ATLRetro

Different nationalities have had their own takes on the 20th century motorcycle. Harleys were rugged outlaw machines built for the likes of Marlon Brando and ready to go the distance of Route 66. British Triumph “choppers” dominated the post-war market until under the practical workmanship of the Japanese, Suzuki, Honda, Kawasaki and Yamaha bikes ascended as more mainstream, recreational and affordable. Leave it to the Italians, masters of modern design, to remake motorcycles into sleek and sexy objects of desire that also raced like speed demons.

Or so goes the premise of PASSIONE ITALIANA: DESIGN OF THE ITALIAN MOTORCYCLE, the special exhibition chosen to premiere Museum of Modern Design Atlanta’s (MODA) dynamic new Midtown location at 16th & Peachtree. On display will be 11 “masterpieces” of Italian motorcycle manufacture spanning five decades including bikes made by MV Agusta, Ducati, Bimota and Moto-Morini on loan from the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum in Birmingham, Ala. The opening night party is this Sat. March 19 at 7 p.m. and the show runs from March 20-June 13.

'64 MV Agusta 500cc is one of 11 vintage and contemporary Italian motorcycles on display at MoDA. Photo courtesy of Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum

Who’s the lucky easy rider steering this Italian job? Twisting the wick as curator is Joe Remling, a founding principal at Atlanta architecture firm ai3, with a passion for world travel and global design, as well as an independent streak.

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By Mark Arson, Contributing Blogger

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES (1990); Dir: Steve Barron; Starring Elias Koteas, Judith Hoag, Josh Pais; Screening at Plaza Theatre, Wed. March 16, 9:30 PM; Fri. March 18, Midnight; Sat. March 19, 3 PM

Hardly any fictional universe has gotten rebooted or re-imagined in such a short period of time than that of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Why is that, though? The turtles certainly have remained popular, to the point that you’d be hard-pressed to find someone of any age that didn’t at least know of them. They are basically a pop-culture anomaly, an absurdist parody of serious and gritty comics developed into their own ubiquitous cultural phenomenon. More so, for most of their history, they’ve been marketed as something for children, when they are…well…ninjas that fight with weapons. That is obviously a difficult balance, but kids’ entertainment in the ’80s was all about violence without the violence. As a child growing up I would typically question everything (No, I didn’t believe in Santa. Ever. Jesus neither.) so I couldn’t help but notice how ridiculous it all was. I remember yelling at the screen when a cruise ship sank in BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES and more lifeboats than possibly could have fit on said boat sailed off, going out of the way to prove that NOBODY DIED. Of course, entertainment for kids requires fantasy, and fantasy is expensive.

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Friday, March 11

Mike Geier and one of the lovely Dames Aflame.

Phoenix Flies tours include Piedmont Park Past to Future‘ neo-Gothic Oglethorpe Campus & Museum; Historic Downtown; Hinman Home (1896), now Stonehurst Place Bed & Breakfast, Catholic Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, whose beginnings date back to 1848 and cornerstone was laid 1869; Historic Midtown; and the 2nd Friday Art Stroll of Castleberry Hill art galleries.

Day Two at Southern Fried Burlesque Fest features a Free Range Burlesque show hosted by Mike Geier of KingSized with special guests Dames Aflame. Performers include international stars Dirty Martini andJo Boobs; legends Tiffany Carter and Gyna Rose Jewel; and regional and local performers including festival organizers Katherine Lashe and Ursula Undress ofSyrens of the South.

It’s an all-star night at Star Bar with Drivin’ n Cryin’lead man Kevn Kinney & the Musical Kings opening for The Baseball Project, featuring REM‘s Pete Buckand Dream Syndicate‘s Steve Wynn. Just down the street, Colin Hay, of ’80s Aussie hit-makers Men at Work, does a solo gig at Variety Playhouse. Serving up jazz with a wide Western swing, The Bonaventure Quartet, featuring Atlanta chanteuse extraordinaire Amy Pike, plays Fernbank Museum of Natural History’s Martinis and IMAX. J.T. Speed serves up Southern soul and blues at Fatt Matt’s Rib Shack.

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Ask anyone in Atlanta’s neo-burlesque scene who started it here, and one name inevitably comes up— Eve “Torchy Taboo” Warren. She’s been dubbed the “Godfather of Atlanta Burlesque” and nothing seems more natural than her hosting the Dirty South Burlesque Showcase, a late-night cabaret on Saturday night for some of the best regional performers, one of several star-studded performance events at this weekend’s Southern Fried Burlesque Fest [read ATLRetro’s preview here].

With all the burlesque troupes and production companies performing here now, it’s hard to imagine that just 16 years ago, none of that existed. While Atlanta was home to one of the nation’s largest collections of adult entertainment venues, those venues had long ago left behind any appreciation of the art of the tease. Among all the stagnant bump and grind for big bucks, however, one dancer had a dream.

