ATLRetro

by Melanie Crew
Managing Editor

Retro Atlanta is the Kat’s meow this ho-ho holiday season! We’ve got cult holiday flicks to Halloween in December to a whole ‘lotta of honky-tonk, blues and rock n roll! If you’re lookin’ for a thrill and the weather’s got you down, get off that couch, put on your dancin’ shoes and get Retro!

Monday, December 14

Celebrate 100 years of “Ol’ Blue Eyes” at the Lefont Theatre as they screen Lewis Milestone’s OCEAN’S 11 (1960) at 7pm! Skye Paige, “Queen of Slide Guitar” rocks out at the Little Vinyl Lounge! Get funky and groove on down to Café 290 every second and fourth Monday of the month for a taste of Bumpin the Mango, ‘The groove that makes you want to move!’ Get folksy with Jamie Laval at Steve’s Live Music in Sandy Springs! Make your way to Atlanta Symphony Hall for a night with Michael McDonald! Boogie on down to the Northside Tavern and spend an evening with Lola at her famous Monday Night Northside Jam! Blast-Off Burlesque starts your week off right with a night of adults-only trivia, at the Euclid Avenue Yacht Club at 8:30pm! Truett Lollis delivers a night of blues and soul at Darwin’s Burgers & Blues in Marietta! And Fat Matt’s Rib Shack dishes out a night of BBQ with a side of Dry White Toast!

Tuesday, December 15

The Earl Smith Strand Theatre delivers an Atlanta holiday tradition with Kool Kat Jeffrey Butzer’s tribute to Vince Guaradli and “A Charlie Brown Christmas”! Jingle on down with show openers Jeffrey Butzer & the Bicycle Eaters, followed by Kool Kat Chad Shivers and the Silent Knights performing their Beach Boys Christmas tribute! Geek it up at Diesel Filling Station with Star Wars Nerd-Core Trivia night! Get in the spirit retro-style at Northlake Festival Movie Tavern’s screening of Michael Curtiz’ holiday classic, WHITE CHRISTMAS (1954), during their “Classic Films on the Big Screen” series at 7:30! Get weird this holiday season with RiffTrax Live 2015’s presentation of Barry Mahon’s SANTA & THE ICE CREAM BUNNY (1972) at theatres across Atlanta [Avalon Stadium 12 in Alpharetta; Perimeter Pointe 10; Hollywood Stadium 24 in Chamblee; Cinemark Tinseltown 17 in Fayetteville; AMC Barrett Commons 24 in Kennesaw; AMC Sugarloaf Mills 18 in Lawrenceville; GTC Merchant’s Walk Stadium 12 in Marietta; Regal McDonough Stadium 16; and Georgian Stadium in Newnan]! The Star Bar delivers a night of retro shenanigans with their Retro-Soul, Funk ‘80s & ‘90s Dance Party! Jam it up with Joe Gransden and his jazz jam session at Twain’s in Decatur every Tuesday at 9 pm! And as always, The Entertainment Crackers get bluesy with their folksy Americana at the Northside Tavern!

Wednesday, December 16

Join the old-timey pandemonium at The Earl with Kool Kat Caleb & the Gents, Avi Jacob and Poison Coats! STAR WARS it up at the Highland Inn Ballroom Lounge as SCENE MISSING Presents: The Force Atlantans, featuring music, comedy and all around shenanigans based on STAR WARS films at 9pm! Rock on down to the Masquerade for a night with Mothership! It’s your last chance to get in the spirit retro-style at Northlake Festival Movie Tavern’s screening of Michael Curtiz’ holiday classic, WHITE CHRISTMAS (1954), during their “Classic Films on the Big Screen” series at 7:30! Or make your way to the Studio Movie Grill (Alpharetta/Duluth) for a screening of Chris Columbus’ HOME ALONE (1990) at 7pm! Jazz it up with The Gordon Vernick Quartet at the Red Light Café! The Star Bar with their Cowboy Karaoke event, featuring live-band old-time country and western tunes with Dry Gulch! Get funky and rock on down to Fat Matt’s Rib Shack for a night with The Georgia Flood! Rock on downstairs to the Little Vinyl Lounge for a night of retro shenanigans with Kool Kat Jeff Clark and Stomp & Stammer’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Trivia at 8pm! Or make your way to the Northside Tavern as Danny ‘Mudcat’ Dudeck fires it up with his rockin’ blues! St. James Live! delivers their Hump Days Blues night, getting classic blues-style every Wednesday! 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 17

