ATLRetro

by Melanie Crew
Managing Editor

Check out all the swell happenings we’ve found for you This Week in ATLRetro!

Monday, February 12

Get jazzy with the Emerald Empire Band at The Vista Room! Ukulele it up with Jake Shimabukuro at City Winery! 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!” Catch a screening of Tommy Wiseau’s THE ROOM (2003) at The Plaza Theater! Boogie on down to the Northside Tavern and spend an evening with Lola at her famous Monday Night Northside Jam! And blues on down to Fat Matt’s Rib Shack for a side of Dry White Toast and a plate full ‘o finger lickin’ BBQ!

Tuesday, February 13

Get sinfully seductive at and let Kool Kat Katherine Lashe and her burly-Q gals of Syrens of the South spice up your Valentine’s evening with their Tease Tuesday Burlesque: Hearts & Heartbreakers event, shakin’ it up at the Red Light Café! Funk it up with The Squirrelheads at The Vista Room! Get your Barbara Streisand fix with Atlanta Jewish Film Festival’s 50th Anniversary screening of William Wyler’s FUNNY GIRL (1968) at the Springs Cinema & Tap House at 7pm! Jake Shimabukuro dishes out an encore show at City Winery! Spend the night with Mary J. Blige at the Fox Theatre! Reggae it up with Roots of Creation and The Elovaters at Smith’s Olde Bar! Darwin’s Burgers & Blues gets down with the Poverty Level Band! Catch a screening of Tommy Wiseau’s THE ROOM (2003) at The Plaza Theater! Jam it up with Joe Gransden and his jazz jam session at Venkman’s every Tuesday! Celebrate Mardi Gras with The Crawdaddies at Blind Willie’s! The Star Bar delivers a night of retro shenanigans with DJ Quasi Mandisco’s Little 5 Points Dance Party featuring retro-soul, funk, ‘80s, ‘90s and more! And as always, groove on down with Swami Gone Bananas at the Northside Tavern!

Wednesday, February 14

It’s St. Valentine’s Day folks and you know what that means! We’ve dug up a variety of rockin’ vintage shindigs taking place tonight, that we know will get your blood pumping and all set for that shot to the heart! Croon on down to The Earl Smith Strand Theatre for The Sam Cooke Experience, featuring Markell Williams dishing out a soulful revue of “Cupid” proportions at 8pm! Hillbilly it up at The Star Bar for a night with Scott H. Biram and The Hotten Hallers! Paula Cole dishes out a night of love songs at City Winery! Or swing on by Venkman’s for a romantic night featuring Vince Guaraldi’s classic BE MY VALENTINE CHARLIE BROWN, performed by Dave Ellington’s Peanut Gallery! The Vista Room gets jazzy with Joe Gransden’s Valentine’s Dinner Show! Let Sandra Hall & The Shadows show you where it’s at this Valentine’s Day at Blind Willie’s! Spend the night with Hello Ocho at The Earl dishing out a night of psyche-y Kraut rock featuring Adron, Mick Mayer and more! WUSSY MAG presents a 7pm Galentine’s Day event and screening of Hugh Wilson’s FIRST WIVES CLUB (1996) at The Plaza Theater! Swing on by the Cobb Energy Center for a night with Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox! For all you knights in shining armor, get really retro and romantic with the royal one in your life and joust on down to Medieval Times for their Valentine’s Celebration! Spend Valentine’s Day with The Kennedys (Blue Moon Orchestra) at the Red Clay Theatre! Get romantic at the Aurora Cineplex in Roswell for a screening of Michael Curtiz’ CASABLANCA (1942) at 7pm with special treats for the ladies, or catch this romantic classic during the Northlake Festival Movie Tavern’s Flashback Cinema series at 2:30pm/7:30pm! Hula on over to Trader Vic’s and escape into the island atmosphere of love with their 4-course Prix Fixe Menu! The French are known for their romantic gestures, so get romantic at Petite Violette (formerly Petite Auberge) for their special 5-course Valentine’s Day Menu! Be a pair of star-crossed lovers as the Shakespeare Tavern performs their special Valentine’s production of “Romeo & Juliet” at 7:30pm! Emory Cinematheque continues their “Black Lives on the Small Screen” series with a screening of Spike Lee’s 4 LITTLE GIRLS (1997) at 7:30pm! Get mischievous during The Highlander’s Valentine’s Day Chaos featuring Rotten Stitches, Revolt, Moose Knuckle and Dernier Combat! Funk it up with the Mike Veal Band at Tin Roof Cantina! Rock out with Boygirlfriends, Cuntry and more at 529! Or blues it up with Frankie’s Blues Mission at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack! Get the rockin’ blues with The Cazanovas at Darwin’s Burgers & Blues! Get jazzy at the Red Light Café with The Gordon Vernick Quartet! Or make your way to the Northside Tavern as Danny ‘Mudcat’ Dudeck fires it up a night of acoustic 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 15

