ATLRetro

by Melanie Crew
Managing Editor

Shake a tail feather in Retro Atlanta this week!

Monday, February 1

Make your way to the Alpharetta Branch Library for their screening of Stanley Kramer’s classic, GUESS WHO’S COMING TO DINNER (1967) at 10:30am! Skye Paige, “Queen of Slide Guitar” rocks out at the Little Vinyl Lounge! Blast-Off Burlesque starts your week off right with a night of adults-only trivia at the Euclid Avenue Yacht Club at 8:30pm! Get folksy with Jamie Laval at Steve’s Live Music in Sandy Springs! 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! The Cody Matlock Band delivers a night of blues at Darwin’s Burgers & Blues in Marietta!

Tuesday, February 2

The Landmark Midtown Art Cinema delivers their “Wim Wenders: Portraits Along the Road” series with a screening of KINGS OF THE ROAD (1976) at 7pm, with an intro and Q&A after the screening! Or join the miscreants in the land of detention at the Northlake Festival Movie Tavern during their screening of the John Hughes’ ‘80s classic THE BREAKFAST CLUB (1985) during their “Classic Films on the Big Screen” series at 7:30! Bluegrass it up with Control Burn at Steve’s Live Music! The Star Bar delivers a night of retro shenanigans with their Downtown Tuesday Night Dance Party featuring retro-soul, funk, ‘80s, ‘90s and more! Catch a screening of Harold Ramis’ GROUNDHOG DAY (1993) at Studio Movie Grill (Alpharetta/Duluth) at 7:30pm! Andrew Black fires up the blues at Blind Willie’s! Jam it up with Joe Gransden and his jazz jam session at Venkman’s every Tuesday! And as always, The Entertainment Crackers get bluesy with their folksy Americana at the Northside Tavern!

Wednesday, February 3

Rock out with Super X-13, The El Caminos and Lust at the Clermont Lounge! Or get the garage rockin’ blues with Jared Swilley (Black Lips), Kool Kat Rod Hamdallah and Old King Cole Younger at 529! Get cinematic with “La Nouvelle Vague” at Emory Cinematheque’s screening of Francois Truffaut’s SHOOT THE PIANO PLAYER (1960) during their “French New-Waves: Classics & Rediscoveries” series at 7:30pm! The Atlanta Jewish Film Festival presents the 40th Anniversary edition of John Schlesinger’s MARATHON MAN (1976) at the GTC Merchant’s Walk Stadium (Marietta) at 7pm! Geek it up at Battle & Brew during their Science Fiction Geek Trivia Night at 8pm! The Variety Playhouse delivers a night of rock with Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes! It’s your last chance to make it to the Northlake Festival Movie Tavern for their screening of the John Hughes’ ‘80s classic THE BREAKFAST CLUB (1985) during their “Classic Films on the Big Screen” series at 7:30! Atlanta Boogie dishes out a night of Kansas City and West coast blues at Blind Willie’s! Make your way to The Earl for a night with Low! Eddie’s Attic delivers a night with Parker Gispert (The Whigs) and Slow Parade! Lola gets down and dirty at Sweet Georgia’s Juke Joint! It’s Chicken Picken’ Wednesday at Venkman’s, so come on out for a night with In the Wheelhouse! Boogie on down to East Atlanta’s Graveyard Tavern for their Graveyard Swing Night, held the first Wednesday of every month, promising an evening of swingin’ jazz and jive with the Savoy Kings! Jazz it up with The Gordon Vernick Quartet at the Red Light Café! Stomp on down to The Star Bar for their Cowboy Karaoke event, featuring live-band old-time country and western tunes with Dry Gulch! Or 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, February 4

Rock out and honkytonk it up at The Star Bar with The Legendary Shack Shakers, Pine Hill Haints and The Gartrells! It’s a night of gritty rock ‘n’ roll at 529 with Bear Girl, The Fire Tonight, Swank Sinatra and Plague of Pilgrims! It’s “Exile on Amsterdam Avenue” at the Red Light Café with Caroline Aiken, Drew de Man, Jon Waits and Noel Sumrall! Blues it up with Tab Benoit at the Variety Playhouse! Beverly “Guitar” Watkins gets down at Blind Willie’s! It’s Mai Tai Thursday, so surf on down to Trader Vic’s for a helluva beach party! Mojo Davis dishes out a night of blues ‘n’ jazz at Venkman’s! It’s a night of tributes at Smith’s Olde Bar with Stone Tribute Pilots (Stone Temple Pilots) and Rusty Cage (Soundgarden)! 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, February 5

Get traumatized and HORROR-fied this weekend as the Days of the Dead Convention kills it at the Sheraton Atlanta hotel for three days of ghastly gore-filled events, running through Feb. 7! You won’t want to miss monstrous retro celebrity guests Ted Raimi (EVIL DEAD II); Heather Langenkamp (NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET); Oliver Robins and Martin Casella of POLTERGEIST fame; John Dugan (TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE); C. Thomas Howell (E.T.); masked menace Kane Hodder of FRIDAY THE 13TH fame; Tony Todd (CANDYMAN); the 48-Hour Horror Film Fest; a hell raisin’ Friday night party featuring Celebrity Scaryee-Okee and more! So, get your fill of the blood-bath that is, Days of the Dead!

