Daiana Feuer on October 3rd, 2016

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Dolly Parton, that bubbly, wily, god-preaching, cowboy-loving, songwriting genius, may have more plastic in her body than flesh, but that rhinestone-encrusted vessel harbors a soul full of wisdom and love. Over the weekend, Parton performed two sold-out nights at the Hollywood Bowl as part of her “Pure And Simple” tour. Her new album came out Aug. 19, debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard Country Albums chart, her first chart-topper in 25 years. At age 70, she was happy to say she’s feeling “on top of the world,” and the thousands of fans in the audience held up their hands and whooped like they were praising the Lord, hallelujah and amen.

Part of the concept behind the “Pure And Simple” tour is a stripped-down band, just Parton backed by Richard Dennison on keys, bassist Tom Rutledge and guitarist-banjo player Kent Wells, with drums triggered by a “$300 machine.” She joked that the drummer got left behind in Nashville for suggesting she not wear so much make-up and glitter, but whatever the real reason — saving money, who knows, — it did cast a certain mystery over what was actually being played and how much the backing tracks were doing.

Let’s not focus on that; whatever was going on, Parton is magical. That bright figure of light on stage could have been a hologram beaming down from Parton’s spaceship for all we know. Fact is, she did not utilize the jumbo screens in the customary way they are used at the Bowl, so the people way back in the cheap seats could not see a darn thing. Even half-way up the Bowl, the little woman on stage was reduced to a glowing stick figure. Some of the screens were on but they maintained a wide shot. Why? You’d think she’d like to show off all those pretty sparkly outfits and bedazzled instruments (including dulcimer, banjo, penny whistle, guitar, fiddle, autoharp and saxophone) … but let’s not focus on that, either.

Over the last five decades, Parton has released more than 40 albums and written 3,000-plus songs. During her 2 1/2-hour set, she played some hits, “Jolene,” “9 to 5,” “I Will Always Love You,” Islands In The Stream,” “Coat Of Many Colors,” “Two Doors Down,” “Do I Ever Cross Your Mind,” some gospel tunes, a medley of 1960s songs like “If I Had A Hammer,” “Blowin In The Wind” and “American Pie,” a medley of fire-related tunes (“Baby I’m Burnin’,” “Girl On Fire,” “Something’s Burning,” “Great Balls of Fire”), the murder ballad “Banks Of The Ohio,” and two nice tracks from the new album, but a lot of the performance revolved around her storytelling.

Parton is gifted at telling tales, both in form and simply because the sound of her voice could lead you off a cliff if she wanted. She spoke of her 50-year marriage to Carl Thomas Dean, her mother and father, her 11 siblings and the hard times growing up in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee. Despite an extravagant career, and surely many adventures as a musician, she focused primarily on her childhood and humble upbringing, with some boob jokes here and there, as she loves making fun of herself and it’s no secret she modeled her look after the town prostitute she so admired as a child.

Ever the proper lady, Parton made tasteful, innocent sex jokes. Like at the end of “Yakety Sax,” she quipped, “Boy, that was some good sax. It was good for me. Was it good for you?” She also made her stage-hand “Steve” dress in a cowboy hat, tight pants and sleeveless top to show off his muscles. He danced for her and she objectified him in the cutest ways. But he never ripped his pants off to reveal a rhinestone-encrusted man-thong, as some of us might have hoped.

As to whether she plans on slowing down, Parton had this to say: “I’m never planning to retire. I just want to fall out during the middle of a song like one of those fainting goats that just keels over. … Don’t worry, it won’t happen tonight.”