Rock out with The Othermen, the Reverends and Black Cat Rising at The Star Bar! Honkytonk on down to Avondale Towne Cinema for a night with Dave & Stephen (Million Dollar Quartet) with special guest Kool Kat Caroline & The Ramblers! It’s a night of New Orleans funk with John “Papa” Gros and The Wasted Potential Brass Band at The Vista Room! Doyle Bramhall II dishes out a night of rockin’ blues at Eddie’s Attic! Get groovy at the Clermont Lounge with CHEW, A Drug Called Tradition and Day Tripper! Make your way to Eddie’s Attic for a night with The Indigo Girls, The Bottle Rockets and Chuck Prophet! Catch a free screening of the Coen Brothers’ THE BIG LEBOWSKI (1998) at Venkman’s at 8pm! Garage rock out with Tiger! Tiger! at 529! House Rocker Johnson & the Shadows get down at Blind Willie’s! Cody Matlock & the Mothership get down at Darwin’s Burgers & Blues! Groove on down to Mai Tai Thursday at Trader Vic’s for a night with Coast Guard and a couple killer island cocktails! 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! And as always, boogie down at Mary’s, as the East Atlanta venue gets funky with their weekly Disco in the Village.

Friday, February 16

For those who prefer alternate history to reality and fantasy, travel way back in time during this year’s 3-day event (Feb. 16-18), AnachroCon 2018 – The Viking Age, celebrating historical reenactments, Steampunk, science-fiction, classic horror, literature, fashion and a cornucopia of indulgences! Catch a longship to the Wyndham Atlanta Galleria, where you’ll catch Mistress of Ceremonies, author Lee Martindale, performances by Valhalla’s Vixens, Big Daddy Cool & The Bombshell Kittens, informative panels discussing the medieval era, Vikings, Steampunk, Victorian science-fiction, time travel, Gothic literature, vintage tales of terror (Lovecraft, Poe, Stoker), ghost stories and the classic monster flicks of Universal and Hammer and a vendors room chock full of goodies, including our pals at Horror in Clay (see our Shop Around feature here) and so much more!

Ragtime on down to The Earl for a little Prohibition pandemonium with Kool Kat Blair Crimmins & The Hookers! Rocksteady on down to The Star Bar for their Valentine’s Rock –N- Ska! event featuring Kitty Rose & The Rattlers and Kool Kat Rev. Andy Hawley with Southern Ska Syndicate! Spook on down to Folklore Haunted House in Acworth for their My Bloody Valentine haunt at 7:30pm! Get the blues with the Ghost Town Blues Band at The Vista Room! Catch a screening of Mika Kaurismaki’s MAMA AFRICA: MIRIAM MAKEBA (2011) at The Plaza Theater! Rock out with The Producers at City Winery! Get the blues with the Bridget Kelly Band at Darwin’s Burgers & Blues! The Sabor Brass Band gets down at the High Museum! The Badash Allstar Team delivers their Fleetwood Mac Jam at the Red Light Café! Glam it up with James Hall’s Pleasure Club and Pls Pls at Smith’s Olde Bar! Spend the night with Tommy Emmanuel at the Variety Playhouse! Get funky with the Atlanta Funk Society at Venkman’s! Get down with Stoney Brooks at the Northside Tavern! Get down with Beverly “Guitar” Watkins at Blind Willie’s! It’s a night of outlaw blues with Blue Roads at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack! Time-Warp it up 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 17

