I saw Dolly Parton last night and don't know how I will ever recover.
She was amazing! She is one of the best performers I have ever seen (possibly tied with Del McCoury, another "senior citizen" and Tennessean)! Her stage presence is unmatched by anyone-- from her sequins all the way down to her gorgeous gams. She came out for the first set in a sexy little blue sparkly number. She then went on to play a different instrument for every song-- from the banjo to the piano, from the tin whistle to the dulcimer (the dulcimer!). Her second set was all Dolly all over the place! She played the favorites like "9 to 5" and "Islands in a Stream". My favorite was "Do I Ever Cross Your Mind?" You see, this was Part Three of our wedding anniversary celebration (Part 1: Dinner + Batman, Part 2: Long Walk + Dessert, Part 3: Dolly Parton, oh my!) That song is on love tape Stephen made for me years ago and it felt so good to sing along so loud with my boy and to watch her enjoy herself so much. She sang that song a cappella with the male members of her band and told stories of singing "back home" with all her brothers.
I was certainly excited to see her show but had NO IDEA what we were in for. She played for 2.5 hours (with one break for a fabulous wardrobe change). She must be over 60 years old and she ROCKED the house! She told wonderful stories in between each song, including some of my favorites: "My mama always had one in her or one on her." "I looked at that purty lady in town and said, 'Mama, when I grow up I want to be trash just like her.'"-- with allusions to my favorite: "It costs a lot of money to look this cheap." Not only can she sing like an angel, play a zillion instruments but she writes AMAZING songs!
On a more serious note, it made me think twice about how hard I resist L's love for all things sparkly and trashy. She is three and I need to lighten up a bit. If Dolly Parton is my idol and inspiration (check out inspiring new single with Amy Sedaris, my other idol, in the video), then I can trust that my little girl will be alright if she paints her fingernails red once in a while.
Finally, the show made me all mushy for my boy. Aside from the two 6-foot drag queens in the front row (who might have been prettier than Dolly herself), I don't know if there was another man there who enjoyed himself more than Stephen. He was the first to stand up in our section for the rowdy parts and knew all the words to most of the songs. I can count on a new Dolly CD most years from him and equally important, he is just as likely as me to put it in the CD player. I love my little Dolly Man and can't wait to until the day we pack the kids and the mini-van and head to Dollywood for a little slice of Appalachian Heaven.
PS-- I have decided that I still might be able to give in to a Barbie doll for L but would happily purchase a "Dolly Doll" for her. Let me know if you ever come across such an amazing creation.
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