ATLRetro

Joe Gransden.

by Melanie Crew
Contributing Writer

Be good little children and see all there is to see in Retro Atlanta!  We promise to make even the dullest week a thrill! Retro Atlanta has whatever floats your boat, from stimulating performances to terrifying spooks to rockin’ shows that’ll keep you coming back for more! So get out there and enjoy life! 

Monday, October 7

If Monday’s left a dirty taste in your mouth, come on and get nitty gritty with Scott H. Biram at The Earl for some funky blues and honkytonk punk! Boogie on down to the Northside Tavern and get the blues at Lola’s famous Monday Night Northside Jam!  Swing on by Big Band Night featuring Joe Gransden and his amazing 16-member orchestra at Café 290 every first and third Monday of the month. Head on down to Fat Matt’s Rib Shack for a side of Dry White Toast with some finger lickin’ BBQ!  If you need a little bloody excitement in your life, a little who-done-it dark comedy and murder, stake out Agatha’s A Taste of Mystery for their presentation of ‘SOMEWHERE OVER THE RAINBOW…SOMEONE DIES!’ The blood bath begins at 7:30 pm. Head on down to the The Plaza Theater as they screen Hector Babenco’s ‘film within a film’ and sinister love story of suspense and betrayal, in KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN (1985) during their Pride Film Festival at 7:30 pm! 

Tuesday, October 8

Get teased! Get frightened! Head on down to The Shelter for Kool Kat Katherine Lashe’s Syrens of the South in their ballyhoo of an event, Tease Tuesday: Halloween Edition featuring the spooktacular and zesty acts of Torra Torrid, Violetta Lugosi, Kool Kat Ursula Undress, Ruby Redmayne, Tru Bliss, Candi Le Coeur and many more! It promises to be a horrorfest of burlesque and singers and acrobats, OH MY!

Rev on down to Smith’s Olde Bar for the swingin’ honkytonk surf sounds of Izzy and the Catastrophics! If you’re craving some old school rockin’ blues, come on down to Fat Matt’s Rib Shack for the JT Speed Band and some rockin’ BBQ! Swing on down to Steve’s Live Music to witness the veterans of bluegrass with a hint of swing, the 8th of January! Jam it up with Joe Gransden and his jazz jam session at Twain’s in Decatur every Tuesday at 9 pm or head on down to Eddie’s Attic for the thundering hardcore Americana sounds of Tim Eriksen’s Trio de Pumpkintown!  Blind Willie’s offers some foot stompin’ bluegrass with the Boo Hoo Ramblers while The Entertainment Crackers blues it up with their folksy Americana at the Northside Tavern. Get rowdy with a little early 90s Indie rock Seattle grunge at the Drunken Unicorn with Thee Quasi, Jeffery Lewis and Glen Iris! For a night of shocking, terrifying cinematic slasher satisfaction, spend an hour or two (if you’re not too chicken!) with your favorite masked villain mama’s boy, Jason Vorhees, at the screening of Sean S. Cunningham’s  FRIDAY THE 13th (1980) as Northlake Festival Movie Tavern gets bloody in their Retro Cinema Scares! series, or if you need something a little more undead, stagger on over to The Plaza Theater for Splatter Cinema‘s zombified screening of George Romero’s classic, DAWN OF THE DEAD (1978) at 9:30!

Wednesday, October 9

Take a trip down the yellow brick road and make your way to the Center for Puppetry Arts and say ‘Hey!’ to Dorothy and her pals in their presentation of THE WIZARD OF OZ with two showings at 10 and 11:30 am!  Come get swept away with the dreamy Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert as Emory’s Cinematheque screens Frank Capra’s IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT (1934) at in their American Comedy Classics series at Emory’s White Hall at 7:30 pm.

Hey you rude boys and girls! Pull out those dusty old braces and boots and head on down to The Loft to get your fill of the 80s and 90s ska/punk revival with The English Beat or rock on down to  the Masquerade as the Voodoo Glow Skulls, The Toasters and Left Alone leave you two-toned, out of breath and begging for more! Have a bad-ass blues chick night at The Earl with the Chicago-blues and 60s vintage rock sounds of Eileen Jewell or roll on down to Smith’s Olde Bar for the ‘root rocker’, blues and soul queen Nikki Hill! Head on over to Blind Willie’s for some blues, jazz and southern soul with Scott Glazer’s Mojo Dojo or rock on over to the Northside Tavern as Danny ‘Mudcat’ Dudeck fires up the blues! Catch The Hollidays slingin’ their 60s soul and rock n roll at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack and it’s Widespread Wednesdays at Big Tex featuring the funky rockin’ sounds of Sugarfoot! Get to pickin’ at Steve’s Live Music in Sandy Springs with Battlefield Collective! It’s Ladies Night at Johnny’s Hideaway which plays hits from Sinatra to Madonna for a generally mature crowd. Get slashed at Northlake Festival Movie Tavern’s Retro Cinema Scares! series with Sean S. Cunningham’s  FRIDAY THE 1th (1980) matinee screening at 11:30 am!