It’s day 2 of AnachroCon 2018 – The Viking Age, dishing out anything and everything Viking, Victorian, Steampunk and more! A night of creaturific hilarity invades The Plaza Theater as Cineprov screens/riffs Dick Randall’s FRANKENSTEIN’S CASTLE OF FREAKS (1975) at 9pm! Get the roadhouse blues with Delbert McClinton at the Variety Playhouse! Rock out with Prowess, The Buzzards of Fuzz and The Dreaded Marco at The Star Bar! Ragtime on down to The Earl for a little Prohibition pandemonium encore with Kool Kat Blair Crimmins & The Hookers! Criminal Records hosts their free Black Panther Tribute Party featuring State of the Art Atlanta, Marcus Williams (Tuskegee Heirs) and Corey Davis (Jambalaya Mixtape) from 11am – 3pm! Get heavy and old-school with Junkyard and Enuff Z’nuff at 37 Main in Buford! Folk on down to the Red Light Café for their Bob Dylan Jam with Mark Michelson & Friends! Rock out at The Highlander for a night with The Breaks, The Reserves and DDC! Spend the night with Los Temararios at the Atlanta Coliseum in Duluth! The Producers dish out a rockin’ encore at City Winery! Get down with DJ Romeo Cologne and DJ Kwasi Mandisco at the Clermont Lounge! Get down with Radar at Darwin’s Burgers & Blues! Gypsy jazz it up with The Gonzalo Bergara Quartet at Eddie’s Attic! The Northside Tavern gets rockin’ with a little Chicago/Delta blues of The Breeze Kings and Little G Weevil! Get a second chance to glam it up with the Pleasure Club at Smith’s Olde Bar! The Earl Smith Strand Theatre dishes out a night of love and heartbreak with their Strand Ole Opry event! Dance Your Valentine Off with Susi French Connection at Avondale Towne Cinema at 9pm! It’s a bloody encore, so spook on down to Folklore Haunted House in Acworth for their My Bloody Valentine haunt at 7:30pm! Fat Matt’s Rib Shack dishes out an R –N- B Revue! Ghosts and love collide at the Historic Oakland Cemetery with their Love Stories of Oakland tours at 2:30pm, through Sunday! Ambassador of the Blues, James Armstrong, gets down at Blind Willie’s! St. James Live! delivers their Tribute to the Legends night every Saturday night!

Sunday, February 18

It’s day 3 and your last chance to experience alternate history at AnachroCon 2018 – The Viking Age! TCM Big Screen Classics presents a screening of George Cukor’s THE PHILADELPHIA STORY (1940) at theatres across Atlanta at 2pm/7pm [AMC Barrett Commons 24 (Kennesaw); AMC Southlake Pavilion 24 (Morrow); Hollywood Stadium 24 (Chamblee); Avalon Stadium 12 (Alpharetta); Cinemark Tinseltown 17 (Fayetteville); Perimeter Pointe 10; Regal McDonough Stadium 16 (McDonough); Georgian Stadium 14 (Newnan); AMC Sugarloaf Mills 18 (Lawrenceville); and AMC Avenue Forsyth (Cumming)]! Get folksy with Al Stewart and The Empty Pockets at City Winery! Rock out with Sponge and Nobody’s Darlings at the Masquerade! Bluegrass it up with The Kruger Brothers at the Red Clay Theatre! Catch a screening of Victor Fleming’s classic, THE WIZARD OF OZ (1939) during Northlake Festival Movie Tavern’s Flashback Cinema series at 2:30pm/7:30pm! Get the blues with Garrett Collins at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack! Get sweet and low down blues-style at the Northside Tavern with Uncle Sugar with Eddie Tigner!

Ongoing

7 Stages presents THE FOLLOWERS: A RETELLING OF THE BACCHAE, running through Feb. 25!

The Historic Oakland Cemetery offers free guided tours of African American Grounds, throughout Black History Month!

Get the blues with Ike Stubblefield at Avondale Towne Cinema, every Wednesday until March 28!

My Parents’ Basement goes old-school with their monthly Pinball Tournament, every firsts Wednesday of the month!

Geek it up and get to bowlin’ at The Comet Pub & Lanes’ Comet Cosplay, getting nerdy the first Monday of every month!

Dad’s Garage’s Big Boozy Nerdy Game Night brings out the kid in you, every first Monday of the month at 7pm! 

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!

Get your reggae fix with Rub-A-Dub gettin’ down at WildPitch Music Hall, every second Sunday of the month!

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.