The 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 Shepherd's 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."Democracy Now! (2007). "Shut Up And Sing: Dixie Chicks' Big Grammy Win Caps Comeback From Backlash Over Anti-War Stance" Democracy Now! (accessed 24 Feb 2007) The backdrop to this statement was the large protests in Britain against the impending war."Thousands more take stand against conflict in demonstrations throughout Britain" The Guardian, 10 March 2003. Access date 15 May 2010.

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The tour grossed $60.5 million, making it the highest grossing country music tour up until that time (since superseded by several artists).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 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.".

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".

In the opening U.S. show, Natalie offered fans 15 seconds to boo, in reference of the controversy surrounding the tour. However, after a count of three, there was thunderous applause instead.

Opening acts Joan Osborne (North America, Spring 2003) Start-Philadelphia Michelle Branch (North America, Summer 2003) Jann Arden (Canada, August 2003) The Thorns (Europe, Australia)

Set list

The following songs were performed during the concert at Madison Square Garden in New York City. It does not represent all songs performed on tour. "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"

Tour dates DateCityCountryVenueTickets Sold / Available RevenueNorth AmericaMay 1, 2003GreenvilleUnited StatesBI-LO Center14,811 / 14,811$855,146May 3, 2003OrlandoTD Waterhouse Centre15,726 / 15,726$872,525May 4, 2003SunriseOffice Depot Center15,470 / 17,924$927,560May 5, 2003TampaSt. Pete Times Forum15,535 / 17,969$953,993May 7, 2003KnoxvilleThompson–Boling Arena18,521 / 18,521$1,084,740May 8, 2003IndianapolisConseco Fieldhouse15,878 / 15,878$927,085May 10, 2003Kansas CityKemper Arena17,890 / 17,973$1,047,310May 11, 2003St. LouisSavvis Center18,029 / 18,449$1,072,595May 13, 2003AmesHilton Coliseum13,845 / 13,845$805,680May 14, 2003MolineThe MARK of the Quad Cities10,476 / 10,476$611,310May 16, 2003BirminghamBJCC Arenarowspan="2" rowspan="2" May 17, 2003GreensboroGreensboro ColiseumMay 18, 2003LouisvilleFreedom Hall16,894 / 16,894$996,970May 20, 2003Oklahoma CityFord Center16,992 / 16,992$1,001,425May 21, 2003AustinFrank Erwin Center14,769 / 14,769$828,925May 29, 2003ChicagoUnited Center36,500 / 36,500$2,213,900May 30, 2003June 2, 2003Auburn HillsThe Palace of Auburn Hills35,389 / 35,389$2,110,958June 3, 2003June 5, 2003MilwaukeeBradley Center17,364 / 17,364$1,032,690June 6, 2003Saint PaulXcel Energy Center39,636 / 39,636$2,152,655June 7, 2003June 9, 2003CincinnatiU.S. Bank Arena15,546 / 16,800$950,300June 10, 2003ColumbusNationwide Arena17,498 / 17,498$1,026,200June 11, 2003ClevelandGund Arena16,252 / 19,769$968,265June 13, 2003BuffaloHSBC Arena18,102 / 18,102$1,054,685June 14, 2003PittsburghMellon Arena16,276 / 16,276$871,090June 16, 2003PhiladelphiaFirst Union Center36,058 / 36,058$2,431,384June 17, 2003June 19, 2003BostonFleetCenter16,850 / 16,850$1,111,390June 20, 2003New York CityMadison Square Gardenrowspan="3" rowspan="3" June 21, 2003June 23, 2003UniondaleNassau Veterans Memorial ColiseumJune 25, 2003Washington, D.C.MCI Center34,155 / 34,155$2,063,455June 26, 2003June 27, 2003AlbanyPepsi Arena14,691 / 14,691$884,635July 6, 2003DallasAmerican Airlines Center16,704 / 16,704$1,011,720July 8, 2003DenverPepsi Center16,034 / 16,034$964,820July 9, 2003Salt Lake CityDelta Center15,435 / 15,435$929,425July 11, 2003VancouverCanadaGeneral Motors Place17,429 / 17,429$1,060,338July 12, 2003SeattleUnited StatesKeyArena13,484 / 13,484$787,220July 13, 2003PortlandRose Garden Arena17,857 / 17,857$1,071,345July 15, 2003OaklandThe Arena in Oakland17,072 / 17,072$1,047,651July 16, 2003San JoseHP Pavilion16,977 / 16,977$999,300July 17, 2003SacramentoARCO Arena15,006 / 15,006$862,535July 19, 2003Los AngelesStaples Center15,609 / 15,609$889,285July 20, 2003AnaheimArrowhead Pond29,985 / 29,985$1,866,945July 21, 2003July 23, 2003San DiegoCox Arena at Aztec Bowl11,168 / 11,168$723,021July 25, 2003PhoenixAmerica West Arena15,984 / 15,984$965,950July 26, 2003Las VegasMGM Grand Garden Arena22,098 / 22,098$1,845,845July 27, 2003July 29, 2003San AntonioSBC Center14,965 / 14,965$857,275July 30, 2003HoustonCompaq Center14,700 / 14,700$884,964August 1, 2003North Little RockAlltel Arena16,790 / 16,790$998,500August 2, 2003MemphisPyramid Arena18,745 / 18,745$1,112,664August 3, 2003AtlantaPhilips Arena17,101 / 17,101$1,001,135August 4, 2003NashvilleGaylord Entertainment Center15,696 / 15,696$921,730August 6, 2003TorontoCanadaAir Canada Centre17,470 / 17,470$1,031,779August 7, 2003OttawaCorel Centrerowspan="2" rowspan="2" August 8, 2003HamiltonCopps ColiseumAugust 12, 2003EdmontonSkyreach Centre12,590 / 12,590$732,590August 13, 2003CalgaryPengrowth Saddledome13,442 / 13,442$850,800EuropeSeptember 6, 2003StockholmSwedenAnnexetrowspan="4" rowspan="4" September 8, 2003HamburgGermanyCCH Hall 1September 10, 2003BirminghamEnglandNEC ArenaSeptember 11, 2003ManchesterCarling Apollo ManchesterSeptember 14, 2003LondonRoyal Albert Hall7,022 / 7,216$323,270September 15, 2003September 18, 2003DublinIrelandPoint Theatrerowspan="4" rowspan="4" September 19, 2003GlasgowScotlandScottish Exhibition and Conference CentreSeptember 21, 2003MunichGermanyOlympiahalleSeptember 22, 2003FrankfurtJahrhunderthalleAustraliaSeptember 28, 2003MelbourneAustraliaRod Laver Arenarowspan="6" rowspan="6" September 29, 2003October 1, 2003BrisbaneBrisbane Entertainment CentreOctober 2, 2003October 4, 2003SydneySydney Super DomeOctober 5, 2003Sydney Entertainment CentreNorth AmericaOctober 10, 2003CharlotteUnited StatesVerizon Wireless Amphitheatrecolspan="2" October 12, 2003Washington, D.C.MCI Center11,102 / 12,200$896,827 Festivals and other miscellaneous performances Recording Artists Coalition Benefit

Cancellations and rescheduled shows June 2, 2003Cleveland, OhioGund ArenaRescheduled to June 11, 2003June 12, 2003Toronto, CanadaAir Canada CentreRescheduled to August 6, 2003

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 Timothy S. Wright - Bass, Upright, Keyboards, Pedal Steel & Dobro Tech

External links [www.dixiechicks.com Dixie Chicks Official Website] Tour Info

References