Newspapers / Daily Tar Heel (Chapel … / Nov. 4, 1982, edition 1 / Page 8
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Doc Watson's show full of warmth and humor By JIM CLARDY The finals of the First Oxbow Music Flat picking and Fiddling contest were held Fri day night at Chapel Hill High School, before an audience of 300. Doc Watson, with son Merle, then took the stage before an enthusiastic audience, accompanied by Michael Coleman on bass, who has performed with them for nine years. . At this point in his career Doc hardly needs another rave review. Friday's show was full of the warmth and humor one has come to expect from this native North Carolinian, and then I don't think Doc could give a bad performance if he tried. Doc Watson is frequently regarded as a bluegrass musician, but this is both mislead ing and inaccurate. To peg Watson into just . one genre of native American music is an in justice to his ability as a musician and vision as an artist. Doc incorporates a myriad num ber of styles into his music blues, gospel, country-western, and old time mountain music, breathing life into forgotten tradi tions. His dedication, expertise and endless repertoire of songs makes him a walking re pository of Southern music, as well as one of the premier folk artists of our times. At its deepest, country music is a way of holding to values jeopardized by a changing America. Doc, in the tradition of other great surveyors of country music, reaffirms the values of the Southern working class God, patriotism, hard work, and a belief in simpler times. Doc and Merle alternated lead and rhythm guitar throughout the evening; fre quently within a song. Merle's banjo and Doc's harmonica were added on several songs. . "Riding on That New River Train" was the opening number of the concert, a traditional favorite which drew a large response from the audience. "Peach Picking Time in Geor gia" is a Jimmy Rodgers tune which came from deep within the Appalachian-Carter family tradition. Doc imitated the yodel orig inated by Rodgers and made famous by Hank Williams. Doc's rendition of Count Basie's "Going to Chicago Blues". was astonishing. In the hest tradition of great urban bluesman such as Muddy Waters and Howlin Wolf, Doc Watch , For The Basketball Preview Coming November 18 r J" " 7 . WUIIIlllHi, if Carolina Classic Tho Sound of Music wo 4:15 Christopher Reeve in Consignor 2:C0 4:45 7:15 9:45 Held Over Anssn 7:00 Uuo 0:15 a, i lowered his voice an octave and growled out the lyrics of a song "so low you might have to get down on the floor to find it." "Froggin and Courting" was an Elizabe than ballad adopted to a twelve bar blues format, an entertaining novelty tune show casing Doc's amazing vocal control, and the most humorous song of the night. Other songs included ballads, minstrel tunes, country blues, western swing a veri table excursion into Americana. The concert held few surprises. Doc and Merle's picking was flashy without being pretentious. Lack ,., of pretension is one of Doc's greatest virtues. The only disappointment of the evening was that more people did not turn out to pay Doc the respect and attention he deserves. Preliminaries for the contest were held Thursday night at The Station in Carrboro. Three finalists in each of the two categories were picked to compete for a $100 cash prize. '.- ' - . ' -v ' Ted Erhart, a Chapel Hill native, took first place in the fiddling category. Dee Davis took first place in the flatpicking category. Jim Clardy is a staff writer for The Daily Tar Heel. $ J ti . IK-:-:-:-:-:-::-::? , ?i hi Doc Watson performs in Chapel Hill DTHStrtch ... gave concert with son, Merle r r . ffiUlCATCj) IIADiCf t1,, ..j . I - -fa rfn Puke Ellington's J A &i,MSATELUTE PRESEtJTATlON WITH CAROLINA UNION FRIDAY, NOV. 5th, 1982 9:30 p.m. MEMORIAL HALL STUDENTS 16.00 FACULTYSTAFF $9.00 GENERAL PUBLIC $12.00 DOORS OPEN 45 MINUTES EARLY COLLEGE I.D. REQUIRED TICKETS AVAILABLE AT The Carolina Union Box Office UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA Wrr i i Weekend, November 4, 1982
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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Nov. 4, 1982, edition 1
8
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