ATLRetro

by Melanie Crew
Contributing Writer

Hey all you Retro guys and gals! Come and see what’s swell and happenin’ on the Retro Atlanta menu this week! We’ve got everything you need to stay warm and toasty while getting’ hip to the jive! So, get to rockin’ and see what we have for you!

Monday, January 20

Make your way to the EyeDrum Art & Music Gallary for a little ‘not so silent cinema’ as they screen the ever hilarious Buster Keaton’s classic comedic shorts with live original musical scoring by the New River Ensemble!  The Plaza Theater whets your retro musical appetite with their screenings of George Cukor’s spectacular, MY FAIR LADY (1964) and Vincente Minnelli’s classic, GIGI (1958) at 9:30 tonight!  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. Boogie on down to the Northside Tavern and spend an evening with Lola at her famous Monday Night Northside Jam!  Pork on down to Fat Matt’s Rib Shack for an extra helping of the rockin’ blues with Pead Boy & The Pork Bellies!  And get a taste of some roots and soul at Blind Willie’s with Brandon Reeves! 

Tuesday, January 21

Get rebellious and dance on over to Hell’s Kitchen as The Plaza Theater gets musical gangland-style with their screening of Robert Wise & Jerome Robbins’ musical update of Romeo & Juliet, WEST SIDE STORY (1961) featuring scores by Stephen Sondheim and Leonard Bernstein! 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! Or boogie on down to Darwin’s Burgers & Blues in Marietta for a taste of Bill Sheffield’s acoustic roots and blues! Boogie on down to Blind Willie’s for an evening with The Hollidays slingin’ their 60s soul and rock n roll! Have a folksy evening at Steve’s Live Music with The Night Travelers! Jam it up with Joe Gransden and his jazz jam session at Twain’s in Decatur every Tuesday at 9 pm. The Entertainment Crackers gets bluesy with their folksy Americana sounds at the Northside Tavern. And join Charles Kane in his ruthless pursuit of power as a newspaper tycoon at the Northlake Festival Movie Tavern’s screening of CITIZEN KANE (1941), directed, produced and starring Orson Welles during their Salute to the Oscars series’ screening at 7:30 pm!

Wednesday, January 22

Thrash out surf-style with eLfOSSIL at The Earl along with the rockin’ punk chicks of Brawful and Sioux City Sue! Or get some rockin’ love at Smith’s Olde Bar with Big Daddy Love’s Americana, Appalachian rock and some 20s jug band, ragtime and Dixieland sounds with the Jugtime Rag Band! The Elliott Street Pub gets jazzy with Steven Wood & The Woody’s! Catch The Hollidays slingin’ their 60s soul and rock n roll at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack! Or make your way to the Northside Tavern as Danny ‘Mudcat’ Dudeck fires it up with his rockin’ blues! The Electromatics dishes out their brand of Chicago and West Coast blues at Blind Willie’s! It’s Ladies Night at Johnny’s Hideaway which plays hits from Sinatra to Madonna for a generally mature crowd. Spend an evening with the legendary chanteuse Judy Garland as she sings her way into your heart at The Plaza Theater at their screening of Vincente Minnelli’s musical classic, MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS (1944) at 7:30 and 9:30 pm!  And spend the afternoon with Charles Kane gettin’ ruthless at the Northlake Festival Movie Tavern’s screening of CITIZEN KANE (1941), Orson Welles’ first feature film, during their Salute to the Oscars series’ matinee screening at 11:30 am!

Thursday, January 23

For a rockin’ night of old-school punk, get you fill of the legendary Descendents at The Earl’s event, FILMAGE: THE STORY OF DESCENDENTS/ALL 2013 documentary, screened sharply at 9:30, followed by the Descendents tribute band, Rafay Goes to College! Get retro with some old-school alt-rock at The Star Bar for a taste of the Cheap Trick and Replacements-inspired tunes of Tim O’Donovan & The Long Shot Saints along with Sailing to Denver and the Todd Prusin Experience! Shimmy on over to the Kit Kat Klub and get jazzy with Liza Minnelli as The Plaza Theater screens Bob Fosse’s classic musical, CABARET (1972) at 7:30 and 9:30 pm! The Red Light Café gets vintage and old timey with a little country and folksy bluegrass of Little Country Giants and City Mouse! Stagger on over to Noni’s Bar & Deli for their Bitter Heroes event featuring DJ Brian Parris as he gets charmingly morose with a little New Wave, The Smiths and The Cure! Terminal West gets funky with The Ringers! Rock on over to the Crimson Moon Café for The Tom & Julie Show featuring tributes to tunes from the 60s to the 90s every Thursday! The Northside Tavern gets rockin’ with The Breeze Kings while Sue Foley and Peter Karp offers up their foot stompin’ blues at Blind Willie’s! Darwin’s Burgers & Blues gets down and dirty at their Blues Jam hosted by The Cazanovas! Steve’s Live Music in Sandy Springs gets bluesy with the Randy Chapman Trio!  Get your boogie on at Mary’s, as the East Atlanta venue gets funky with their weekly Disco in the Village. Surf on down to Trader Vic’s for a few cocktails and a raucous night of surf rock with Grinder Nova! It’s your last chance to spend the evening with Orson Welles as the Northlake Festival Movie Tavern’s screens CITIZEN KANE (1941), during their Salute to the Oscars series’ screening at 7:30 pm! And, come experience the misadventures of a boy coming of age during the Great Depression as the Act 3 Playhouse presents Neil Simon’s play, ‘Brighton Beach Memoirs’ through Feb. 2!