This red-haired 5-foot-nothing Rita Hayworth lookalike never had been an ordinary stripper. When she wasn’t dancing, she was vagabonding across Europe, performing at drag shows at The Sports Page, studying art history, sipping Polynesian cocktails, waxing poetically about corndogs and jitterbugging to rockabilly bands at the Star Bar. That’s how I met her in 1995 through my friend “Go-Go” Max Bernardi, another Star Bar regular and a singer, painter and performance artist whose artwork and acts were often seen at 800 East, an Inman Park warehouse that at the time was a haven for the city’s alternative creative scene.

The cast of Go-Go and Torchy's Taboo Revue including Eve "Torchy Taboo" Warren, "Go-Go Max" Bernardi, Wanda Baker, Tim Monteith, Ivy Godiva, Dave Olsen and the Queen Bee. Photo credit: April Stevens

Together, Eve and Max cooked up this crazy idea to put on a tribute to the burlesque variety shows of the mid-20th century which they would come to call GO-GO AND TORCHY’S TABOO REVUE. It took place at the Catch City Club, next to Center Stage in Midtown, on October 14-15, 1995, and included many top players in Atlanta’s burgeoning rockabilly, lounge and performance art scene. Useless Playboys former front man “Big Mike” Geier even returned to Atlanta from Richmond, Va., to emcee. Later on he’d found some band called Kingsized and perform with a neo-burlesque company called Dames Aflame, which incidentally also was founded by Torchy Taboo. Another reason why it’s only fittin’ that Big Mike will be hosting and the Dames Aflame are special guests at the FreeRange Burlesque Show Friday night at Southern Fried.

Kelly Hogan (The Jody Grind, Rock*A*Teens), Wanda Baker (Bleu Velveeta) and Dave Olsen (Atlanta rockabilly swing icons The Lost Continentals) sang solo numbers, and almost every number was performed live by a seven-member lounge band, featuring Olson and other members of The Lost Continentals. Dashing up-and-coming illusionist, Christopher Tracy, provided magic, and Ivy Godiva, the weekly guest star of the then-infamous Go-Go Rama dances at the Star Bar, delivered laughs as his ravishingly redneck assistant, as well as a red-hot striptease to a revved-up rockabilly version of Dion and the Belmonts’ “Ruby Baby.” Puppeteer Tim Monteith boogied woogied as all three Andrews Sisters; he still regularly performs at Syrens of the South and other local shows and is competing in the first annual Southern Fried Burlesque Pageant earlier on Saturday night. In an artistic interlude, modern dancers Anik Keuller and Sonya Sconiers re-interpreted the Greek myth of Persephone without removing a stitch. And a certain ATLRetro writer/editor danced and sang as a 1920s art deco Bumble Bee Queen, with Bee-ettes “Saasha Foo” Wilson, hostess to many of 800 East’s zany variety shows, and her friend and fellow disco dancer Faith Farley.

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Wow, there’s a lot flying and frying this week Retro-wise in Atlanta from Phoenix Flies to Southern Fried Burlesque Fest to a host of pop and rock performers who got their start in the ’80s. Here’s your weekly guide to where and why to get out…

Monday March 7

Atlanta Preservation Center continues its annual The Phoenix Flies: A Celebration of Living Landmarks, so-named after the iconic symbol of Atlanta—the mythical bird that burns and is reborn similar to the city post-Civil War. The event which runs through March 20 offers a chance to take its neighborhood historical walking tours for free, as well as experience additional behind-the-scenes peeks inside Atlanta’s most famous buildings of eras gone by. Today’s tours include The Temple synagogue (1930), designed by legendary Atlanta architect Philip Trammel Shutze at 10:30 AM; the Gothic revival Peachtree Christian Church (1925) at noon; and Grant Park at 5 PM. Reservations are recommended. After dark, Joe Gransden & his smokin’ 16-piece orchestra present another Big Band Night of jazz at Café 290, featuring Sinatra, Bennett, Basie and Joe’s originals. Blues chanteuse Francine Reed is back at Cafe Circa. Northside Tavern hosts a Blues Jam.

Tuesday March 8

Phoenix Flies features the Swan House at the Atlanta History Center (AHC), site of lavish parties in the 1920s and ’30s; other AHC facilities such as the 1840 Tullie Smith Farm and Cherokee Garden Library and Kenan Research Center, which both house rare photos and documents of Atlanta history; neoclassic First Church of Christ, Scientist (cornerstone laid 1903); Hinman Home (1896), now Stonehurst Place Bed & Breakfast; Midtown’s The Castle; a general Historic Midtown tour; and Wimbish House (1906), one of the last remaining homes on Peachtree Street’s once posh Mansion Row now the headquarters of Atlanta Women’s Club.

Splatter Cinema presents 1980s vampire classic NEAR DARK at 9:30 PM. Read Mark Arson’s Retro Revue to see why you shouldn’t miss this hard-edged horror Western directed by Oscar winner Kathryn Bigelow and starring Lance Henriksen and Bill Paxton. Grab your horn and head to Twain’s in Decatur for a Joe Gransden jazz jam session starting at 9 PM. Fedora Blues plays Fatt Matt’s Rib Shack. Atlanta’s notorious DJ Romeo Cologne spins the best ‘70s funk and disco at 10 High in Virginia-Highland.

