Though Dolly Parton's stage persona is as fake as, well, most of her body at this point, she plays the role so convincingly that it's difficult to imagine her outside of it. Few could picture her, for instance, sucking down a cigarette and cussing out her sound guy before heading down to the tracks. It's easier to envision her in some sunny woodland, hand-feeding a fawn. Or at Dollywood.
Parton's hokey facade is a remnant of the old Las Vegas/Grand Ole Opry era of entertainment, and it still dominates her concerts. She spent nearly as much of her performance Monday night sharing stories and cracking jokes as she did singing, proving herself quite the comedian. At 62, she's part-grandmother (she riffed on her poor eyesight and mortality), part-cougar (she ogled a dancing beefcake), and her sharp quips had the audience roaring with laughter.
As her thoughts turn toward legacy building, though, she seems more eager to expose cracks in her timeworn, slow-country-gal guise. She made several sincere references to the difficult economy, and spoke of politics with unexpected specifics, mentioning not only the recent election but also Monday's meeting between Barack Obama and John McCain. Though Stage Dolly claims to spend her days on the tour bus drinking Kool-Aid and Bedazzling her guitar with glue and rhinestones, Parton hinted that Real Dolly reads the newspaper.
The title track of her newest album, Backwoods Barbie, more overtly made that case. "I know I look trashy," Parton smiled, introducing the song, "but I like to think there's a brain beneath the hair and a heart behind the boobs." A younger country singer-say, Gretchen Wilson-might have played the track as a "trashy and proud" anthem, but Parton instead twists it into a somber, meta number, shaded by alienation and self-doubt.
"I'm just a backwoods Barbie, too much makeup, too much hair/ Don't be fooled by thinking that the goods are not all there," she sings. "I'm all dolled up and hoping for a chance to prove my worth/ And even backwoods Barbies get their feelings hurt."
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