ATLRetro

by Melanie Crew
Managing Editor/Contributing Writer

Baby, it’s cold outside! But no worries! Retro Atlanta promises to get you warm and toasty with a week of rockin’ good times, filled to the brim with nostalgic holiday goodness! So get hip to the jive and come on out to see what Retro Atlanta has in store for you!

Monday, December 15

Rock on down to The Earl for their screening of Jenni Matz’ RYE COALITION: THE STORY OF THE HARD LUCK FIVE (2014), a documentary following the career of the ‘90s hard rock/post-hardcore band at 8:30pm! 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! Blues on down to Fat Matt’s Rib Shack for a side of Dry White Toast and a plate full ‘o finger lickin’ BBQ! It’s a night of rockin’ blues at Blind Willie’s with The Sly Dog Band! Frankly my dears, we do give a damn, so get your Scarlett O’Hara fix at the Central Library in Fulton County with their 75th Anniversary screening of Victor Fleming’s classic, GONE WITH THE WIND (1939) at 12pm! And don’t shoot your eye out at the Charles D. Switzer Library in Marietta during their screening of Bob Clark’s holiday classic, A CHRISTMAS STORY (1983) at 6pm!

Tuesday, December 16

The Earl delivers a night of lonesome cowboy blues and rockin’ folk with Ben Trickey, Rick Dang and The Wayward Souls! It’s a night of ‘90s alt-rock at Smith’s Olde Bar with Bush and Twin Atlantic! Get alternative with Ed Roland and his friends during their Holiday Show at Eddie’s Attic! Get folksy, Russian-style at Steve’s Live Music in Sandy Springs with Balalaika Fantasie! It’s a night of Chevy Chase shenanigans at the Northlake Festival Movie Tavern’s “Home for the Holidays” screening of Jeremiah S. Chechick’s holiday comedy classic, NATIONAL LAMPOON’S CHRISTMAS VACATION (1989) at 7:30! Get classic, holiday-style with Frank Capra’s IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE (1946) at CineBistro at Town Brookhaven during their “Cineclassics 2014” screening at 6:30! Muppet mayhem ensues at the Toco Hill-Avis G. Williams Library during their screening of Brian Hensen’s THE MUPPET CHRISTMAS CAROL (1992) at 3pm! Joe McGuinness delivers a night of roots and Americana at Blind Willie’s! The Star Bar delivers a night of retro shenanigans with Kool Kat Jeff Clark and Stomp & Stammer’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Trivia at 8pm, followed by ‘80s Dance Night! Jam it up with Joe Gransden and his jazz jam session at Twain’s in Decatur every Tuesday at 9 pm! Or boogie on down to Darwin’s Burgers & Blues in Marietta for a taste of Bill Sheffield’s acoustic roots and blues! Sweet Georgia’s Juke Joint gets the blues with Bob Page! And The Entertainment Crackers get bluesy with their folksy Americana at the Northside Tavern!

Wednesday, December 17

It’s a night of holiday Big Band boogie at the Georgia Ensemble Theatre with Joe Gransden’s “I’ll Be Home For Christmas” performance, featuring his 16-piece Big Band! It’s a night of ‘70s psych rock at The Earl with New Madrid, Kool Kats Spirits and the Melchizedek Children and the Reverends! Hans Solo hilarity ensues at the Highland Inn Ballroom as SCENE MISSING presents their Hans Shot Firstmas event at 9pm, featuring comedy, skits and writing based on Star Wars films! Smith’s Olde Bar rocks out and gets funky with the Miraculous Mandarins, Scofflaw and Phrenic! Get jazzy at Elliott Street Pub with Sal Gentile! Get adventurous with Dread Pirate Roberts at Studio Movie Grill (Alpharetta/Duluth) during their screening of Rob Reiner’s THE PRINCESS BRIDE (1987) at 7pm! Get your classic rockin’ blues fix with Fleetwood Mac at Phillips Arena! It’s a hootenanny and a half at The Star Bar as they get smokin’ during their Slim Chicken Honky-tonk Extravaganza, featuring live-band old-time country and western tunes! It’s your second chance to catch Ed Roland and his friends during their Holiday Show at Eddie’s Attic! Stomp on down to Steve’s Live Music in Sandy Springs for a night of blues to psycho-grass with Joe Craven! Get funky at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack with The Georgia Flood! Blues it up Chicago/West Coast-style with the Electromatics at Blind Willie’s! Or make your way to the Northside Tavern as Danny ‘Mudcat’ Dudeck fires it up with his rockin’ blues! It’s a night of Chevy Chase shenanigans at the Northlake Festival Movie Tavern’s “Home for the Holidays” screening of Jeremiah S. Chechick’s holiday comedy classic, NATIONAL LAMPOON’S CHRISTMAS VACATION (1989) at 7:30! And as always, it’s Ladies Night at Johnny’s Hideaway which plays hits from Sinatra to Madonna for a generally mature crowd.

