CALGARY - The Dixie Chicks don't just fly, they rocket.

When this Texas trio made their entrance through the fly of a huge pair of jeans, the Saddledome exploded like it hadn't in a long time.

Even super country veterans Brooks & Dunn -- who were here earlier this year -- did not get as feverish a reception as The Dixie Chicks did last night. They kept the momentum rockin' with Ready to Run, the first single from their latest CD Fly, and There's Your Trouble, from Wide Open Spaces.

A railing around the front base of the stage allowed those in the front row (many of whom were moved from the back minutes before the show started) to hang out and dance at the feet of the Chicks.

This set the party mood for the night.

While Natalie Maines, Martie Seidel and Emily Robison are all gorgeous, they're even more talented.

Maines' energy is only outshone by her fantastically original voice. Seidel plays a mean fiddle, and you can throw just about any instrument at the now-brunette Robison.

Talent aside, these chicks are also trend-setters in the fashion world. Last night, they seemed to go for a shiny look. Natalie wore a blue metallic dress with black patent boots and pigtails, Martie sported tight purple rubber-like pants and a tank top, and Emily wore bright-red boots, a platinum knee-length skirt and black sequinned top.

"We only have one rule and that is there are no rules, so stand up and sing as much as you want to," Maines said before starting a great version of Hello Mr. Heartache.

Unfortunately, opening act Patty Griffin was a disappointment.

Though she is talented, she lacks stage presence and charisma. She delivered her loud, bass-heavy and raunchy music with apparent apathy.

About the only time she spoke was to tell the near-soldout crowd her name, and she rarely moved, other than to pull up the straps of her tank-top.

Sadly, her boredom was contagious. Much of the crowd fidgeted, talked and wandered in and out through her 40-minute set.