Dolly on BIGSTEREO

Dolly

25 August 2005 :: posted by Travis

Dolly Parton
Cumberland County Civic Center
Portland, Maine
25 August 2005

I’m not a fan of big arena shows. In fact, if a band I like is playing any venue over 1,000 people I usually skip the show. If I’m not in the first ten rows then what is the point? There are a few performers that are an exception to this rule. Dolly Parton of course being one of them. When I heard she was coming to town, I jumped on tickets and landed eight row floor seats. I didn’t even have to pull strings.

Dolly. What is the draw? Growing up in Texas there was no one bigger than Dolly (insert stupid breast joke here). Seriously. She was right up there with Jesus and Davy Crockett. Dolly is the perfect woman by Texas standards… the whole package: tits and ass, wonderful songbird, big hair, and always smiling. She is what woman wanted to be and what men wanted to have.

Once I moved away from Texas, I started to notice other things about Dolly that I learned to love.

The woman is prolific. Dolly has written more songs than anyone else. And more good songs than anyone else. Her lyrics and music are so well written. They’re so tight. There is a reason everybody from Whitney Houston to The White Stripes to Olvia Newton-John have covered her.

Dolly

My battery died after the first photo. And it’s kinda crappy. She was wearing a white beaded dress that the spotlights were bouncing off of. So at my distance it would’ve been hard to get a decent photo anyway.

Dolly sang all of her top hits… “9 to 5″, “Jolene”, “Hello God”, “Coat Of Many Colors”, etc, etc. Plus she did a bunch of covers that are on her new album.The show stopper though was her cover of John Lennon’s “Imagine.” I’m about to sound like a total fag, but it brought me to tears. She prefaced the song saying she isn’t political and she’s not going to comment on the War. But. God. Regardless on your politics.. this song can just move you. I’m not a Beatles or Lennon fan (I know, I know), but there is such an undeniable truth in his words. I’m not religous either, but seriously God was talking through Lennon when he wrote that song. Ok. I’ll stop being such a fag now.

I’ve been to a billion shows over the years. But I have never been to a show that seemed so together and professional. I guess that’s 45 years in the business. At times it seemed a little too rehearsed - I counted 5 teleprompters, but regardless it was an excellent show.

That all said, I bring you one of the strangest Dolly covers of all time:

~~Listen: Olivia Newton-John - "Jolene" (mp3)~~

Not quite The White Stripes… right?