Thursday, December 18

Beware all you naughty children! Krampus is coming to town at 7 Stages, during their 5th Annual Krampus Xmas holiday rock ‘n’ roll show featuring the Little Five Points Rock Star Orchestra, Kool Kat Katherine Lashe and Syrens of the South, Sadie Hawkins, terrifying puppets and more, running through Dec. 20! Or get jazzy at The Strand Theatre with Kool Kat Jeffrey Butzer and T.T. Mahoney during their unique tribute to Vince Guaraldi’s “A Charlie Brown Christmas” with Chad Shivers & the Silent Knights opening with the Beach Boys Christmas album! Or get really retro at the Atlanta History Center during their Candlelight Nights event, offering a candlelit stroll transporting you through the pioneer days, the Civil War and the ‘30s and each era’s Christmas traditions. Rock out at Terminal West during Mark Carroll’s 11th Annual Toy Drive featuring Yacht Rock Revue! Rock out at The Star Bar during their Rock & Roll Christmas Blackout! Join in on the holiday hi-jinx at The Plaza Theater as their Cineprov group delivers their “Ruining Childhood Memories Holiday Show” at 7:30! It’s a hootenanny of rockin’ proportions at The Earl with Frontier Ruckus and Justin Kinkel-Schuster! It’s Bluegrass Thursday at the Red Light Café, so stomp on down for a night with Time Sawyer! Bluegrass it up at the Tabernacle with Trampled by Turtles and the modern-era Wanda Jackson, Nikki Lane! Or get your alt-country punk fix at Elliott Street Pub with The Punknecks! Catch Dames Aflame dancer and cabaret gal, Josette Pimenta (see our Kool Kat feature soon!) singin’ her heart out at Jungle Atlanta! Get rockin’, roots-style at Steve’s Live Music in Sandy Springs with Donna Hopkins! Heather Luttrell delivers a night of Americana and blues at Blind Willie’s! Make your way to the Atlanta Room at Smith’s Olde Bar for a night with Cosmoknox, Clockwork and Blackfox! Or get your jugtime Dixieland fix in the Music Room with the Rumpke Mountain Boys and The Jugtime Ragband! Eddie’s Attic delivers an evening with Patterson Hood (Drive-by Truckers)! Hula on down to Trader Vic’s for a night of cool island tunes and a couple Mai Tais! 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! The Northside Tavern gets rockin’ with a little Chicago/Delta blues of The Breeze Kings! Get your boogie on at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack, as Chickenshack featuring Eddie Tigner, delivers some honky-tonk blues! Darwin’s Burgers & Blues gets down and dirty at their Blues Jam hosted by The Cazanovas! And as always, boogie down at Mary’s, as the East Atlanta venue gets funky with their weekly Disco in the Village.

