Dolly Parton at Mohegan - Baby Was Burning

[Rickypt]

Found a review online. From "The Republican", I think from Springfield, MA.

http://www.masslive.com/living/repub...840.xml&coll=1

Parton's performance a treat
Saturday, November 18, 2006
By KEVIN O'HARE
Music writer

UNCASVILLE, Conn. - For someone who's as famous as she is, Dolly Parton has a bit of a reclusive side.

Well, at least when it comes to appearances in New England.

The 60-year-old queen of country doesn't tour all that often and when she does she rarely makes her way to the Northeast. That's just one of the reasons why her performance at the Mohegan Sun Arena on Thursday was such a treat.

The Mohegan Sun is the only place within 90 minutes of Springfield where Parton has appeared in recent years, and even her occasional concerts at the mega-gaming and entertainment complex have been few and far between.

But she was in great spirits on Thursday while leading an eight-piece band and three backing vocalists through a tightly constructed, Vegas-styled, 90-minute show, before an estimated crowd of more than 5,000 fans.

Her multi-octave voice was absolutely amazing, as was the breadth of the material she delivered. Parton's 20-song set mixed everything from the vintage bluegrass fare she grew up with in the Tennessee Mountains, to pure country, pop hits, shades of gospel and even Celtic echoes.

Something for everyone, and the hits came early with the blonde dynamo in the tight white sparkling outfit overcoming some early sound system problems to deliver a strong take of "Two Doors Down," before reaching back to one of her earliest breakthrough tracks, "Jolene."

Parton was the subject of a superb tribute album ("Just Because I'm a Woman") in 2003 and while playing piano, she turned in a spellbinding take of "The Grass Is Blue," noting that Norah Jones had covered the song on the aforementioned disc.

While known best for her singing and acting, Parton is a gifted songwriter and multi-talented instrumentalist. In addition to piano and guitar, she played numerous other instruments on stage, including fiddle, autoharp, banjo, harmonica and dulcimer on Thursday.

Early evening highlights included "God's Coloring Book," the stark, mostly a cappella "Little Sparrow," "My Tennessee Mountain Home," and her loving ode to her late mother, "Coat of Many Colors."

Parton offered a few quips about her upbringing, noting that she was one of 12 children in the house.

It seemed like "Mama had one in her and one on her all the time," the singer said with a laugh.

There were a couple of hokey parts to the concert, such as an Elvis impersonator who also did a good Kenny Rogers' impersonation while performing duets with Parton on "Love is Strange," and "Islands in the Stream."

The night built to an impressive finish with Parton's stellar renditions of "Here You Come Again," a cover of Tommy James' "Crimson and Clover," Kris Kristofferson's "Me and Bobbie McGee," the hand-clapping crowd-fave "9 to 5," and of course, Parton's signature song, "I Will Always Love You."

She returned to encore with the percussive, Celtic-tinged "Traveling Through."