Dixie Chicks threw a wildly energetic party at Western Fair last night.

Led by the raucous pipes of lead vocalist Natalie Maines, she and musician-sisters Martie Seidel and Emily Erwin belted out high-voltage tunes in the crowded Canada Building.

The venue wasn't the best to showcase the subtle side of the three-part harmonies of this Texas trio who are burning up the country charts.

ATTITUDE

But the show was driven as much by sass and attitude as anything else.

They looked like Carmen Miranda headgear in their workout-style tank tops and brightly colored pants or sarong.

Maines kept pumping her arms like a drummer.

But that doesn't mean the musicianship wasn't there.

The Chicks are ferocious instrumentalists with Erwin on banjo and guitar, Seidel on fiddle and Maines with a bright red guitar.

VIGOROUS TUNES

They played through several vigorous tunes from Wide Open Spaces, their debut CD on a major label: an insistent I Can Love You Better Than That, the grooving There's Your Trouble, Give It Up or Let Me Go and the confident title tune.

They also brought in other material including what they call their signature tune, Hey Dixie, which they updated from its old ballad style.

TOP OF CHARTS

Maines profusely thanked Canadians for taking the group to number one in the charts on this side of the border before they hit that spot in the United States.

Maines' assertion Tammy Wynette was "the coolest chick" rang hollow and as did the Chicks' version of her signature tune Stand By Your Man.

But it was the start of a short segment of traditional music which also featured Erwin and Seidel in an instrumental duet.

Texans? Oh yeah. Maines got it going with five "y'alls" in her first greeting to the crowd.

Londoner Greg Hanna, who was the opening act, is a graduate of Fanshawe's music industry arts program and a past winner of BX 93's Country Roads singing competition.

COUNTRY ROCK

A handsome man, he played well to the women in the audience.

As a singer in country's rock side, he performed some of his own material, including Ain't No Justice, as well as a selection of tunes from country greats such as George Jones and Merle Haggard.

He did everything but stand on his head to get this audience in the party mood.