Yup, so slightly embarrassingly I’m posting about Dolly Parton again. Some people who know me will be fine with this, and some won’t, but really, who cares!
Just the other day I went with a couple of friends to the SECC in Glasgow to see Dolly live. Now, I must admit that I don’t have much experience with concerts of the live variety but happen to be quite critical of some when I see them on TV afterwards. I don’t know whether this is a bad thing or not, you can make up your own mind about that.
Now, back to Dolly… My overall verdict on this concert was that it was fantastic, she really puts on a show and for a little lady she has a huge stage presence. The crowd were totally hyped for her to come on and some even cheered as her little blonde backing singer came on stage, thinking that it was the lady herself. OOOoooh the suspense!!
However, the show started with the amazing Two doors down which is always a crowd favourite. I must say that I was a little disappointed in the response of the audience, with most sitting down for the entire show. Needless to see, my companions and I were dressed up in our country gear, and some looking very dolly-ish, and we were not for allowing this to be a sitting concert. Afterall, doesn’t country music like Dolly’s just make you want to dance?
The set list for the first half looked like this: 
There may be some I’ve missed out of there, so if you’re aware of any I forgot then let me know and I’ll add them on. My personal favourites from the first half were definitely the autobiographic track Backwoods Barbie and then the Gospel Medley which was immense and I totally didn’t expect it. It also reminded me that there are people out there who just refuse to be ashamed of their faith and I think that’s great! The flow of songs in the whole evening was great, with Dolly bridging from song to song with stories from her life. Sometimes in a crowd of 10000 I felt like we were just sitting in her livingroom and she was telling me all about herself. Random eh? But great!
After the intermission, Dolly came storming back onto stage in a similar but similarly stunning outfit (white with possibly rhinestones on there, but hey if you know me you’ll know I don’t have a clue - they were shiny!). She kicked off with Baby I’m Burning and I’d heard this song but had no idea Dolly sang it. The second half was even more amazing than the first half if that was even possible! She stormed through some of her classics and through some of her very first songs which were simply great! Again the whole thing was laced with jokes and story-telling which added to the evening and character of the woman. I must say that overall I was still disappointed with the crowd’s reaction, but Little Sparrow was where things began to change. Through the song the entire audience was stunned and silenced by her powerful vocals, and then she stuck up chords to her next song and the audience were energised.
Here’s a more comprehensive list of the songs she played in the second half. Again, I think I might have got some wrong but I’m sure someone will tell me if I got mixed up!
The last three songs of the main set were amazing, Islands in the Stream sung with her backing vocalist who was great, 9 to 5 having everyone on their feet and some (Er, Us of course!) dancing and singing, and then and energy filled version of the hit I will always love you. The crowd were wild for her, understandably and I was truly amazing at how this little woman could play a crowd so well with her vocals and amazing songs.
However, my favourite favourite bit of the evening was the Jesus and Gravity encore. I thought it was so so great, and its by far my favourite song on her newest cd (Backwoods Barbie 2008). My friend and I were totally waiting for this one and I’d almost given up that she was going to sing it! She sang it so beautifully and it was even more powerful than on the cd if that’s even possible! I think it’s an awesome description of the woman’s faith and allegiance that even in a concert where people would expect her to encore with 9 to 5 or something more well known that she actually chose to encore with Jesus and Gravity because her faith is important to her. In addition, I felt that because she left stage before the song was finished and the backing singers kept singing the words Jesus, Lifting me up, Holding me down, Keeping my feet on the Ground it just emphasised the thing she’d said more than once in various ways during the concert, that she needed to remain humble. I think the whole encore was actually a great testimony to her faith and humilty as a woman of God. I know there are people out there who disagree with this and would just say it was showmanship, but I’m not sure - I’d love to hear those arguments though. Go for it!
Anyways, I am so pleased I got to see her, and I’m so glad the whole thing fulfilled my expectations and more. I would definitely go and see her next time she is back in Glasgow, and I would happily recommend anyone else to see her live. I will leave you with what I filmed of the encore. Be sure to leave me a comment here or over on Youtube about the video or your take on the Dolly in Glasgow experience!
July 6, 2008 at 12:55 pm
Nothing wrong with a bit of Dolly.
July 15, 2008 at 12:51 pm
Well, well, well.. I’ll never understand how one can spend any money on Dolly Parton’s concerts but it’s a free country…. I guess.
Anyway, the good news is that you didn’t feel like you wasted your money on it.
As you kindly invited us to give arguments, what has Jesus gotta do with anything related to a secular concert? Again, it’s not because someone pronounces the word “Jesus” that he/she is a disciple. In my humble opinion, that’s exactly what’s going to happen in the last days, people will “think” they love Jesus but they will in fact serve their own purpose, nothing divine here.
On the other hand, I’m NOT saying “she’s not saved”, how could I know except by talking to her face to face… and even then…
But let’s be carefull…
The only good news is that, now that the concert is done, we hopefully won’t hear you talking about her all the time anymore… lol
take care