Editor's note: Iconic country star Dolly Parton passed away Aug. 25. Here is a review of her last performance in Jacksonville, on Oct. 21, 2008, at what was then called Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena.
You know those giant video screens many performers use at concerts, so you can see every move they make, even from the cheap seats? You won't find them at a Dolly Parton show. The lady doesn't need them; she's larger than life already.
Parton played Tuesday night before a crowd that didn't come close to filling even the lower bowl at Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena. But she didn't disappoint those who showed.
Opener: The tickets said the show was scheduled to start at 8 p.m. It started at 8 p.m., on the dot, with "Two Doors Down," a rousing
number from 1978. Her band, seven musicians and three singers, all dressed in black. Dolly, of course, wore sequins.
Surprises: Parton is an accomplished songwriter, so it was something of a surprise when three of her first 10 songs were from someone else. She did John Denver's "Thank God I'm a Country Boy," Fine Young Cannibals' "She Drives Me Crazy" and Neil Diamond's "Brother Love's Traveling Salvation Show". Diamond, by the way, plays the same arena next week.
Miss Versatility: Parton is 62 but has remarkable vocal range. She goes from cartoonish to breathy to breathtaking, often in the same song. And she's not just a songbird. During the show, she played banjo, fiddle, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, harmonica, dulcimer, autoharp, flute, tambourine and piano.
Wow moment: A gorgeous performance of "The Grass is Blue," with Parton at the piano accompanied by three backup singers, was a stunner.
The hits: "Jolene," "Coat of Many Colors," "Here You Come Again" and "Islands in the Stream" were sprinkled throughout the set. She closed with "9 to 5" and "I Will Always Love You".
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Looking back at Dolly Parton's last Jacksonville concert, in 2008