Celebrate the hellidays at The Star Bar’s Rock and Roll Christmas Pageant with Dusty Booze & the Baby Haters, Night Terrors, Metal McDonald and more! It’s Mai Tai Thursday, so surf on down to Trader Vic’s for a helluva beach party and a couple cocktails! 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 18

Rock out with The Whigs at Aisle 5! Catch a screening of Amy Berg’s documentary, JANIS: LITTLE GIRL BLUE (2015) at The Plaza Theater, running through Dec. 24! The Earl delivers night one of an Atlanta holiday tradition with Kool Kat Jeffrey Butzer’s tribute to Vince Guaradli and “A Charlie Brown Christmas” with Book of Colors and Jeffrey Butzer & the Bicycle Eaters! Kool Kat Hot Rod Walt & the Psycho-Devilles fire it up at Motorheads in McDonough! Geek it up at the Highland Inn Ballroom Lounge as Highwire Comedy Company presents “The Farce Awakens”! 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! 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 19

Rock out for a cause at The Star Bar during their Rock ‘n’ Roll Toys for Tots event featuring Dry Gulch, McPherson Struts, Bad Friend, Kool Kat Spike Fullerton with Ghost Riders Car Club, The Downer Brothers, Bully and The Trash Hats! The Earl delivers night one of an Atlanta holiday tradition with Kool Kat Jeffrey Butzer’s tribute to Vince Guaradli and “A Charlie Brown Christmas” with Book of Colors and Jeffrey Butzer & the Bicycle Eaters! Kool Kat VJ Anthony delivers a night of Goth, dark ‘80s and industrial during his Coffin Classics event at Famous Pub! We know you’ve been naughty, so make your way to the Village Theatre for The Holiday Puckin’ Fuppet Show! Get a second rockin’ helping of Kool Kat Hot Rod Walt & the Psycho-Devilles as they fire it up at the Dixie Tavern! Rock on down to Terminal West for a night with Drivin’ ‘n Cryin’ and Kool Kat Blackfoot Gypsies! St. James Live! delivers their Tribute to the Legends night every Saturday night! 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 20

Get sinister with Santa with Chambers of Horror during their Slaytanic XXXmas event featuring Fiend Without a Face, Degradations, Harvester and more! TCM presents George Seaton’s holiday classic, MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET (1947) in theatres across the Atlanta area at 2pm/7pm [Hollywood Stadium 24 in Chamblee, Perimeter Pointe 10; AMC Sugarloaf Mills 18 in Lawrenceville; AMC Avenue Forsyth 12 in Cumming; AMC Barrett Commons 24 in Kennesaw; AMC Southlake 24 in Morrow; GTC Merchant’s Walk Stadium 12 in Marietta; Regal McDonough Stadium 16; and Georgian Stadium in Newnan]! Swing on by Eddie’s Attic for Joe Gransden and his 16-piece orchestra’s Christmas Special! Rock on down to Terminal West for a night with Drivin’ ‘n Cryin’ and Kool Kat Blackfoot Gypsies! Geek it up shop till you drop for those last-minute gifts at My Parents’ Basement during their December Bizarre Bazaar, from 1-6pm!! And get sweet and low down blues-style at the Northside Tavern with Uncle Sugar!

Ongoing

The Shakespeare Tavern presents Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” through Dec. 23!

The Alliance Theatre presents Charles Dickens’ holiday classic, “A Christmas Carol”, running through Dec. 24!

Center for Puppetry Arts presents their annual puppet adaptation of Larry Roemer’s holiday classic RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER (1964), sleighing through Dec. 27!

Atlanta Ballet presents THE NUTCRACKER at the Fox Theatre, running through Dec. 27!

Blast-Off Burlesque geeks it up with a night of adults-only trivia at the Euclid Avenue Yacht Club, every Monday at 8:30pm!

Nerd Film Mafia screenings at the Diesel Filling Station following NerdCore Trivia, every last Tuesday of the 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.