Stratham County Fair (NH) 1998

Date: July 25, 1998 (original airdate) Source: Video->cd-r Quality: A- Tracks : 15 Total duration : 70 minutes

Comments
Fresh on the heels of a #1 album and several music awards, the Chicks early county fair tour began to take on a life of its own-- with audiences beginning to pack these small town venues. The Stratham County Fair is as good example as any-- record numbers jammed this tiny little town to catch the Chicks before they started in major arenas (note the incredible contrast between this show and the Birmingham bootleg from only a month prior to this performance).

This show is notable for being their first appearance in New Hampshire and fresh after a tour of Canada (Natalie makes more than one joke about Canada and how happy she is to be home- indicating, perhaps, a less than receptive Northern tour). The audience at this venue, sponsored by WOKQ, is more than enthusiastic however. On the video you'll find a surprising number of cowboy hats in the audience for this 'Yankee' performance yelping, swaying their arms, and singing along (catch a particularly enthusiastic version of I Can Love You Better).

Fans of Martie will be especialy interested in this video/cd- although she remains the ever-quiet side figure of the Chicks, during this incredible set, she has far more 'solos' than ever and seems to be having a great time joking and clowning around here more than ever. Instead, it's Emily who sinks into the background for the duration of the show.

The video is shot from a tri-pod, raised above the audience. Very steady and crisp, its only failing is that some of the girls' faces appear white-washed from the lights. But make no mistake, THERE IS NO BETTER BOOTLEG CONCERT VIDEO AVAILABLE FOR THE CHICKS. The banter here is relaxed and more natural with lots of joking around on stage and with the audience and, best of all, the Chicks perform what appears to be an original song that never made it to any of their previous albums!