Dolly Parton Brings a 'Better Day' to N. Fulton

Dolly Parton brought a "Better Day" to Alpharetta on Wednesday night, Aug. 3, the final stop in the opening three weeks of her U.S. tour.

The country singer and sometime actress told the audience at that she decided there was too much misery, so she promised herself her next work would be upbeat. And so was born "Better Day," her latest CD which was released in June.

Parton opened strong with "Walking on Sunshine," a definite nod to the sunny day and her upbeat attitude. Amazingly she sang many songs before apologetically taking a sip of water. At the start of the concert just past 8 p.m., the temperature was still well above 90 degrees. At concert's end two hours later, it was still in the high 80s.

"I wanted to heat you up but I didn't want it to be ridiculous," she told the crowd.

While she sang many of the songs from Better Day, Parton also sang her version of other artists' works, putting a decidedly Dolly spin on them. And some of her own favorite songs from her many albums were performed as well.

"Jolene" was one of the first of her well-known works before she turned to bluegrass early in the first set.

The well-known "Rocky Top" segued into "Dueling Banjos," in which she even played the banjo.

While she was actually playing this time, at the start of a later tune a harmonica was in her hand by her side when the sounds of a harmonica playing began. And later in the night it's hard to believe it was actually Dolly playing the saxophone when her fingers didn't appear to be moving on the keys and her cheeks weren't showing the telltale signs of a sax player blowing his horn. She did appear to be playing the dulcimer and autoharp during this bluegrass set, however.

The Beatles' "Help" next got the bluegrass treatment, with "Shine" and "Stairway to Heaven" next getting the Dolly treatment. For the most part it worked, though either the audience's mistimed reaction or her choice of how to end the song felt a little flat.

"My Tennessee Mountain Home" and "Precious Memories" brought the singer fully back to her Smoky Mountain roots. But it was her own favorite song, "Coat of Many Colors," that showed Dolly can take a personal experience and mix in social conscience and faith just because that's her ingrained nature, not because that's what she set out to do.

"Maybe this song will be a blessing to you," she said as she introduced it.

After introducing several of her new tunes from the Better Days CD, including the title song, Dolly took the time to promote a movie she filmed in Georgia with Queen Latifah, "Joyful Noise," which is scheduled to open in January 2012.

Photos showing scenes from the movie accompanied her sales pitch, which turned into some "Dolly rap," as I'll call it.  With tongue firmly in cheek, she did a countrified version of rap paying homage to Queen Latifah and their work together. While it was ridiculous, Dolly made it work because unlike some performers stepping outside of their comfort zone, she made it work by not taking herself seriously.

That led to her performance of songs from the movie, including her own "He's Everything."

While most of the songs were uplifting, she felt obliged to include a fan favorite that's not so much fun, "Little Sparrow." Lyrics that say "I am just the broken dream of a cold false-hearted lover and his evil cunning scheme" aren't designed to cheer you up, so Dolly turned to Tina Turner to change the mood, singiner her "River Deep-Mountain High" to lighten the mood.

As the hour neared 11 p.m., the concert had to wrap up. Dolly closed out with "9 to 5," but came back quickly for a two-song encore. "I Will Always Love You," her song made even more famous by Whitney Houston's version, was followed by the title track to the new "Better Day" CD.

Throughout the night Dolly stayed within her range, and rested up her voice with duets with her background singers and her music producer, saving her vocal chords for some powerful songs near the end of the concert. Decades of experience pays off when an artist is smart enough to use it.

The Better Day tour takes a few weeks off before heading to Europe. Your next chance to see her in the United States comes on Oct. 7 when the tour returns at Cedar Park, TX. She'll be back in Georgia to perform in Valdosta on Oct. 14. After a couple of dates in Florida, Dolly takes another short break before heading to Australia.