The Rebecca Caudill books will need to wait another week because I'm finding How Dolly Parton Saved My Life at Anderson's tomorrow! A little light reading after so much Dominican work!

Product Description
Dolly Parton once said," If you don't like the road you're walking, start paving another one." In the bustling city of Atlanta, four very different ladies take her advice to heart and open a catering business that will cater to them—successful, independent women who put their families first.

But flouting the traditions and expectations of Southern society turns out to be more complicated than they ever anticipated. Even as the pressure of running a business bonds them together, the realities of managing real life threaten to tear the whole thing apart. As financial woes, personal hurts, and family troubles test the strength of their business and their friendship, they discover that sisterly support and lots of heartfelt prayer just might be the only way to survive.

Full of sass, grit, and good old-fashioned faith, How Dolly Parton Saved My Life is a hilarious and poignant look at friendship with a distinctly Southern flair.

 Well, it's offical.  9 to 5 is coming to Broadway starting in April 2009! 

Will we see it?  Most likely not.  Why are we reporting on it?  Because Dolly's figure is still banging and set off feelings a normal 5 year old boy should not feel back in the day.

 Thank heaven I was never normal.-Dr.FB

I'm thinking it's her eyelashes.

State Farm, line 1

The most patently problematic question is the final one. The concert promptly initiates at 20:00 (sharp).There are 2 halves to the show, each lasts approximately an hour with a 15 minute intermission (although surprisingly no costume/ rhinestone change). What seems like 20-30 minutes of the show is consumed by Dolly's autobiographical use of self as a stand up comedian. Dolly is not here just to sing, she is here to make us laugh with self revelation... and also to furnish her songs with context and background. Painful is too mild a description for most of this superfluous material. It is lamentable how much singing time is lost irretrievably to the spoken word. Perhaps this is due to her being a unique 'mass market' proposition. She obviously can do what she wants and how she wants. Whilst evidently enjoying this crowd interaction it did remove the lustre from an otherwise sparkling performance.

If Massive Attack have been through several radical career metamorphoses that leave certain songs feeling like stranded geographically isolated evolutionary ex-aptions,then in comparison, whole portions of tonights performance sit together like an impossibly immiscable concoction.

There are the sacharine 80s confections otherwise known as 'Islands in the Stream' and 9 to 5. Joining these in terms of 'joyful fluff' is the unfathomably analysis proof 'Here you come again.' This triumvirate is unleashed just as the concert begins to wind up. It is insightful how at this juncture the whole concert changes direction. These are the camp cheese disco moments. People with enough years to know better stand (its a miracle), sway and (a word not used lightly) bop along to the music. Seeing the whole O2 Arena energised and enthralled by such material is like witnessing the brief opening of a window into another dimension:"Namely Dolly's Disco Edam Heaven." Then ,just as suddenly, the door is closed and the wormhole secured as 'I will always love you' engulfs the arena in vocano powered (but unmistakeably heartfelt) schmaltz. The encore is barely milked for a tenth of its potential applause... She is back hardly before the audience have recovered from the hyperspace lag of their musical odyssey. Finally a new gospel style song ends the show and then she is gone. When she sings time is a precious and warm commodity during the stand up routine seconds expand into decades.

I will not dwell on the long digressions that Dolly takes into 'living autobiography.' Although it is interesting that from our position it is possible to see her 2 autocue screens. During all the songs (even the ones you think she would have fused into her cerebral synapses) the autocue is active. Yet during her monologues there is (beyond a word or 2 perhaps as a prompt) she seems to be using the power of recall... Thus we overload on Smoky mountain backwoods history, regarding her mother, her 11 siblings, her father and also her 'reading charity.' Even though some of her newer (Shania Twain-esque - or is that like calling Paul McCartneys recent work reminiscent of Oasis) songs can be anodyne and trying (e.g. Shinola which compares a former lover to shoe shine... No you can't make that up) they are infinitely preferable to the bland self aggrandising. Backwoods Barbie itself is a reasonable song and her cover of "She Drives Me Crazy" manages to keep the catchy core of the song in tact whilst gently escorting the material country-wards.

