Dolly Parton was once asked if she minded being called a dumb blond. With great wit she replied "No, I know I ain't blond and I ain't dumb!" No one in the audience would have disagreed. It was a masterclass in stagecraft. Any aspiring wannabe should have attended.

For two hours, Dolly held the audience in the palm of her hand, moving the moods from the upbeat Nine to Five, to the spellbinding emotion of Sparrow. The understanding she created before singing Coat of Many Colors took us right back to the family shack in Sevierville, Tennessee, with Mum, Dad and her 11 brothers and sisters.

It was a remarkable night as Dolly, not just a singer, not just a songwriter, worked her way through eight musical instruments, all played with consummate skill. She replicated the close harmonies of her family sing-alongs and, much to everyone's surprise, rocked her way through the Fine Young Cannibals' Drives Me Crazy. All the great hits, Here You Come Again, Islands in the Sun, Jolene, were there as she effortlessly welcomed the audience into her world. "Thank you for spending so much on the tickets. I need the money. It takes a lot of cash to look this cheap!"

It's always instructive to look at the audience at a concert; Dolly's covered all age groups including children whose parents weren't even born when Dolly found fame. Many were proudly wearing 'Dollywigs' and pink Stetsons. She ended with her famous I Will Always Love You, a song she wrote in 1974 to mark her last appearance with her mentor Porter Wagoner on live US TV. Whitney Houston may have had the biggest hit with the song, but Dolly raked in the royalties. She certainly ain't dumb!

Just every now and again, at a live performance, you realise you are in the presence of a one-off, a unique great; this was one of those nights.