Dolly Parton At Nottingham Capital FM Arena August 22 2011

Dolly Parton at Nottingham Capital FM
Arena

Skipping onto stage whilst daintily playing a white violin, belting out Walking On Sunshine and shimmering in white rhinestones and tassels, Dolly Parton is a tiny/larger than life 65-year-old wonder that really has to be seen to be believed. Receiving a rapturous reception from tonight's (all in all, rather 'mature') audience at Capital FM Arena, Dolly embarked upon a two and a half hour show (with a twenty minute interval) singing her own hits mixed with an eclectic choice of cover versions including Led Zeppelin's Stairway To Heaven.

Swapping the violin for a banjo and then a guitar, a piano, a harmonica and then (confidentially, our favourite) a saxophone, Dolly showcased her undeniably mighty musical talents wowing the audience with her self-penned classics including Jolene, 9 to 5, Coat of Many Colors and I Will Always Love You (after a catty swipe at Whitney Houston's famous version claiming, "Whitney ruined my song!" Miaow!)

Dolly Parton at Nottingham Capital FM
Arena

The show was punctuated with frequent jokes and stories about her life, some of them age old "it costs a lot of money to look this cheap" to a new classic "if you mix country and rap you get crap" which didn't stop her launching into a hilarious Dolly-rap which included the immortal lines "Now I don't hip and I don't hop, I just blind them all with this big top! *points to boobs*

Reappearing after the interval in a new sparkling red outfit matching her Lady Deathstrike-style red nails and a change of wig (from cascading curls to wafting waves) Dolly candidly wisecracked about her cosmetic enhancements, "How do I always look so happy? Botox" but the real unvarnished truth is that Dolly's voice is still all her own with no artificial additives and blew us back into our seats with the show-stopping performance of the night, a rendition of the heartbreaking Little Sparrow which swelled all around the Arena and echoed back beautifully and hauntingly. Dolly Parton is still going on strong at 65 with no plans to retire and promises to keep coming back for another twenty years and confidentially, we plan to be right back there with her.