There is, underneath the gleaming, sparkly façade much gloom and poignancy to be found. 9 to 5 could easily be a Smiths song. Upbeat catchy music, lyrical cynicism and world wearyness (Heaven knows I'm not liking the day job now). Shatter my image and Sparrow are hauntingly beautiful downbeat wonders. Coat of Many Colours is a classic exercise in re-framing poverty as a positive springboard for ingenuity. The Grass is Blue and the Sky is Green is delivered forcefully with Dolly at the piano proving there is much more veneer than the rhinestone façade hints.

It is easy to be distracted by the cheese, by the rhinestones, by the needless chat-a-thon cul-de-sac. At the bottom of everything there is still a truly great artist here.

Vision: (8/10): Scattershot, overly styalised but ultimately peerless

Ability to Exceute: (9/10) When singing, (4/10) when reminiscing

Crowd symbiosis: (9/10): She is overwhelmingly supported. Pink stetsons are perhaps over abundant but enthusiasm and energetic support is demonstrated throughout.

Would see again (7/10) If she changed the anecdotes to be non-existant then that would be a 9/10

Dolly in flattering white light

Great view (splodgy photographic representation)

- Portishead in working-on-new-album shocker
- Juana Molina to release her fifth album in October
- Polaris Music Prize shortlisted nominees announced
- All-star tribute to Judy Collins out in August
- Leonard Cohen's touring partner Sharon Robinson to release debut album
- Ladyfest Manchester 2008 fundraising compilation goes on sale
- Joanna Newsom and Feist immortalised in a children's activity book

* * * 

Perhaps buoyed by the astonishingly positive reception afforded to their comeback album, Third, Portishead have reportedly begun working on a follow-up. Speaking to BBC 6Music, guitarist Adrian Utley said the band were already "getting a bit of a plan together," adding that the limited touring behind Third was so that the band could focus on other projects and spend more time with their young families. His bandmate Geoff Barrow had already expressed a desire to write some new tunes in a blog posting in May; Beth Gibbons, as ever, has maintained a dignified silence on the matter.

* * *

Our favourite Argentinian Juana Molina has announced details of her upcoming fifth album, Un Dia, due for release on October 6th through Domino Recordings. The album is said to forego the meandering field recordings of the brilliant Son for more rhythmic fare. Fans should get a taste of the new material when Molina heads over to the UK for the Electric Picnic festival in Ireland on August 30th and a special show at the Regents Park Open Air Theatre in London on August 31st.

Un Dia
01 Un Dia
02 Vive Solo
03 Lo Dejamos
04 Los Hongos de Marosa
05 Quien (Suite)
06 El Vestido
07 No Llama
08 Dar (Que Dificil)

* * *

Basia Bulat, Stars, Kathleen Edwards and Black Mountain are among the ten Canadian acts shortlisted for the third annual Polaris Music Prize, the equivalent of our Mercury. The winner of the $20,000 prize money will be announced on September 29th. Caribou, Holy Fuck, Plants & Animals, Shad, Two Hours Traffic and The Weakerthans make up the rest of the numbers.

* * *

Dolly Parton, Joan Baez, Chrissie Hynde, Shawn Colvin, Dar Williams, Amy Speace and The Webb Sisters and are among the 15 artists contributing to a new tribute to folk legend Judy Collins. Inspired by a casual compliment from Chrissie Hynde in which she revealed that Collins's ‘My Father' was among her top ten favourite songs, independent label Wildflower Records set about crafting the all-star tribute due out August 5th in the US. Leonard Cohen, an old friend of Collins, also makes an appearance, reciting the lyrics of her early song ‘Since You've Asked'. The full list of contributors looks a bit like this:

