A GREAT PERFORMER - PARTON PARCEL.Byline: Holly Edwards Staff Writer As hundreds of fans lined up in front of the House of Blues House of Blues (HOB) is a chain of music halls and restaurants founded in 1992 by Hard Rock Cafe founder Isaac Tigrett and his friend and investor Dan Aykroyd. It is a home for live music and southern-inspired cuisine, whose clubs celebrate African-American culture, specifically in Hollywood on Wednesday night to see country music legend Dolly Parton par·ton n. Any of the point particles believed to be a constituent of hadrons, now known as quarks. No longer in technical use. [part(icle) + -on1.] , the platinum-blond singer emerged from the club's gift shop and strolled through the line, greeting her fans. ``Hey, how're ya'll doin'?'' said a beaming Parton in a navy blue mini- dress, as her dumbstruck dumb·struck adj. So shocked or astonished as to be rendered speechless. dumbstruck Adjective temporarily speechless through shock or surprise Adj. 1. fans stared in disbelief. Parton's down-home charm set the tone for the 2 1/2-hour show. As she belted out flawless performances of her old and new hits, Parton spun yarns about growing up with 11 brothers and sisters in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee. ``My mama always had one on her and one in her,'' said Parton, as the crowd erupted in laughter. ``You can say my parents were just horny horn·y adj. 1. Made of horn or a similar substance. 2. Tough and calloused, as of skin. hillbillies, and I'm just like 'em.'' Wearing a hot-pink sequined se·quin n. 1. A small shiny ornamental disk, often sewn on cloth; a spangle. 2. A gold coin of the Venetian Republic. Also called zecchino. tr.v. dress and spike heels, Parton poked fun at her Vegas showgirl image, saying, ``It costs a lot of money to look this cheap.'' The crowd greeted every joke and every song with thunderous laughter and applause, and the buoyant Parton appeared to bask in her fans' adoration. ``I love you, too,'' she told the crowd. ``I'm gonna load ya'll up on a couple buses and take you with me.'' Backed by an eight-member acoustic ensemble called the Blueniques, Parton played an eclectic mix of instruments - including banjo banjo, stringed musical instrument, with a body resembling a tambourine. The banjo consists of a hoop over which a skin membrane is stretched; it has a long, often fretted neck and four to nine strings, which are plucked with a pick or the fingers. , dulcimer dulcimer (dŭl`sĭmər), stringed musical instrument. It is a wooden box with strings stretched over it that are struck with small mallets. The number of strings may vary. The dulcimer is related to the psaltery and modern zither. , harmonica harmonica. 1 The simplest of the musical instruments employing free reeds, known also as the mouth organ or French harp. It was probably invented in 1829 by Friedrich Buschmann of Berlin, who called his instrument the Mundäoline. and a teal-blue electric guitar. But her primary instrument was an acoustic guitar slung over her shoulder with a piece of rope. As one point, Parton told the crowd she could even play her fingernails, as she rubbed her long red nails together in front of the microphone. On her first tour in more than a decade, Parton ran through such classic hits as ``I Will Always Love You'' and ``Coat of Many Colors'' as well as songs from her new record, ``Halos and Horns.'' As she sang the title track, some fans in the front rows held up lighted red horns topped with a white halo. Dozens of male and female Dolly look-alikes roamed through the crowd with masses of blond hair piled atop their heads. At one point, Parton joked that some of the men in the crowd looked better than she did. Parton's fans ranged from the young, tattooed and hip crowd to grandmothers and grandfathers wearing denim and cowboy hats. But everyone at the show appeared to be mesmerized by Parton. Though she has probably told the same stories and sang the same songs all along the tour, her vibrant delivery gave the show a sense of freshness. The sole disappointment of the evening came when Parton failed to return for an encore, despite the chanting and clapping of her fans. But after watching Parton deliver song after song, joke after joke with energy and warmth, the fans left feeling as if they were taking a little piece of Dolly home with them. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Dolly Parton wows a New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of crowd during her first tour in more than a decade. L.A. fans show equal enthusiasm. |
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