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, making it the highest grossing country music tour up until that time. It was also the 8th highest-grossing tour of any genre in 2003. The live album' and DVD' 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 .
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 " Peace, Love and Understanding?", "Band on the Run", "Thank You ", and "Born in the U.S.A.". , 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". 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 Start-Philadelphia
Michelle Branch
Jann Arden
The Thorns
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.
