ATLRetro

by Melanie Crew
Managing Editor

Hey all you retro-lovin’ kiddies! It’s that time of year again! The big jolly fella may be spying to see if you’re naughty or nice, so show ‘em how good (or bad, we don’t mind!) you are by gettin’ out and seeing what Retro Atlanta has in store for you! It’s a week of holiday cheer, retro-style, so whether you’re hankerin’ for a good classic flick or are needing to get your retro rockin’ fix, come see what we’ve found for you!

Monday, December 21

Get your holiday fix, retro-style at The Earl Smith Strand Theatre with their holiday movie marathon featuring Frank Capra’s classic, IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE (1946), with screenings at 12pm; 3pm; 6pm and 9pm, with a holiday pre-show and sing-along! ATL Collective gets funky with their presentation of James Brown’s “Funky Christmas” at Terminal West! Skye Paige, “Queen of Slide Guitar” rocks out at the Little Vinyl Lounge! 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! Or make your way to the Fox Theatre for Keith & Kristyn Getty’s “An Irish Christmas”! 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, “Toyland” edition, 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 22

The Northlake Festival Movie Tavern delivers your retro holiday fix with a screening of Frank Capra’s holiday classic, , IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE (1946) during their “Classic Films on the Big Screen” series at 7:30! 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 23

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]! Make your way to the Northlake Festival Movie Tavern for their screening of Frank Capra’s holiday classic, , IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE (1946) during their “Classic Films on the Big Screen” series at 7:30! 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 24

It’s your last chance to catch Frank Capra’s holiday classic, , IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE (1946) at the Northlake Festival Movie Tavern during their special Christmas Eve presentation of their “Classic Films on the Big Screen” series at 7:30! 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 25

It’s a retro Christmas, folks! For those of you wondering, Retro Atlanta is alive and hopping today, so come on out and see what the jolly old fella has up his big red sleeve! The Plaza Theater has retro fantastic gifts to give with their screenings of Victor Fleming’s THE WIZARD OF OZ (1939); Stanley Kubrick’s THE SHINING (1980) and Jerry Zucker’s GHOST (1990), all screening through Dec. 31! Rock out and get your fill of cosmic sludge with Motherfucker and MTN ISL at The Earl! 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 26

Get kinky and shimmy ‘n’ shake on down to The Star Bar and celebrate all the kids on the naughty list during Roxie Roz’ Holiday Kink Burlesque Show featuring performances by Kitty Capone, Kool Kat Katherine Lashe, Mary Strawberry, and music by Kool Kat Joshua Longino and The Disapyramids! Brother Hawk and Stonerider rock out at The Earl! Get folksy with Jamie Laval at the Red Clay Theatre! Glam it up and rock out with The Swinging Richards and Pinups at Smith’s Olde Bar! You’re your way to Steve’s Live Music for a night with Glenn Phillips! 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 27

Bluegrass it up with the Dave Rawlings Machine at the Variety Playhouse! Blues it up with Snake Legs at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack! 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! (LAST CHANCE)

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

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! (LAST CHANCE)

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

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.