Born To The Breed: A Tribute To Judy Collins
01 Joan Baez - Since You've Asked
02 Jim Lauderdale - Easy Times
03 Dolly Parton - Fisherman Song
04 Chrissie Hynde - My Father
05 Shawn Colvin - Secret Gardens
06 Kenny White - Song For Martin
07 Amy Speace - Born To the Breed
08 Rufus Wainwright - Albatross
09 The Webb Sisters - Fortune Of Soldiers
10 Jimmy Webb - Fallow Way
11 Bernadette Peters - Trust Your Heart
12 Dar Williams - Holly Ann (The Weaver Song)
13 Ali Eskandarian - Song For Sarajevo
14 James Mudriczki (Puressence) - Che
15 Leonard Cohen - Since You've Asked (reprise/dialogue)

* * *

Speaking of Leonard Cohen, his longtime musical partner Sharon Robinson is set to release her debut solo album, Everybody Knows, once she finishes touring with the venerable Mr Cohen at the end of November. Well, it may be sooner, we haven't quite been able to figure that out. As it happens the album is already available in the US, having been released at the beginning of June, but this isn't the US so this is still news, right?

Anyway, three of the songs were co-written with Leonard, including the title track (from his classic 1971 album I'm Your Man), ‘Summertime' (later recorded by both Diana Ross and Roberta Flack) and ‘Alexandra Leaving' from Robinson and Cohen's collaborative album Ten New Songs. Also included is Sharon's version of ‘The High Road', covered by Bettye Lavette on her brilliant album I've Got My Own Hell To Raise.

Everybody Knows
01 Invisible Tattoo
02 Party For The Lonely
03 Everybody Knows
04 The Train
05 Secondhand
06 Forever In A Kiss
07 The High Road
08 Sustenance
09 Alexandra Leaving
10 Summertime

* * *

Bearsuit, Vile Vile Creatures, Penny Broadhurst and The Bobby McGees are among the acts featured on a new compilation released through Cherryade Music to raise funds for Ladyfest Manchester 2008. The three-day festival takes place at the Zion Arts Centre in Hulme at the beginning of November. Find out more here.

The tracklist in full:
01 Bearsuit - Chargr
02 Das Wanderlust - It'll Never Be Yours
03 Shrag - New Favourites
04 The Bobby McGees - Bumhead
05 Town Bike - Trouble Fuckin Rocks
06 The Lovely Eggs - I'm In Your Scene
07 Amy Pennington - Dirty L'il Secret
08 Blockshot - GPS
09 Penny Broadhurst - Team Leader [MinuteToWinIt edit]
10 Hotpants Romance - We Used To Meet
11 Kids Love Lies - Hex
12 Vile Vile Creatures - Break Like Bones
13 Violent Vickie - Knock You Out
14 The Seven Inches - Cashback
15 STeLLa PaCe - Luv Yr Self
16 Pianofingers - The Bone Palace

Available now at the Cherryade online shop for a mere £5.

* * *

A design student from Huddersfield University has come up with a novel colouring/activity book based on images from the songs of some of our favourite indie rock stars, including Feist and the inimitable Joanna Newsom. Andy J Miller created the book as a potential fundraising idea for the HIV/AIDS charity (Red). At the moment these little beauties are prototypes only, i.e. you can't buy one, sorry. Pitchfork have some great scans though, if you want to take a closer look.

* * *
Alan Pedder 

Keppel Road - The Bee Gees

[22:40] Leben und Musik der Bee Gees
 Dokumentarfilm, USA 1997, BR,
Synchronfassung
Regie: Tony Cash

Über vier Jahrzehnte sind die Bee Gees im Geschäft. Neben den Beatles und den Rolling Stones gehören sie wohl zu den erfolgreichsten Gruppen der Popszene.
Bild: Sendeanstalt/Copyright: BR / © RM Arts/Irish Screen Entertainment/The South Bank Show/LWTP/Bravo/BR

1977 erschien eines der erfolgreichsten Alben der Musikgeschichte: Saturday Night Fever. Es stellte nicht nur die Musikwelt auf den Kopf, es veränderte weit mehr: Mode, Lebensgefühl, Tanz und Partykultur. Die Dokumentation zeigt die Karriere der Bee Gees, von ihrer Kindheit in Manchester, über ihre Anfänge als Musiker bis zu den Jahren, in denen sie zu Weltstars wurden - von der Flauteperiode bis zu den Triumphen der 90er. ARTE zeigt diese Sendung innerhalb des Themenschwerpunkts Summer of the 70s.

