Top of the World Tour

Top of the World Tour
Front of tour T-shirt
Tour by Dixie Chicks
Associated album	Home
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)

Top of the World Tour was the 2003 concert tour by American country music trio Dixie Chicks. It was in support of their album Home, and named after the song "Top of the World" on that album.

History

The tour began with three promotional concerts in Europe and Australia. During the first of these on March 10, 2003, at Shepherds Bush Empire in London, Natalie Maines made her controversial remarks criticizing President George W. Bush a few days before the start of the Iraq War: "Just so you know, we’re on the good side with y’all. We do not want this war, this violence, and we’re ashamed that the President of the United States is from Texas." The backdrop to this statement was the large protests in Britain against the impending war.

The first leg of the tour then took place in North America, running from the beginning of May to mid-August. (The Bush controversy and a comment against a Toby Keith song resulted in the state of South Carolina not wanting to let the band 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 on.) 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.

The tour grossed $60.5 million dollars, making it the highest grossing country music tour up until that time (since superseded by several artists).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 — both are composed of performances from multiple shows. Dressing room and on-stage scenes from the tour, as well as the effect of Maines' controversial statement on the venture, were included in the 2006 documentary Dixie Chicks: Shut Up and Sing.

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 show included the largest touring video show, with 1.5 million LED lights displaying graphics on video screens and on the floor of the stage. During the show, artificial flowers, grass, trees and 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.

Recorded pre-show music included "(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.".

The Dixie Chicks front and center: Madison Square Garden, June 20, 2003.

During the show the three singers used headset microphones 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".

Backing band

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

• Roscoe Beck - bass
• John Deaderick - keyboards
• John Gardner - drums
• David Grissom - acoustic guitar, electric guitar
• John Mock - pennywhistle, concertina, percussion, guitar and more.
• Brent Truitt - mandolin
• Robbie Turner - steel guitar
• Keith Sewell - acoustic guitar

Tour Schedule

Date	City, State	Venue
March 10, 2003	London, England	Shepherd's Bush Empire
March 19, 2003	Munich, Germany	Georg-Elser-Hallen
March 29, 2003	Sydney, Australia	Enmore Theatre
May 1, 2003	Greenville	Bi-Lo Center
May 3, 2003	Orlando	TD Waterhouse Centre
May 4, 2003	Ft. Lauderdale	Office Depot Center
May 5, 2003	Tampa	St. Pete Times Forum
May 7, 2003	Knoxville	Thompson-Boling Arena
May 8, 2003	Indianapolis	Conseco Fieldhouse
May 10, 2003	Kansas City	Kemper Arena
May 11, 2003	St. Louis	Savvis Center
May 13, 2003	Ames	Hilton Coliseum
May 14, 2003	Moline	The MARK of the Quad Cities
May 16, 2003	Birmingham	BJCC Arena
May 17, 2003	Greensboro	Greensboro Coliseum
May 18, 2003	Louisville	Freedom Hall
May 20, 2003	Oklahoma City	Ford Center
May 21, 2003	Austin	Frank Erwin Center
May 29, 2003	Chicago	United Center
May 30, 2003	Chicago	United Center
June 1, 2003	Cleveland	Gund Arena
June 2, 2003	Detroit	The Palace of Auburn Hills
June 3, 2003	Detroit	The Palace of Auburn Hills
June 5, 2003	Milwaukee	Bradley Center
June 6, 2003	St. Paul	Xcel Energy Center
June 7, 2003	St. Paul	Xcel Energy Center
June 9, 2003	Cincinnati	US Bank Arena
June 10, 2003	Columbus, Ohio	Nationwide Arena
June 11, 2003	Cleveland	Gund Arena
June 12, 2003	Toronto	Air Canada Centre
June 13, 2003	Buffalo	HSBC Arena
June 14, 2003	Pittsburgh	Mellon Arena
June 16, 2003	Philadelphia	First Union Center
June 17, 2003	Philadelphia	First Union Center
June 19, 2003	Boston	Fleet Center
June 20, 2003	New York City	Madison Square Garden
June 21, 2003	New York City	Madison Square Garden
June 23, 2003	Uniondale	Nassau Coliseum
June 25, 2003	Washington, DC	MCI Center
June 26, 2003	Washington, DC	MCI Center
June 27, 2003	Albany	Pepsi Arena
July 6, 2003	Dallas	American Airlines Center
July 8, 2003	Denver	Pepsi Center
July 9, 2003	Salt Lake City	Delta Center
July 11, 2003	Vancouver	GM Place
July 12, 2003	Seattle	Key Arena
July 13, 2003	Portland	Rose Garden Arena
July 15, 2003	Oakland	Oakland Arena
July 16, 2003	San Jose	HP Pavilion at San Jose
July 17, 2003	Sacramento	Arco Arena
July 19, 2003	Los Angeles	Staples Center
July 20, 2003	Anaheim	Arrowhead Pond
July 21, 2003	Anaheim	Arrowhead Pond
July 23, 2003	San Diego	Cox Arena
July 25, 2003	Phoenix	America West Arena
July 26, 2003	Las Vegas	MGM Grand Garden
July 27, 2003	Las Vegas	MGM Grand Garden
July 29, 2003	San Antonio	SBC Center
July 30, 2003	Houston	Compaq Center
August 1, 2003	Little Rock	Alltel Center
August 2, 2003	Memphis	Pyramid Arena
August 3, 2003	Atlanta	Philips Arena
August 4, 2003	Nashville	Gaylord Entertainment Center
August 6, 2003	Toronto	Air Canada Centre
August 7, 2003	Ottawa	Corel Centre
August 8, 2003	Hamilton	Copps Coliseum
August 12, 2003	Edmonton	Skyreach Centre
August 13, 2003	Calgary	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	Manchester 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	Entertainment Centre
October 10, 2003	Charlotte	Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
October 12, 2003	Washington, DC	MCI Center