Friday, January 24

Get deep into the nostalgia of the 50s, the real 1950s, for two nights only, at the 14^th Street Playhouse as Gathering Wild presents their newest multi-media dance performance, ‘Circa 50’, performing to the tune of the greats of the 50s, including Sinatra , Chuck Berry, Johnny Cash, Patsy Cline and much more at 8 pm! (And keep your eyes peeled for a Kool Kat of the Week posting for Gathering Wild’s artistic director, Jerylann Warner coming soon!) Stomp on over to The Earl as they get rockin’ Prohibition-era style with the 20s ragtime and Dixieland jazz of Blair Crimmins & The Hookers along with the Darnell Boys! Or get old school and punk out at 529 as Clashinista delivers a rockin’ night of Clash favorites with special guest, Zen Arcade paying a rockin’ tribute  to Huskar Du!  Kool Kat Hot Rod Walt gets acoustic and wild solo at the Buck Creek Tavern!  Groove on down to the Variety Playhouse and get psychedelic as Yacht Rock Review performs Pink Floyd’s entire Dark Side of the Moon album! Honky-tonk on over to Smith’s Olde Bar as Rolling Nowhere delivers some junkyard roots along with The Banditos, A Brilliant Lie and Sam Koon! ATL Collective rocks out to Paul McCartney’s entire RAM album at the Elliot Street Pub! Rock on over to the Highlander as they get southern-fried and rockin’ with Red Rocket Deluxe and Vagrant Justice! Get some soul and slither on down to Darwin’s Burgers & Blues for Snakelegs! Danny ‘Mudcat’ Dudeck fires it up with his rockin’ blues at the Northside Tavern! Blind Willie’s gets down and dirty with Houserocker Johnson & The Shadows! Or jump and jive on over to Fat Matt’s Rib Shack for a night of electrifying vintage energy with Atlanta Boogie’s Kansas City/West Coat blues! Get bluesy at the Fernbank Museum of Natural History’s Martinis and IMAX with the Electromatics and their brand of Chicago and West Coast blues! And spend the night with the Dread Pirate Roberts at The Strand Theater as they get adventurous and vengeful with Mel Brooks’ classic kooky tale of true love and revenge, at their screening of THE PRINCESS BRIDE (1987) at 7:30 pm!

Saturday, January 25

Get your Elvis on and shimmy on down to the Variety Playhouse as they deliver some retro Vegas glitz, with Kool Kat “Big Mike” Geier and his Kingsized Rock-n-roll Orchestra’s Elvis Royale show featuring the sassy show-girl glamour of Dames Aflame! It’s Boobiepalooza at The Star Bar! Rock out with some rockin’ chick badassery while supporting a great cause with The Coathangers, Tikka and Shantih Shantih at their Breast Cancer Awareness show! The Red Light Café dishes out the madness and absurdity that is, Kool Kat Colonel Bruce Hampton and Madrid Express slinging over 50 years worth of funky, jazz-infused rhythm! Rock on over to The Buckhead Theater for some rockin’ blues with Big Head Todd & The Monsters at 7 pm!   Come join the funky disco and blues rockin’ ruckus at Smith’s Olde Bar with Moontower, The Deadfields, the Daniels Brothers Band and Brian Whiltsey! Stomp on over to the Tabernacle for some rockin’ bluegrass with the Yonder Mountain String Band and The Travelin’ McCourys! Vinyl gets groovy with Voodoo Visionary and The Orange Constant! For some old-timey bluegrass and garage country, honky-tonk on down The Earl  and get rockin’ with I Want Whisky, the Villain Family and City Hotel! The Susi French Connection doles out some 70s era pop and disco at Eddie’s Attic! Rock out with some retro-inspired tunes at The Drunken Unicorn with Glen Iris, Monsoon and Sex BBQ!  For some classic rock and Motown, shake it on down to The Strand Theater for the Paradocs! Catch the Mike Lowry Band bluesin’ it up at The Family Dog! Danny ‘Mudcat’ Dudeck fires it up with his rockin’ blues at the Northside Tavern! Blind Willie’s gets down and dirty with Sandra Hall & The Shadows! Darwin’s Burgers & Blues dishes out some classic rock, blues and jazz with the Barry Richman Band! Get your prescription filled at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack with Dr. Dixon “The Blues Physician”!  It’s your last chance to experience the real 1950s, at the 14^th Street Playhouse as Gathering Wild presents their newest multi-media dance performance, ‘Circa 50’, performing to the tune of the greats of the 50s at 8 pm!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.

Sunday, January 26

Get your fill of some swanky Reinhardt gypsy-jazz with Kool Kat Amy Pike and the Bonaventure Quartet at The Family Dog! Or surf on over to The Earl for their Tag Team Goes to Hawaii ‘dunch’ with tasty tropical frozen drinks at 1 pm! Stomp on over to Big Tex for the bluegrassin’ City Hotel! Get rootsy at the Variety Playhouse with Amy Ray (Indigo Girls)!  The Midtown Men take over the Cobb Energy Center with their 60’s throwback to rock n roll with their renditions of The Beatles, the Beach Boys, the Temptations, Jackson 5 and much more! Get super cool and retro at the Morris and Rae Frank Theater as The Beatniks deliver their unique tribute to The Beatles!  And Fat Matt’s Rib Shack gets rockin’ with Fat Back Deluxe!

Ongoing

Act 3 Playhouse presents Neil Simon’s play, ‘Brighton Beach Memoirs’ through Feb. 2!

The Star Bar gets groovy with The Funk Godfather, DJ Romeo Cologne and DJ Quasi Mandisco every other Tuesday!

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!’

Every first Wednesday is the Graveyard Tavern’s Graveyard Swing Night, featuring the swingin’ jazz and boogie-woogie sounds of the Savoy Kings!

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.