Friday, December 19

Kool Kat Jeffrey Butzer, T.T. Mahoney and Robby Handley bring you their 7th annual A Charlie Brown Christmas Tribute at The Earl with Small Wreath Actions’ garage-tinged Rock n Roll Christmas Extravaganza, through Dec. 20! It’s a garage rock revival at Terminal West with The Whigs and Kool Kats Gringo Star! Kathleen Bertrand delivers a night of jazzy holiday classics at the High Museum during their “Friday Night Music Remix” event! It’s a night of garage/prog rock at WonderRoot with Air Wolves, Glen Iris, Bold Ashes and Slow Chrome! Rock out at Smith’s Olde Bar with The Stacktone Slims, Time Sawyer, Back on the Freakout and House of Thomas in the Atlanta Room. Or get funky in the Music Room with All the Locals, Navajo Joe and Forje! Celebrate 45 years of the Beatles’ “Abbey Road” with Abbey Road Live! at the Variety Playhouse! Boogie down jingle-style at Mary’s during their Mary XXX-Mess Party! Get groovy at the Red Light Café with Markey Blue and Garrett Freireich! It’s a night of muddy Mississippi blues at the Buckhead Theatre with the North Mississippi Allstars and Larkin Poe! Catch Suzy Bogguss, the female Merle Haggard, at the Red Clay Theatre during her Christmas Concert! Spend the evening with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and their “A Very Merry Pops!” event, featuring the Atlanta All-City Chorus and catch a sighting of The Grinch, running through Dec. 20! Kool Kat Hot Rod Walt and the Psycho-DeVilles get revved up at The Alamo in Newnan! Get folksy at the Crimson Moon Café with the Solstice Sisters and Out of the Rain! Swank it up with Kool Kat Amy Pike and the Bonaventure Quartet as they deliver a night of Django gypsy jazz at Steve’s Live Music in Sandy Springs! It’s Salsa Dance Night at the Fernbank Museum of Natural History’s Martinis and IMAX event, so cha-cha under the dinosaurs with the Salsambo Dance Studio while sippin’ a few cocktails! Blues it up with Frankie’s Blues Mission at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack! Or make your way to Blind Willie’s for a night with Sandra Hall & the Shadows! Tom Holland & the Shuffle Kings blues it up at Darwin’s Burgers & Blues! Northside Tavern delivers a night of the blues with Stoney Brooks! And as always, Time-Warp it up and get naughty with some uber musically-inclined transsexual aliens at The Plaza Theater as they continue their tradition of screening THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW (1975) every Friday night, featuring the live cast of Lips Down on Dixie at midnight!

Saturday, December 20

Kool Kat “Big Mike” Geier brings his Kingsized Holiday Jubilee & Toy Drive to the Variety Playhouse at 8pm! You won’t want to miss his Kingsized rock n roll orchestra and the glitzy glamorous Dames Aflame! And it’s your last chance to catch Kool Kat Jeffrey Butzer’s tribute to Vince Guaraldi’s “A Charlie Brown Christmas” at The Earl! Or rock out in Gainesville with Kool Kats, The Casket Creatures at the Mule Camp Tavern during their “true nightmare before Christmas” show featuring Jim Sharman’s THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW (1975) at 9pm! ATL Collective, along with Kool Kat Ruby Velle, Grant Green Jr., and more present a “A James Brown Funky Christmas” at Terminal West! It’s a night of Appalachian folk and Americana at the Red Light Café with Waller, Waits & Co. and Wade Sapp! Get geeky at Philips Arena with Marvel Universe Live, featuring superheroes and an action-packed arena extravaganza! Jump across the pond to Smith’s Olde Bar as they present Please PleaseRock Me and Indianapolis Jones! Dear Mr. Peasant delivers a night of Americana at Elliott Street Pub with Husky Burnette! Stomp on down to the Crimson Moon Café for EG Kight! Or make your way to the Charles D. Switzer Library in Marietta for their screening of Chuck Jones/Ben Washam’s classic, HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS (1966) at 3pm! The Powder Springs Public Library screens Michael Anderson’s AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS (1956) at 3pm! And explore Latino music through film at the Atlanta History Center with their “American Sabor Movie” screenings featuring Luis Valdez’ LA BAMBA (1987) at 2pm! Or get a second helping of Bob Clark’s holiday classic, A CHRISTMAS STORY (1983) at the Flat Shoals Library in Decatur at 1pm! Holly Pollyea delivers her funky folk at Steve’s Live Music followed by Red Wine Jam and High Tea! It’s a night of ‘60s covers and more at The Family Dog with the Elegant Bachelors and Parker Smith! Spend the evening with Markey Blue at Darwin’s Burgers & Blues! The Northside Tavern gets rockin’ with a little Chicago/Delta blues of The Breeze Kings! Selwyn Birchwood gets the blues at Blind Willie’s! Blues it up at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack with Mr. Chapman’s Quarterly Revue! 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, December 21