Get experimental with Film Love Atlanta as Kool Kat Andry Diztler presents “An Evening of Stan Brakhage Films” at Emory White Hall at 7:30pm, featuring all 16mm prints [Keep your eyes peeled for our Kool Kat interview with Jane Wodening (Brakhage’s first wife)]! Geek it up at Medieval Times for Dragon Con Night! New Wave it up at Avondale Towne Cinema with Devomatix and The Fantastic Plastics! Rock out with Colin Hay at the Variety Playhouse! Make your way to the Buckhead Theatre for a night with Graham Nash! The Buggs shake it up at Steve’s Live Music! The Cobb Energy Performing Arts Center transforms into a Parisian bohemian cabaret as the Atlanta Ballet presents “Moulin Rouge: The Ballet”, shaking a tail feather through Feb. 13! Funk it up with Cadillac Jones at Venkman’s! Rock on down to the Masquerade for a night with Led Zeppelin 2! Pay tribute to Motorhead at The Highlander with Bitch! Get funky with Zydefunk at the Northside Tavern! Boogie under the dinosaurs at the Fernbank Museum of Natural History’s Martinis and IMAX event with the Lethal Rhythms! Rock out roots-style with The Donna Hopkins Band at Darwin’s Burgers & Blues! Get saucy and blues it up with Sandra Hall & the Shadows at Blind Willie’s! 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, February 6

It’s Day 2 to get spooked at the Days of the Dead Convention at the Sheraton Atlanta! Get your blood curdling fill of monsters galore with “Mistress of the Dark” Elvira (today only in full costume!); Billy Dee Williams (STAR WARS); the Son of Celluloid Show; a Chaostume Showdown; and an epic dance party a.k.a. Carnage at 11pm, that will have you rattlin’ your bones deep into the night!

Hollyfest VIII invades The Star Bar with a night of rockin’ tributes to Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and The Big Bopper, with performances by the Southern Ska Syndicate, Rodeo Twister, Dusty Booze & the Baby Haters, Johnny McGowan, Kool Kat Caroline & The Ramblers, The Mystery Men?, Skye Paige, Superpill, The Honey Lungs and Burning Truck! Punk rock it up with The Queers, Antagonizers ATL and DDC at the Drunken Unicorn! Snag a new look with a vintage Valentine’s clothes pop-up at Vintage Soiree, from 11am-6pm! Or rock out with Europe at the Masquerade! Get your swampy ragtime fix at Avondale Towne Cinema with Mayhayley’s Grave and Cold Heart Canyon! Make your way to the Georgia Freight Depot for The Pancake & Booze Art Show, featuring 60+ emerging artists, live music and free pancakes, from 8pm-2am! New Wave it up at the Variety Playhouse with The Producers and Indianapolis Jones! Get to the root of it all with Delta Moon at Blind Willie’s! Fire up the blues with Danny ‘Mudcat’ Dudeck at Darwin’s Burgers & Blues! The Northside Tavern delivers the Allman Brothers Tribute Band! Rev it up with Kool Kat Hot Rod Walt & the Psycho-Devilles at Mule Camp Tavern in Gainesville! Funk it up New Orleans-style with The Mar-Tans at Venkman’s! 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, February 7

It’s Day 3 and your last chance to experience the rockin’ blood and horror fest, the Days of the Dead Convention! Today’s events include horrorific panels, including a POLTERGEIST panel, so, come on and check out all the swell and retro horror goodness while you can! You won’t want to miss the Super Sunday Collector’s Con, featuring comics, toys and more at the Atlanta Marriot Century Center from 11am-5pm! The Atlanta Jewish Film Festival presents the 60th Anniversary edition of Max Nosseck’s SINGING IN THE DARK (1956) at the Lefont Theatre at 11am! Jazz it up with Francine Reed at Eddie’s Attic! Rock on down to the Crimson Moon Café for their Boomers Gone Wild event, delivering a night of ‘60s and ‘70s covers! And get sweet and low down blues-style at the Northside Tavern with Uncle Sugar!

Ongoing

The Cobb Energy Performing Arts Center transforms into a Parisian bohemian cabaret as the Atlanta Ballet presents “Moulin Rouge: The Ballet”, shaking a tail feather through Feb. 13!

The Actors Express murders with their presentation of “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” at 8pm, killing through Feb. 28!

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

Union EAV rocks out with their Punk Rock Karaoke ATL, and every last Tuesday of the month!

Geek it up at My Parents’ Basement with their weekly Tuesday night Nerd Trivia at 8pm!

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.