Thursday, October 10

Boogie on down to Variety Playhouse for some terrifying funk from beyond the grave with Here Come the Mummies, wrapped to the nines in their best funeral attire! Get headless and haunted at Serenbe Playhouse’s chilling premiere of THE SLEEPY HOLLOW EXPERIENCE, directed by Brian Clowdus.  Get spooked! Get thrilled! Be the Headless Horseman’s next victim! Catch SONG OF THE LIVING DEAD as Dad’s Garage Theater Company presents this hilarious ghoulish tale! For something a little more retro, a little more swingin’, head on up to Dunwoody and take in the Stage Door Players’ presentation of THE ANDREW BROTHERS: A MADCAP MUSICAL SALUTE TO THE SWINGING 40s!  Come get risqué at Smith’s Olde Bar as they host The Lipstick Junkies’ Show, featuring Black Caviar and Ray of Sunshine in their exciting event where ‘Vegas and Vaudeville meet the Cotton Club’!  Head on over to Noni’s Bar & Deli for their weekly Occupy Edgewood event featuring DJs Rene Dellefont & Brian Parris as they offer up the sounds of The Smiths and The Cure and all the morose tunes your black little heart desires. Get your boogie on at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack, as Chickenshack featuring Eddie Tigner delivers some honky-tonk blues while the Northside Tavern presents the classic 50s Chicago-style blues of The Breeze Kings. A night of rockin’ blues with Beverly ‘Guitar’ Watkins will be had at Blind Willie’s while the Red Light Café’s howlin’ with The Howlin’ Brothers and their old timey blues and bluegrass show! Get your boogie on at Mary’s, as the East Atlanta venue gets funky with their weekly Disco in the Village. Chill on down to Trader Vic’s for a couple of cocktails with DJ Yvonne Monet as she kicks off Pride Weekend.  It’s 80s/90s Retro Video Night with free drinks ’til 10 at The Shelter.  Tonight’s a night of shock-filled cinema that will leave you on the edge of your seat, so come on down (If you dare!) and check in at the Overlook Hotel, although we can’t promise you’ll check out in Stanley Kubrick’s THE SHINING (1980) at 7:15 and 9:45!  And it’s your last chance to get victimized in Sean S. Cunningham’s FRIDAY THE 13th (1980) at the Northlake Festival Movie Tavern’s Retro Cinema Scares! series at 7:30! And Ghost Riders Car Club honytonks it up at the Clermont Lounge.

Jayne County and the Electrick Queers

Friday, October 11 

Finally! Get outrageous and rock on down to The Star Bar for Georgia’s home-grown CBGB pioneer and international punk rock sensation that is Kool Kat Jayne County and her Electrick Queers where she’ll be rockin’ out to her greatest hits! It’s Steampunk Friday down at the Edgewood Speakeasy ElectroSwing Atlanta, featuring DJ Doctor Q, so, be unique and fabulous and a little curious as you catch a glimpse of what lies hidden behind that secret door! The Variety Playhouse promises a night of rock and roll with the sounds of Reptar, reminiscent of a little Talking Heads, a little Prince and a little Jackson 5 all rolled up into one rockin’ show! Jump ‘n’ jive on down to the Crimson Moon Café for the ragtime, viper jazz, country swing sounds of Woody Pines and The Howlin’ Brothers! Fat Matt’s Rib Shack has some vintage-style blues with Atlanta Boogie while Blind Willie’s hosts the “Empress of the Blues” herself, Sandra Hall & The Shadows! Boogie on down to the Northside Tavern to catch the madness and absurdity that is, Colonel Bruce Hampton as he slings over 50 years worth of that funky, jazz-infused rhythm! If you’re itching for some bonafide New Orleans-style brass standards, head on down to the Elliot Street Pub for the brassy Wasted Potential Brass Band! Maybe catch a glimpse of Old Blue Eyes as The Electromatics revive a little Sinatra and a little of that Chicago/West Coast swing under the dinosaurs while sipping a cocktail at the Fernbank Museum of Natural History’s Martinis and IMAX event.