It’s a rompin’ stompin’ hootenanny at The Earl with Chickens and Pigs and their 9th Annual Keith Richards Birthday Bash! Pallookaville delivers their 2nd Annual Holiday Sing-A-Long with Puddles Pity Party and Big Foot, featuring Matthew Kaminski and the mighty organ at 8pm! Get jazzy at Steve’s Live Music in Sandy Springs during their “A Diva Christmas” event, featuring Deb Bowman, Audrey Shakir, Karla Harris and Theresa Hightower! Or doo-wop it up at Atlanta Symphony Hall with Under the Streetlamp! Celebrate the holidays with Joe Gransden’s Big Band Holiday Show at Eddie’s Attic with special guest, Francine Reed! The Family Dog dishes up a Charlie Brown Extravaganza with the David Ellington Trio and Kayla Taylor! Stomp on down to Terminal West for their 4th Annual Holiday Hootenanny, featuring Kool Kat Col. Bruce Hampton, Papa Mali, Delta Moon, Grant Green Jr., Deep Blue Sun and more! Or bluegrass it up at Smith’s Olde Bar’s Bluegrass Brunch featuring D.B.A! And it’s your last chance to get adventurous with Dread Pirate Roberts at Studio Movie Grill (Alpharetta/Duluth) during their screening of Rob Reiner’s THE PRINCESS BRIDE (1987) at 2pm!

Ongoing

Callanwolde Fine Arts Center’s exhibit, Vintage Coca-Cola Santas, featuring 14 original oil paintings by Haddon Sundblom in 1931 for The Coca-Cola Company, sleighs through Dec. 16! (LAST CHANCE!)

The Strand Theatre’s Lumiere Piano Bar & Lounge, featuring classic silent films quietly flickering in the background, accompanied by a live pianist and tasty cocktails, runs through Dec. 20! (LAST CHANCE!)

Serenbe Playhouse presents their adaptation of “Snow Queen” through Dec. 21! (LAST CHANCE!)

The Strand Theatre’s “A Christmas Tradition” song and dance revue runs through Dec. 21! (LAST CHANCE!)

The Gwinnett Ballet Theatre presents “The Nutcracker” at the Gwinnett Performing Arts Center through Dec. 21! (LAST CHANCE!)

Shakespeare Tavern’s Atlanta Shakespeare Company presents Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol”, running through Dec. 23!

The Alliance Theatre gets retro Dickens-style with their “A Christmas Carol”, getting Scrooge-y through Dec. 24!

Center for Puppetry Arts adapts Larry Roemer’s classic, RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER (1964) through Dec. 28!

The Fox Theatre and the Atlanta Ballet present their holiday tradition of “The Nutcracker”, running through Dec. 28!

Museum of Design Atlanta (MODA) exhibits 50 Years of Ebony Fashion Fair through Jan. 4!

The Marietta Museum of History gets Victorian as they present their “Peeling Back the Layers: Victorian Wedding Ensembles” exhibit through May 2, 2015!

William Bremen Jewish Heritage Museum’s, “Where the Wild Things Are: Maurice Sendek in His Own Words and Pictures” getting wild through July 5!

HepCat’s Hop gets swingin’ every first Wednesday of the month at the 57th Fighter Group Restaurant!

Nerd Film Mafia screenings at the Diesel Fueling Station following NerdCore Trivia, every last Tuesday of the month!

ICON 80s: Music Video Dance Night rocks out at the Famous Pub every Friday night with a different 80’s theme!

The Star Bar delivers Stomp & Stammer’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Trivia at 8pm, followed by ‘80s Dance Night at 10pm, every Tuesday!

Boogie on down into Disco Hell at The Family Dog as DJ Quasi Mandisco delivers a night of classic funk, soul and disco the last Friday of every month.

The Plaza Theater Time-Warps it up as they screen, THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW (1975) every Friday night, featuring the live cast of Lips Down on Dixie at midnight!

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.