 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Sunday, March 25, 2007
On Saturday a little piece of Vegas glamour (about 5ft) came to Sheffield in the shape of the rhinestone goddess Dolly Parton. From the opening bars of Hello Dolly when she ascended the gold and sparkly staircase like Kylie's godmother it was a fantastic show. The first half was dominated by her bluegrass back catalogue and she let Jolene out of the bag staggeringly early - third in the set. There was an audible intake of breath when the familiar opening bars of Jolene started up so early. Dolly interspersed all of her songs with the personable patter we've all come to expect - "thanks for buying your tickets this evening, I need the money, it takes a lot to look this cheap etc" If you watch the clip from about 30 years ago (below) much of the patter is the same but I doubt I would have been alone in being disappointed if she hadn't talked the talk.
One of the oddest things about the show was the lack of close ups on the big screens. The backing singers and the 10 piece band were shown in close up glory but Dolly always remained in a wide shot and she was forever a shiny, tiny outline. Some online rumors have suggested that this was to cover up the fact that she was miming, and if she was I don't really want to know, but the largely acopella version of Little Sparrow proved the strength of her voice. I suspect it was good old vanity and an over enthusiasm for the surgeons knife that kept the close ups away.
For the second half Dolly changed into a yellow pant suit, like Kill Bill does Country and rattled through all the favourites and the mixed crowd of Dolly lookalikes, older lesbians, Yorkshire cowboys and everyone in between lapped it up. I loved it all and bought my obligatory tour t shirt for the gym. Not sure whether wearing Dolly Parton in pink glitter emblazoned across my breasts is a great look for passing incognito in spinning class, but hey Dolly had sparkles on everything.Labels: country, dolly parton, music, stetson
posted by Jeanie Sunday, March 25, 2007
Comments:
Post a Comment
