Sound Check | Where It's At | Club Guide | For The Record: CD Reviews

The Playlist

By Patrick Wall

Stax is back! The legendary soul-and-R&B record label is close to celebrating its 50th anniversary, and Concord Music Group, the conglomerate that acquired Stax in 2004, is reactivating the label, with former Stax artist Isaac Hayes and nu-soul diva (and Columbia native) Angie Stone lined up as the first signees. Founded in 1957 in Memphis, Stax Records was a major factor in the genesis and popularization of soul in the '60s, and was one of the first record labels to record early funk and '60s Chicago blues. In its heyday, Stax's stable housed artists such as Otis Redding and Booker T. and the MG's, the latter of which produced the soul classic "In the Midnight Hour." Stax hit hard times in 1968 after breaking from Atlantic Records, and despite the successful 1972 Wattstax concert, the label went belly-up in 1976. Fantasy Records bought the non-Atlantic recordings and continued to package and rerelease the Stax catalogue. Stax saw somewhat of a public resurgence in September 2006, when pop star Justin Timberlake told Rolling Stone that he was attempting to revive the label. Though its first few new releases promise to be compilations ‹ among them a 50-track Stax anthology featuring hits from the Atlantic era and a tribute to Earth, Wind and Fire bandleader Maurice White ‹ Stax plans to release over 20 albums and DVDs this year. Said Hayes of Stax's resurrection, "Stax always has been and always will be soul music. I am coming back to Stax because there is still so much to do. It's like coming home."

The Playlist is a firm believer in the idea that anyone who ever went to high school ‹ at least any high school in the suburbs ‹ heard the rumor that Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon synced up with The Wizard of Oz. (Full disclosure: The Playlist did try it, and not only was it eerily syncopated, it made us want to do the same with South by Southwest.) Well the 12 Computers blog (freewebs.com/12computers) is intent on unearthing more modern classics' connections to films. The site, which got its name from an apparent connection between Radiohead's OK Computer and the film 12 Monkeys, lists two albums from 2006's cream of the crop with sync-up potential: Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke's solo jaunt, The Eraser and indie blog faves Grizzly Bear's Yellow House, which also got some love from Free Times freelancers in our year-end retrospective. While The Eraser's connections to Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb are dubious at best, Grizzly Bear's psych-folk masterpiece seems to present a compelling match for French arthouse flick The City of Lost Children, with songs apparently making direct references to characters in the film and beginning and ending in tandem with scenes. Spooky, no? Make some Friday night plans to check it out, or ask Grizzly Bear in person ‹ they swing through the Drunken Unicorn in Atlanta on March 2 and Local 506 in Chapel Hill on March 3.

The Playlist always loves discovering new web sites, especially when said web sites have free concert videos posted on them. Fabchannel.com features concerts filmed at the Paradiso and Melkweg clubs in Amsterdam, and among the bands with concerts posted on the site are Lily Allen, Alexisonfire, Michael Franti and Spearhead, Two Gallants, Keller Williams, The Black Keys, Bouncing Souls and Playlist faves Minus the Bear. You'll have to do some searching through several Amsterdam local bands, but

The Doctor is In

Doc Watson
Newberry Opera House: Friday, Jan. 12

Even in the wide-ranging realm of folk music, Doc Watson is unique. Blind since before his first birthday, Watson nonetheless is probably the single most influential flatpicking guitarist for anyone who plays an acoustic guitar; his style crosses the boundaries of folk, bluegrass, blues and country music while dipping into swing, jazz and more. Since the early 1960s, Watson has issued a long string of folk, blues and country albums, a vast repository of traditional songs that have become a part of our national musical culture.

The story of how Watson's guitar technique germinated is a fascinating example of the folk process, where one takes parts of one thing and applies those parts to something else, creating a new form or style. Watson's first real paying gig as a musician was in the early '50s playing electric guitar for Jack Williams and the Country Gentlemen, a country dance and swing band. Without a regular fiddle player in the band, Watson would instead simply play the lead fiddle parts on his guitar. Later, when he played acoustic guitar in a folk music setting, Watson would transfer those techniques of playing fiddle parts on his electric guitar over to the acoustic setting.

Watson was discovered by the outside world in 1960 when Ralph Rinzler from Smithsonian Folkways came to North Carolina to record Doc's friend, Clarence Ashley, and heard Watson play, too. In 1961, the Friends of Old Time Music in New York City hosted a concert featuring Doc Watson and several of his neighbors, and soon he was performing at colleges, folk festivals and coffeehouses in addition to sets at the Newport Folk Festival in 1963 and 1964.

In 1964, Doc's son Merle joined him on the road as his picking partner, forming the duo that recorded most of what we know of Watson's recorded work for the next 20 years. For many listeners, that discography was first uncovered when Watson played on the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band's 1972 recording Will The Circle Be Unbroken alongside many traditional country and folk artists, playing standards with the progressive California country band. The success of that album brought traditional music, and Doc Watson, to new audiences.

As a trio, Doc, Merle, and bassist T. Michael Coleman recorded over a dozen albums between Will The Circle Be Unbroken and 1985, touring worldwide and earning five Grammy Awards for Best Traditional Folk Recording and one for Best Country Instrumental.

