She opened with Walking On Sunshine, which was not the only country karaoke session carried out during the night, as she also took on The Beatles’ Help Me, Collective Soul’s Shine and Zeppelin’s Stairway To Heaven, which she admitted to butchering the moment it was concluded. The first half was a warm up, with an acapella performance of Precious Memories, and a touching version of Coat Of Many Colours, her own personal favourite. She shared touching tales of growing up poor in Tennessee, creating an intimacy I’m sure never before experienced inside the Rod Laver Arena.
A brief intermission saw the diverse crowd rush out the door only to come back inside with frozen martinis in light up cocktail glasses. Parton returned to the stage in a show of a white suit to steer the crowd onto their feet for the party-orientated second half. Entering actress mode, at one point she performed a rap song about Queen Latifah and her own tits. That actually happened.
The string of gospel songs that came midway through the second half would probably have had southern USA religious types speaking in tongues, but didn’t arouse the same type of excitement for this particular audience. A brief hiccup with her microphone battery dying saw the lights killed, Parton rushed off stage and a moment of hushed confusion followed by her backing band declaring, “We’ll entertain you for a minute,” before striking up a rendition of Love The One You’re With, then American Pie. People got up and danced, hands were swaying and clapping. We were in the Rod Laver Arena watching Dolly Parton’s backing band perform the yesteryear hits of others. It was all a bit too real. Songs from her new album were sentimental almost to the point of silliness with the projection behind her, possibly created on Powerpoint, with ‘people of the world’ holding hands and singing in front of Egyptian pyramids.
The highlights were the mega-hits. Jolene was played early on, igniting the entire evening, while 9 to 5 had the entire crowd on their feet five seconds in, finishing in holy and rapturous applause backed by a standing ovation. I Will Always Love You was the flawlessly performed encore.
Again, the Rod Laver Arena is not an island. This is not about the isolated performance she gave on the night, which was spectacular in its own right. It was about her. Behind the shine and shimmy, she was extremely real and likable. Not once did I doubt her sincere appreciation of her fans, and the inherent goodness of her intentions within her weird world of celebrity and stadium shows. It was the small things, like how she finished each upbeat song with a giggle, how each instrument she “played” was coated in glitter, and how her backing band almost faded away in all black before a sly shimmer betrayed their sequined vests and collar. It is about her as a philanthropist, performer and personality. Dolly Parton is a brand. She’s a business. She is a special blend of performance, personality and somehow, sincerity. It is beyond a voice and beyond a back catalogue of songs. She is bedazzled, and bold, and an exaggerated version of a pretty exceptional person. She’s Dolly goddamn’ Parton, and she is divine. She plays again this Thursday December 1. Go.
LOVED: Dolly Parton.
HATED: Refraining from posting a bunch of Facebook updates and being that girl.
DRANK: Nope, not here.