Über vier Jahrzehnte sind die Bee Gees im Geschäft. Neben den Beatles und den Rolling Stones gehören sie wohl zu den erfolgreichsten Gruppen der Popszene. Zwischendurch erlebten sie eine längere Popularitätsflaute und waren dann in den 90ern begehrt wie zu ihren Glanzzeiten. Tony Cash porträtiert den biografischen und musikalischen Werdegang der Brüder, deren Songs das Lebensgefühl ihrer Entstehungszeit ausdrückten und gleichzeitig die Musikszene prägten.

Die Bee Gees, die "älteste Boygroup der Welt" (Elle), schwammen auf einer unglaublichen Erfolgswelle. In den vergangenen 40 Jahren waren ihre Lieder immer wieder weltweite Mega-Hits. Die "Schmuse-Rocker" der 60er Jahre waren in den 90ern wieder einmal ganz oben in den Charts: mit den beiden Cover-Versionen der Bee Gees Songs "Stayin' Alive"
von "Ntrance" und "How Deep is Your Love" von "Take That". Die Gibbs-Brüder Barry, Robin und der mittlerweile verstorbene Maurice waren die einzigen, die über eine solche Zeitspanne hinweg immer wieder die Spitze der Charts erobern konnten. Sie verkauften über 100 Millionen Platten. Die Filmmusik zu "Saturday Night Fever" ist bis heute der meistverkaufte Soundtrack aller Zeiten geblieben. Dennoch hieß es lange Zeit: "Die Bee Gees sind die Band, von der keiner zugibt, dass er sie mag". 1997 wurden sie mit allem Pomp in die illustre "Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame" aufgenommen.

Die Dokumentation "Keppel Road - The Life and Music of the Bee Gees" geht diesem Pop-Phänomen auf den Grund, zeichnet die Karriere der Gibbs-Brüder nach, von der Kindheit in der Keppel Road in Manchester, den Anfängen als Musiker bis zu den goldenen Jahren, in denen sie als Sänger, Komponisten und Produzenten zu Weltstars wurden, von der Flauteperiode, als sie zu "Auslaufmodellen der Disco-Ära" (Elle) gestempelt wurden, bis zu ihrem Comeback in den 90ern.
2003 starb Maurice Gibb. Im Jahr 2006 gab die Band offiziell bekannt, dass es keine weiteren Veröffentlichungen der Bee Gees mehr geben werde. Die Brüder ließen verlauten, dass zukünftig alle weiteren Projekte unter dem Namen "Brothers Gibb (2006)" laufen sollten.

Über vier Jahrzehnte sind die Bee Gees im Geschäft. Neben den Beatles und den Rolling Stones gehören sie wohl zu den erfolgreichsten Gruppen der Popszene.
Bild: Sendeanstalt/Copyright: BR / © RM Arts/Irish Screen Entertainment/The South Bank Show/LWTP/Bravo/BR

Die Dokumentation entstand in einer Zeit, als alle Mitglieder der Band noch lebten und die Gruppe gerade wieder große Erfolge feiern konnte.
Tony Cash besuchte die Brüder in England und in Miami und führte mit ihnen lange Gespräche. Die Interview-Passagen werden mit zahlreichem Archivmaterial unterschnitten, darunter Lieder aus dem Album Still Waters. Ein besonderes Kapitel gilt Barry Gibbs' Zusammenarbeit mit Barbara Streisand. Hinzu kommen etliche Auftritte anderer Weltstars mit Bee-Gees-Songs, darunter von Diana Ross, Kenny Rogers, Dolly Parton und Dionne Warwick.