Saturday, October 12

Have your cake and eat it too, with a little ink on the side! Today’s the day, the Day of the Cupcake with Mary Antoinette in their annual charity affair! Head on down to Sacred Heart Tattoo and get your fill of sweets and maybe a little pain with a $50 cupcake tattoo for a good cause and maybe you’ll be spared Ms. Antoinette’s blood lust! Sacred Heart has teamed up with the divine domestic goddesses, The Sugar Dolls in their effort to raise awareness and support for Atlanta’s Lost & Found Youth, a charity that helps homeless LGBT youth in Atlanta! So, if you have a heart (sacred or not) and an undeniable sweet tooth, come on down, get poked, get fed and support a wonderful cause! The event runs from noon until 7 pm, with an after party at The Star Bar, where the first fifty (who are lucky enough to keep their heads) will receive free Marie Antoinette door prizes! The after party will be swingin’ with musical performances by The Swingthrower Ensemble, The Vauxhall Garden Variety Players with Maria Nicholas, Jeffrey Butzer and a fabulous and sultry burlesque performance by Sadie Hawkins! Heads will be rolling, so come on down! Decorate parasols! Eat cake! Get a tattoo! Taste the Green Fairy! Support a great cause!

Chickens and Pigs throws a downright hootenanny for its first new CD in years at Big Tex. For all that is dark and sinister, you won’t want to miss out as Danzig brings his 25th Anniversary Tour to Atlanta at Center Stage! So, if you’ve been lusting for that hardcore heavy metal of yore and you’re ready rock out, come on down! Get rebellious at 529 as they offer a night reminiscent of Bikini Kill, The Ramones and a little nostalgic punk with Lust Cats of the Gutters while the Highlander brings back the sounds of The Sex Pistols, The Ramones and Social Distortion with a taste of the Cadillac Junkies! Head on down to the Northside Tavern to catch that funk-sensation and bluesy jazz legend, Ike Stubblefield or to The Family Dog as The Hollidays sling their 60s soul and rock n roll or maybe groove on down to Fat Matt’s Rib Shack  to get a taste of The Stooge Brothers’ brand of funky blues while you chomp on some awesome BBQ! Smith’s Olde Bar gets down and dirty with Sister Sparrow & The Dirty Birds, while Joe Nemeth, the ‘natural-born Bluesman’ throws down his deep and soulful sounds at Blind Willie’s! And as always, DJ Romeo Cologne transforms the sensationally seedy Clermont Lounge into a ’70s disco/funk inferno late into the wee hours of the night.

Kitty Love.

Sunday, October 13

Cheeky Belles Burlesque presents Kitty Love’s Sultry Sunday Burlesque’s Sci-Fi Fantasies & Haunting Tails Halloween Show at the Red Light Café! You won’t want to miss tributes to your favorite sci-fi and fantasy characters!  Be a part of this steamy event with performances by Kitty Love, Angelica Vice, Lah Lah Luscious, Salvador Chali, Sinamon T. Wisted, Dirty Harry and many more! Costumes are encouraged, so if you want to get a little risqué and spooked all in the same entertaining evening, come on down! Show begins at 8 pm!

Stroll on down to Atlanta Orchestra’s Symphony Hall as the legendary powerhouse Michael McDonald showcases the guttural bluesy sounds that have made him a household name!  Head on down to The Earl and get your kicks with a little garage, disco, punk-infused rock with the Electric Six!  The Family Dog presents the bluesy sounds of the Jez Graham Trio while Fatback Deluxe belts out their retro blues, soul and jazz from the 40s, 50s and 60s at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack!  Blind Willie’s presents their Luau for Lukemia, so come on and get bluesy deep while supporting a great cause!

Ongoing

Atlanta Zombie Apocolypse runs from Sept. 27 through Nov. 2. 

Netherworld haunts from Sept. 27 through Nov. 2.

Six Flags’ Fright Fest spooks every weekend from Oct. 5 through Oct. 27.

7 Stages presents THE NAVIGATOR, through October 13. Watch for a Kool Kat of the Week interview with Composer Klimchak soon!

Center for Puppetry Arts’s THE WIZARD OF OZ follows the yellow brick road until Oct 20. (W-F 10 & 11:30, Sat 12 & 2 and Sun 1 & 3 pm)

Serenbe Playhouse’s THE SLEEPY HOLLOW EXPERIENCE chills and thrills from Oct. 10 through Oct. 31

The Stage Door Players’ presentation of THE ANDREW BROTHERS: A MADCAP MUSICAL SALUTE TO THE SWINGING 40s swings from Oct. 10 through Oct. 20.

Agatha’s A Taste of Mystery’s who-done-it mystery dinner show, ‘SOMEWHERE OVER THE RAINBOW…SOMEONE DIES!’ runs from Oct. 7 through Nov. 6.

Every first and third Mondays are Big Band Nights at Café 290, featuring Joe Gransden and his amazing 16-piece orchestra playing jazz and swing standards in the tradition of The Glen Miller Orchestra and other legendary groups.  Second and fourth Mondays are Bumpin the Mango, ‘The groove that makes you want to move!’

If you have a suggestion for a future event that should be included in This Week in Retro Atlanta or see something we missed, please email us at atlretro@gmail.com.