^ a 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."
^ b First American concert after controversy.
^ c Cancelled - Natalie Maines sick.
^ d Postponed - SARS scare.
^ e Natalie Maines received death threat saying she'd "be shot dead" at this concert.

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.

US and Canadian Legs

1. Goodbye Earl
2. Some Days You Gotta Dance
3. There's Your Trouble
4. Long Time Gone
5. Tortured, Tangled Hearts
6. Travelin' Soldier
7. Am I The Only One (Who's Ever Felt This Way)
8. Hello Mr. Heartache
9. Cold Day in July
10. White Trash Wedding
11. Lil' Jack Slade
12. A Home
13. Truth No. 2
14. If I Fall You're Going Down With Me
15. Mississippi
16. Cowboy Take Me Away
17. Godspeed (Sweet Dreams)
18. Landslide
19. Ready To Run
20. Wide Open Spaces

Encore:

1. Top of the World
2. Sin Wagon

European and Australian Legs

1. Goodbye Earl
2. Some Days You Gotta Dance
3. There's Your Trouble
4. Tortured, Tangled Hearts
5. Travelin' Soldier
6. Am I The Only One (Who's Ever Felt This Way)
7. Hello Mr. Heartache
8. White Trash Wedding
9. Lil' Jack Slade
10. More Love
11. Truth No. 2
12. If I Fall You're Going Down With Me
13. Mississippi
14. Cowboy Take Me Away
15. Godspeed (Sweet Dreams)
16. Landslide (Sheryl Crow remix)
17. Ready To Run
18. Wide Open Spaces
19. Give It Up Or Let Me Go

Encore:

1. Top of the World
2. Sin Wagon

Opening Acts

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

• Joan Osborne - First half of US leg - May 1, 2003 to June 16, 2003
• Michelle Branch - Second half of US leg - June 19, 2003 to August 4, 2003
• Jann Arden - Canadian leg - August 6, 2003 to August 13, 2003
• The Thorns - European and Australian leg - September 6, 2003 to October 5, 2003

References

• Dixie Chicks Henhouse