Quelle: ARTE / Vollkontakt
BR / © RM Arts/Irish Screen Entertainment/The South Bank Show/LWTP/Bravo/BR

Emmylou Harris is a country music icon, but that doesn't mean she gets played on the radio alongside Carrie Underwood and Kenny Chesney.  Harris is an artist of amazing grace and class, and every album she releases just reinforces that impression.  So All I Intended To Be, Emmylou's first solo album in five years, fits comfortably alongside her past work.  Harris seems to work best when she has interesting collaborators - here, she sings with Dolly Parton, Vince Gill and Kate and Anna McGarrigle on 13 songs that shiver with the ache of melancholy and loss.  "Gold," with Parton and Gill warbling behind Emmylou's fragile vocal, is one of six that Emmylou wrote or co-wrote (a few with the McGarrigle sisters).  All I Intended To Be is a perfect mood piece for a cloudy winter's day, and perhaps it could use a few livelier tempos.  But this music is transcendent and completely assured: even when Harris and McGarrigles cop the Carter Family riff for "How She Could Sing Wildwood Flower" they turn it into an original and emotionally affecting moment.  The covers, including Merle Haggard's "Kern River" and Patty Griffin's "Moon Song," fit in perfectly with the originals.  With its folk/Americana sepia tinge, All I Intended To Be may appear to be down-home, but this is truly an uptown production. 

MP3: "Gold"

MP3: "How She Could Sing Wildwood Flower"

Emmylou Harris official website

Welcome to Dollywood! :)

Good times on the Tennessee Tornado!

Dolly's Wigs of Many Styles...

Thank you, Dolly, for a great day! :)

Public safety officials in west-central Maine said they are investigating the injury to Sun Journal reporter Rebekah Metzler when she tumbled in an inflatable sphere – claimed to be a Zorb – down a 213m hill during a media preview.

Metzler fractured her back and injured a kidney when the sphere struck a post at Lost Valley Ski Resort.

State officials said the promoter of the device, Zorb New England, was operating without a permit, the Sun Journal reported.

Zorb Ltd chief executive, Craig Horrocks, of Remuera, Auckland, told the Boston Globe that his company has had issues with "a rogue and fake operators."

He said the only official Zorb site in the USA was in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, near Dolly Parton's theme park.

Zorb New England co-manager Jeremy Coito acknowledged that his business base in Danvile New Hampshire was not associated with Zorb Ltd, but claimed that "Zorbing is a generic trademark, a sport" and he could rightfully use its name.

But Sosia Zerboni, the group capital projects manager from Zorb Ltd's Auckland headquarters, said the New Zealand company found out last week about Zorb New England and had already asked its lawyers to go after the group, before Metzler was hurt.

Zorbs have been gaining recognition outside New Zealand in the past few years, fuelled by feature spots on TV shows such as Amazing Race and The Today Show.

The Zorb ball was invented by computer programmer Dwane van der Sluis and musician Andrew Akers as a durable double-skinned sphere in which passengers can either be suspended with nine straps to keep the rider in place, or a "'hydro" sphere without a harness can have water sloshing around the riders.

Mr Horrocks – who joined the pair as a part owner and now owns over 800,000 of the company's 2.8 million shares – said the inventors had pumped all their savings into a New Zealand patent.

Rather than taking out expensive patents in other countries at an estimated cost of $1 million, he put the company on the trademark path in about 16 countries.

Instead of preventing copies, Zorb concentrates on stopping others using the word "Zorb" or to describe the activity as "Zorbing".

Mr Horrocks said in a statement to the Sun Journal: "Unfortunately, as you are now aware, the (Lost Valley) operators had bought a fake device. 'Zorb New England' is an operation that has stolen our name."

Just so you know what we're talking about I've included a short video on what should happen when and if you go zorbing - certainly looks fun to me but, like many of the sports we report on, if it is not practiced with due care and attention there can be problems. Let us hope that Rebekah makes a full recovery.

And my immediate reaction was, :"Oh my God!! Anna Nicole Smith is back from the dead!"

The 1980 film Nine To Five - about three female colleagues who plot to turn the tables on their sexist, lying boss - is to be turned into a musical which will open on Broadway on April 23, 2009.

The musical will feature Dolly Parton’s original score for the film, as well as 20 new songs.