The tragic 1985 passing of Doc's son Merle in a tractor accident resulted in another event that has defined Watson for the past 18 years ‹ the yearly music festival Merlefest. Held near the tiny burg of Wilkesboro, N.C. in late April of every year since 1988, the event was and is a way for Watson to honor the memory of his talented son. Every year, Watson himself can be seen numerous times throughout the four-day festival, playing alone or with other groups, including his current musical foil, Ashevillain David Holt, and there is always a Merle-inspired jam to close out the festivities. The lineup reads like a who's who of bluegrass, alt-country, blues and folk, with a few ringers thrown in (Hootie and the Blowfish even performed one year) for the college kids.

Watson doesn't so much hold court when he plays, though as folk music royalty he certainly has a right to. Instead, he gathers the family 'round the hearth of common experience and common knowledge of the songs of our shared community. In an age when that type of experience is rare, a Doc Watson show is a welcome and even a necessary event to remind us of the communal spirit that produced the music he still plays.

The Newberry Opera House is located at 1201 McKibben St. in ‹ where else? ‹ Newberry. Doors open at 8 p.m. Tickets are $37.50 and can be purchased by calling 803-276-6264 or by visiting newberryoperahouse.com.

Wednesday

No Way Jose! ‹ They might not have played a lot of shows or toured the entire country, but No Way Jose! maintained a loyal base of fans and friends who loved to cut loose to the video game stylings of its keytar-driven indie rock. And in what represents their sendoff to the Soda City, No Way Jose! is releasing the entirety of its discography, which features live tracks and unreleased material culled from its grainy four-track beginnings and its hi-fi studio adventures. Opening are Blinded by Underpants, who come out of retirement in support of their Fork and Spoon comrades, and The Heist and the Accomplice, who have been scarce of late while working on new material. Charlotte-based one-man freak show Ugly Dobro opens. K. Langston New Brookland Tavern: 6 p.m., $5; 791-4413, www.newbrooklandtavern.com.

Thursday

Harry and the Potters ‹ Wizard rock might leave some folks scratching their heads, but to have an entire band based around writing songs as if they were Harry Potter is quite the "novel" concept. (Sorry.) However, if you've actually read any of the immensely popular books, you'd know that there's really no one quite as emo as Harry Potter. Brothers Joe and Paul DeGeorge picked up on this and formed an indie rock tribute complete with bouncy keyboards, jangling guitars and hilarious-yet-insightful looks into the mind of Harry that work even if you're just a clueless Muggle. T. Baker New Brookland Tavern: 5 p.m., $5 ($7 under 21); 791-4413, newbrooklandtavern.com.

Friday

The Looming Tower ‹ Talk about your brand new heavies: Charlotte-based melodic hardcore outfit The Looming Tower, which features ex-members of Requiem and Columbia screamo heroes The Map Says We're F#!ked, makes its public debut in the Capital City. So does Sein Zum Tode, whose experimental tech metal is a sonic clusterf#!k that thrashes and bashes like a kid deprived of his Ritalin. Thank God might not be brand new, but are certainly heavy. P. Wall 112 Huger St.: 8 p.m., $3; myspace.com/112hugerstreet.

Saturday

Bob Livingston ‹ WUSC's Uncle Gram kicks off his house concert series with the musical endeavors of this legendary Texas musician, which now span the globe. He is an original member of Jerry Jeff Walker's Lost Gonzo Band and has played with Michael Martin Murphey, Steve Fromholz and Gary P. Nunn. Livingston recently traveled to India for "Cowboys & Indians," a concept he has brought back to Texas as a stage show featuring Hindi and Texan musicians playing together. Bentz Kirby opens. Reservations are required. K. Oliver Red Bank House Concert Series: 6:30 p.m., $10; 413-3092 (before 9 p.m.).

Venice is Sinking ‹ Cute girls with violas are a plus for me, but in all fairness, I loved Venice is Sinking before I knew there was a cute girl with a viola. The Athens band has taken the fairly simple dream-pop formula and made something so varied and ethereal that it turns the genre on its ear. Daniel Lawson and Karolyn Troupe's empyreal harmonies float listlessly down a creek borne of Troupe's strings. It's like a foggy drive in the country ‹ comforting and disorienting at once. Ryan Monroe headlines with his equally sleepy alt-country, and Maya's Big Vermillion, featuring songstress Lorrie Rivers, opens. T. Baker Art Bar: 9 pm, $4; 929-0198, www.artbarsc.com.

Monday

Senses Fail ‹ These Garden Staters have been riding the emo gravy train since stepping in the studio last May to record Still Searching for Vagrant Records. They've held a main-stage slot on the Warped and Taste of Chaos tours, and their long-player climbed to No. 15 on the Billboard 200. More recently, they've finished recording a video for "Can't Be Saved" and are hosting MTV2's T-Minus Rock Countdown until Jan. 12. Fellow mall-punkers Saosin released its self-titled Capitol debut in last September. Alexisonfire and The Sleeping open. K. Langston Headliners: 6 p.m., $17 ($15 in advance); 796-2333, www.headlinerscolumbia.com.