas Compaq Center
August 1, 2003 Little Rock, Arkansas Alltel Center
August 2, 2003 Memphis, Tennessee Pyramid Arena
August 3, 2003 Atlanta, Georgia Philips Arena
August 4, 2003 Nashville, Tennessee Gaylord Entertainment Center
August 6, 2003 Toronto, Ontario Air Canada Centre
August 7, 2003 Ottawa, Ontario Corel Centre
August 8, 2003 Hamilton, Ontario Copps Coliseum
August 12, 2003 Edmonton, Alberta Skyreach Centre
August 13, 2003 Calgary, Alberta Pengrowth Saddledome
September 6, 2003 Stockholm, Sweden Annexet
September 8, 2003 Hamburg, Germany CCH1
September 10, 2003 Birmingham, England NEC
September 11, 2003 Manchester, England Apollo
September 14, 2003 London, England Royal Albert Hall
September 15, 2003 London, England Royal Albert Hall
September 18, 2003 Dublin, Ireland The Point Theatre
September 19, 2003 Glasgow, Scotland SECC
September 21, 2003 Munich, Germany Olympiahalle
September 22, 2003 Frankfurt, Germany Jahrhunderthalle
September 28, 2003 Melbourne, Australia Rod Laver Arena
September 29, 2003 Melbourne, Australia Rod Laver Arena
October 1, 2003 Brisbane, Australia Entertainment Centre
October 2, 2003 Brisbane, Australia Entertainment Centre
October 4, 2003 Sydney, Australia Sydney Superdome
October 5, 2003 Sydney, Australia Sydney Entertainment Centre
October 10, 2003 Charlotte, North Carolina Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
October 12, 2003 Washington, DC MCI Center

[edit] Set List

In order played. There may have been minor changes to this order depending on the venue and the opening act.

An actual set list retrieved from the stage, from the June 20 concert at Madison Square Garden.
An actual set list retrieved from the stage, from the June 20 concert at Madison Square Garden.

[edit] US and Canadian Legs

  • Goodbye Earl
  • Some Days You Gotta Dance
  • There's Your Trouble
  • Long Time Gone
  • Tortured, Tangled Hearts
  • Travelin' Soldier
  • Am I The Only One (Who's Ever Felt This Way)
  • Hello Mr. Heartache
  • Cold Day In July
  • White Trash Wedding
  • Lil' Jack Slade
  • A Home
  • Truth No. 2
  • If I Fall You're Going Down With Me
  • Mississippi
  • Cowboy Take Me Away
  • Godspeed (Sweet Dreams)
  • Landslide
  • Ready To Run
  • Wide Open Spaces

Encore:

  • Top Of The World
  • Sin Wagon

[edit] European and Australian Legs

  • Goodbye Earl
  • Some Days You Gotta Dance
  • There's Your Trouble
  • Tortured, Tangled Hearts
  • Travelin' Soldier
  • Am I The Only One (Who's Ever Felt This Way)
  • Hello Mr. Heartache
  • White Trash Wedding
  • Little Jack Slade
  • More Love
  • Truth No. 2
  • If I Fall You're Going Down With Me
  • Mississippi
  • Cowboy Take Me Away
  • Godspeed (Sweet Dreams)
  • Landslide
  • Ready To Run
  • Wide Open Spaces
  • Give It Up Or Let Me Go

Encore:

  • Top Of The World
  • Sin Wagon

[edit] Opening Acts

Each artist accompanied the Dixie Chicks on a different leg of the tour.

[edit] References

Dixie Chicks
Natalie Maines | Emily Robison | Martie Maguire
Laura Lynch | Robin Lynn Macy
Discography
Studio albums: Thank Heavens for Dale Evans | Little Ol' Cowgirl | Shouldn't a Told You That | Wide Open Spaces | Fly | Home | Taking the Long Way
Live videos: An Evening with the Dixie Chicks | Top of the World Tour: Live
Documentary: Dixie Chicks: Shut Up and Sing
Tours: Fly Tour | Top of the World Tour | Vote for Change | Accidents & Accusations Tour