The West Wing's Allison Janney will take on the role played by Lily Tomlin in the original film, while Stephanie J. Block will play Jane Fonda's character, and Megan Hilty will co-star as the sexy executive secretary originally portrayed by Dolly Parton. Marc Kudisch will play their bigoted boss.

It was producer Robert Greenblatt and original screenplay writer Patricia Resnick who persuaded Dolly Parton to work on the stage adaptation.

Although she was unsure about it at first, Dolly Parton, 62, said working on the musical turned out to be the most fun she had ever had as a songwriter. "I don't know that much about Broadway; it's a little bit out of my league,” she said. “But when they asked me if I would write the music, I said I would try.”

Meanwhile, the Tony award-winning Broadway musical Wicked is heading in the opposite direction. It’s set to become the latest stage show to be turned into a major film.

Following the success of Chicago, Hairspray and Mamma Mia!, the Wizard of Oz-inspired musical is to be turned into a film by Universal Pictures. It will be produced by Marc Platt and Stephen Schwartz.

However, fans will have to wait some time to see the film, according Wicked author Gregory Maguire. He says it may be four years before it actually hits the big screen.

Penelitian dilakukan oleh Dr. Karen Bouncer dan koleganya di tiga rumah sakit di Frankfurt ,Jerman, yang melibatkan 200 lelaki.

Seratus orang disuruh melihat payudara secara teratur setiap hari, sebaliknya seratus lelaki lainnya justru dilarang untuk melihatnya.

Studi dilakukan selama lima tahun dan hasilnya menunjukkan kelompok pengintip dada perempuan mempunyai tekanan darah lebih rendah, denyut nadi lebih lambat saat istirahat, dan mengalami gangguan pembuluh darah jantung lebih rendah.

"Kenikmatan seksual memacu denyut jantung dan memperlancar sirkulasi darah," kata Dr. Bouncer.

"Kami percaya jika lelaki memandang dada ukuran 'cup D' secara teratur, mereka akan hidup lebih panjang empat atau lima tahun."

Dia menganjurkan kaum lelaki, terutama usia di atas30 tahun, untuk menonton acara TV seperti Baywatch dan majalah-majalah panas seperti Playboy, yang menampilkan perempuan-perempuan berdada besar.

Para peneliti juga mencatat nama-nama selebritis berdada seksi yang dianggap bisa 'menyehatkan' lelaki, diantaranya Dolly Parton, Heather Locklear, Anna Nicole Smith, dan Demi Moore.

Kalau selebritis Indonesia , siapa ya kira-kira?

Jadi dianjurkan untuk para lelaki harus mengikuti terapi ini secara teratur antara lain :

Dirumah :

Harus suka me-lihat2 payudara isteri,

kalau isteri ogah coba kebelakang lihat2 payudara pembantu (usahakan cari pembantu yg payudaranya gede, ini semata2 utk terapi umur panjang saja).

Alternative lainnya, berlangganan majalah Playboy atau sering nonton Blue Film.

Di Kantor :

Usahakan bergaul dengan teman cewek yg punya payudara gede atau sesuaidengan selera masing2.

Coba curi2 pandangan utk melihat payudara tsb selama 10 menit saja.

Alangkah baiknya kalo punya temen cewek yg bisa memback-up terapi ini dengan kata lain dapat memperlihatkan payudaranya hanya selama 10 menit saja setiap harinya.

Di Jalanan :

Mata boleh jelalatan untuk me-lihat2 payudara perempuan di halte, dibus atau dimana saja, tapi hati2 kalau lagi mengendarai mobil jangan sampai tubrukan

Di Cafe atau di Karaoke :

Usahakan untuk mendapatkan Ladies Companion yang sesuai dengan selera yang mana semata2 untuk terapi, bukan utk selingkuh.

Untuk sang isteri :

Harus 100 % mem back-up suami untuk terapi umur panjang ini, kalau perlu bahkan menjalani terapi-terapi yang diperlukan.

Good Luck, selamat mencoba Terapi Millenium ini semoga bermanfaat dan panjang umur.

