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I attended Dolly's show in Las Vegas on August 10th at House Of Blues and it was a truly amazing experience. It had been 9 years since I had seen Dolly live so this was a long time coming and worth all the money to fly out from San Francisco (hope she can make it here soon too).

ANNOYANCES:

There was only a couple of small annoyances that came from The House Of Blues. First off, cameras weren't allowed but I had a throwaway one that I used to take photos of fans outside the music hall. Well, needless to say they made me throw it away even though I insisted and showed them that I had no photos left. So all those pics are lost forever. But more annoying than that was the fact that House Of Blues admits people who have a receipt from the restaurant into the show before the rest of the public. But most people had no idea about that so ones of us who had been waiting for hours were a bit annoyed. I bought my tickets by calling the House Of Blues and no one let me know of that option......so I hope all the fans going to Chicago House Of Blues read this and go and eat there before the show. But did any of these things hinder the fun we had that evening? NO WAY!

THE CROWD:

I showed up to wait in line at about 4:30ish. At that time there were about 30 people in line but within an hour and half the line was about 500 strong. During the wait I met a few really cool fans especially these two ladies who were behind us in line and ended up being our concert "partners" for the show. They made all the waiting actually alot of fun. The crowd was mostly young people...a good 75% were under 30!!! There was alot of fun and interesting people there including a girl who had a black skin tight leather outfit with the words Got Dolly? (as in Got Milk?) on her jacket, top and even her shoes, a group of fans with red t-shirts that said "Good Lord Have Mercy On A Country Girl Trying To Make A Living In A Rhinsetone World", a few drag queens and this group of gothic folks with assorted hair colors, piercings and tatoos who looked like they were on their way to see Marylin Manson but they were there for Dolly and they seemed to be having a great time. Everyone was really friendly and willing to talk about their love of Dolly.

THE SHOW:

The show itself was absolutely amazing!!!! The Blueniques played for a few minutes then Dolly made her entrance and the crowd went BONKERS!!! She looked stunning wearing the same denim pant suit she wore in New York. I myself went from stunned to emotional as Dolly hit the stage (I was about seven feet from the stage). And when the first song was over Dolly couldn't get a word in edgewise due to the incredible reaction she was geting from the audience. Before starting Mountain Angel she said "Boy, you are really a great crowd. Loud when you wanna be and quiet when you need to be...like now when I sing you this sad song" And the crowd respected her wishes for the full 100 minute show. Singing along when appropriate, quiet and attentive other times, and just plain wild the rest of the time. She told us that we would probably get corns and bunyons from standing. Her setlist was pretty much the same as her other shows excpet for the silly song medley which was replaced by a 78 speed of Two Doors Down. There was no Color Me America (how come she doesn't this live anymore?) and only one chorus of My Tennesse Mountain Home. There were a few folks who were in tears during some of the songs especially Coat Of Many Colors and I Will Always Love You. Dolly had no problems with her harmonica, she was awesome on banjo and guitar, she only made a small word mistake during Shine that went pretty much unnoticed. The show was a truly magical experience for myself and everyone else in the sold out crowd of 1,800. It was the fifth time I have seen her live and this time was the best! There was a synergy between Dolly and the crowd that could hardly be described. For me it was a heavenly evening.....an emotional experience that I will never forget. I've been on a Dolly high since Saturday and I ain't coming down any time soon!

Manuel