Genres Mix ‘n’ Match in ‘Women Rock!’

The Dixie Chicks’ Natalie Maines teaming up with Mary J. Blige on a scorching rendition of an old Etta James hit ... Maines leading the entire cast in a wistful treatment of the Eagles’ “Take It to the Limit”

If you’ve guessed that the Dixie Chicks were the MVPs of the second annual “Women Rock! Girls & Guitars” concert Thursday at the Wiltern Theatre, you’re on the right track.

Maines, Emily Robinson and Martie Seidel have enough talent and personality to take over virtually any stage they share, as they demonstrated during 1999’s Lilith Fair stop at the Rose Bowl. And from Maines’ vocals to the violin and guitar contributions of her partners, the Chicks seemed part of almost every key scene Thursday.

But they had some solid support from Blige and the rest of the cast: Sheryl Crow, Emmylou Harris, Pat Benatar, Beth Nielsen Chapman, Nelly Furtado and Shea Seger.

In a season of benefit extravaganzas in arenas and stadiums, this show--taped before an invited audience for a Lifetime cable network special--felt intimate and almost unassuming, and that was quite all right for a change.

The taping ran nearly four hours, and at least half the audience had left by the end, probably figuring they could always catch the rest on TV.

The concert is part of Lifetime’s beast cancer awareness campaign, but any event these days also has a secondary backdrop: the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

In brief remarks before the taping, show producer Ken Ehrlich urged the audience to think of the evening as a celebration and not to feel guilty about having a good time.

The crowd had no trouble whooping it up. They sang along with veteran rocker Benatar’s opening “Heartbreaker” and gave her and some other cast members (including the Chicks, of course) a standing ovation at the end.

But it was Blige, whose blending of hip-hop and soul was one of the most influential musical steps of the ‘90s, who jump-started the night with a gutsy, foot-stomping version of “No More Drama,” the title track of her current album.

Though the song is a vow to avoid unhealthy relationships, Blige transformed the recurring line “no more pain, no more pain” into a liberating battle cry--or a prayer--to be free of all suffering, from breast cancer to terrorism.

She then teamed with Maines for the show’s most captivating moment: “At Last,” a sweeping romantic celebration that was a hit for James in 1961. The singers connected beautifully on this soulful link between country and R&B.;

Elsewhere, the music was most interesting when the artists teamed in a mix ‘n’ match fashion to give us pairings we wouldn’t see on their regular tours.

Crow and Harris clicked on “Juanita,” a country-tinged Gram Parsons-Chris Hillman song that appeared on the first Flying Burrito Brothers album. Crow and the Chicks also scored on Crow’s “It Don’t Hurt.”

In one of the most evocative moments, Nashville-based singer-songwriter Chapman, a breast-cancer survivor, led several cast members on a rendition of the uplifting “There’s a Light.”

There were some lesser moments in the show that will give you time to take care of some household chores during the two-hour telecast. But the highlights should keep you tuned in.

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“Women Rock! Girls & Guitars” airs at 9 p.m. Friday on the Lifetime cable network.