]]> http://escapetothesmokies.wordpress.com/?p=24 Tue, 15 Jul 2008 19:12:04 +0000 seo2wins http://escapetothesmokies.wordpress.com/?p=24 Dolly Parton brings her 2008 Backwoods Barbie World Tour to her Dollywood theme park on August 16 and 17, 2008, with three concerts to benefit her Imagination Library program. Parton performs at 2 PM and 7 PM on August 16 and at 2 PM on August 17. Concert ticket holders may enter Dollywood one hour prior to showtime for each concert. Tickets prices are $75, $60 and $35 each. Tickets are limited to a maximum of six per person. The Dollywood concerts benefit Parton's Imagination Library, a program that provides a book a month to participating preschool-ages children in 890 communities in the United States, Canada and United Kingdom. Since the program's inception in 1996, 13 million books have been distributed. The program currently mails books to 475,000 children each month.

If I have one more facelift, I'll have a beard!

If I see something sagging, bagging and dragging, I’m going to nip it, tuck it, and suck it!

It takes a lot of money to look this cheap.

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!

Artist: Dolly Parton
Album: Absolute Movie Hits [CD 2]

Tracklist :

• I Will Always Love You

Wild Things... a cult camp classic?

Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters finally gets a lavish DVD release.

Catch up with your grime and dubstep.

Barack bumper stickers available in all states.

Sherlock Holmes with Baron Cohen and Ferrell? How many mysteries will get solved?

Win a walk-on role in Mad Men.

Jezebel: Having a gay husband is kind of queer.

The Muppets wish everyone a happy Independence Day.

David Fincher is to make a CGI version of The Goon.

JoBlo interviews Wackness-director Jonathan Levine.

Here's an interview with Alex Soropian from Wideload Games.

Here's EW's 25 music classics of the past twenty-five years.

Val Kilmer and Xzibit to be in Herzog's Bad Lieutenant.

The Fly as opera. No Goldblum unfortunately.

Everybody loves Dolly Parton.

Ian Curtis' gravestone has gone missing.

Another negative book about Harvey Weinstein is apparently on the way.

Minus The Bear in session for Daytrotter here.

Lily will leave if her second album doesn't live up to the hype.

Rock Band 2 in September.

Girlgroup killed in Photoshop accident...

Bryan McFadden is big in Australia.

Here's a live review of The Hold Steady.

Last Friday night Dolly played two sold out gigs in Glasgow and I was lucky enough to be there on the Friday night. The show, as you'd expect was brilliant and full of all of the lovely clichés we've come to expect from her. One thing I did NOT expect however, was for her to start chatting about how much she valued libraries and the important role that they've played in her life.

Inspired by the potential and power of public libraries to change lives for the better she launched the first Dolly Parton Imagination Library in 1996, in her hometown of Sevierville, Tennessee; supplying registered children with a free book every month, for the first five years of their lives. It's hoped that by receiving these books children will be able to start school with improved literacy, a hunger for knowledge and an appreciation of different cultures.

The project is a big hit in the USA and just last year the first UK Imagination Library was established in Rotherham, South Yorkshire. Check it out here.

Dolly Parton loves libraries, who'd have thought it? I always knew she was cool!:-)

Chet Atkins was one of the most influential musicians to come out of Nashville. And yet, he was much more than that. Atkins worked on the business side as well, spending some time as an artist manager as well as Vice President of RCA Records' country division where he remarkably signed Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Dolly Parton, Bobby Bare, Connie Smith and Jerry Reed to name just a few. As a producer, Atkins made hits for Elvis Presley, Perry Como, Eddy Arnold, Waylon Jennings and many more. The sounds he created on record are credited as being one of the foundations of what would become known as the Nashville Sound. Atkins' style of playing was itself influenced by the great Merle Travis and is one of the most difficult sounds to imitate, earning him the nickname, "Mister Guitar." Over the course of his career, Atkins won fourteen Grammys, nine Country Music Association awards, and the Billboard Century award. He was also inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, invited to the White House to play for every president from Kennedy to Bush Sr., and had a stretch of highway in Georgia named after him. Atkins died of cancer on June 30, 2001.