Wednesday March 9

Phoenix Flies tours the Fabulous Fox Theatre and offers a rare peek inside The Herndon Home, a beautiful 1910 mansion built by Atlanta’s first African-American millionaire Alonzo Herndon which has many eclectic aspects thanks also to his drama teacher wife Adrienne who would put on theater productions occasionally on the roof.

Get ready to rumba, cha-cha and jitterbug at the weekly Swing Night at The Glenwood. Catch Joe Gransden every Wednesday night at 8:30 PM at Jerry Farber’s Side Door. The Hollidays bring on the blues at Fatt Matt’s Rib Shack. Dance to ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s hits during Retro in the Metro Wednesdays presented by Godiva Vodka, at Pub 71 in Brookhaven, starting at 8 PM. Cover band ’80s Band of Destiny is in the Atlanta Room at Smith’s Olde Bar.

Thursday March 10

Stonehenge Mansion, one of today's Phoenix Flies tours.

Another busy day for Phoenix Flies including tours of Fox Theatre; early Edgewood-Candler Park; Unseen Underground exploring parts of the old railway lines and viaduct system not usually open to public view; Burns Club (1910), a replica of Scottish poet Robert Burns’ birth home with Burns poetry reading; City Hall; Stonehenge Mansion & Sanctuary, a Gothic mansion in Druid Hills built as a residence but now houses St. John’s Lutheran Church; and the Georgia Capitol.

The first annual Southern Fried Burlesque Fest kicks off with the Atlanta premiere of award-winning documentary DIRTY MARTINI & THE NEW BURLESQUE, with a Q&A afterwards with director Gary Beeber and Neo-Burlesque Revival superstar Dirty Martini, at the Holiday Inn & Conference Center in Decatur. Be sure to read our fest preview here. Chickens and Pigs play Pho Truc in Clarkston from 8-10 PM. Listen to Tongo Hiti’s luxurious live lounge sounds, as well as some trippy takes on iconic pop songs, just about every Thursday night at Trader Vic’s. Party ‘70s style with DJ Romeo Cologne at Aurum Lounge.  Breeze Kings and Chicken Shack bring on the blues respectively at Northside Tavern and Fat Matt’s Rib Shack.

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By Mark Arson, Contributing Writer

NEAR DARK (1987)
Dir: Kathryn Bigelow
Stars: Lance Henrikson, Bill Paxton, Adrian Pasdar, Jenette Goldstein, Jenny Wright
Where: Splatter Cinema, Plaza Theatre
When: Tues. March 8, 9:30 PM

What would humans do if they could live forever if only they avoided one thing? They would likely brush as close against it as possible, over and over again, because it’s part of human nature. The vampires of NEAR DARK are constantly out late (which in this case might qualify as early, indeed, Near Dawn might have been a more appropriate title) and catching on fire in the early morning sun. Not to worry, these particular vampires can recover from their burn wounds if they find cover before exploding, and crosses and stakes don’t even figure into the equation.

This isn’t a typical vampire movie; it’s actually more of a western, punctuated by scruffy drifters, lawmen, shootouts, and an obligatory (let’s kill everyone in the) bar scene, which lasts a brutal 10 minutes (a LONG TIME in movie terms). Our protagonist, in the standard role of “the new guy” (in this case “new vampire”), is Caleb Colton (Adrian Pasdar), brought into the flock by Mae (a stunning Jenny Wright), whom he picked up at a gas station, young love quickly turning into something much less innocent. The other vampires don’t accept him right away, particularly the rabid Severen (Bill Paxton) and the head of the “family,” Jesse (the always great Lance Henriksen). In fact, Caleb never quite seems to fit in, since he’s a “good kid” at heart (i.e. not great vampire material), a unique twist on the outsider’s perspective that drives most vampire films; here the outsider is the one who isn’t a cold-blooded killer.

Before long, Caleb’s family is in pursuit, complications ensue, and it’s vampires afire all over again. Helmed by future Oscar-winning director Kathryn Bigelow (THE HURT LOCKER), NEAR DARK is not just an atypical vampire movie, it’s also an atypical ’80s movie. It is dark to be sure (of course), but neon is practically nonexistent, owing to it’s decaying suburban Midwestern setting, the same type of setting that became such a compelling backdrop for NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN years later. In fact, the most ’80s thing about the film is the minimalist electronic score by Tangerine Dream, and one would be hard pressed to find a better sonic backdrop for the cold, bleak existence of a pack of vampires. When things are finally resolved at the end of the film, there is a simple solution, in line with the simple vampire mythology at play. Of course, the mythology is only simple because the real story is about how complicated it is to be human, no matter how cut-and-dried the circumstances are. That, and vampires on fire.

Click here to watch the trailer.

Forget Hollywood’s cheesy 3-D CLASH OF THE TITANS. In fact, ATLRetro hopes you already have. Instead you’ll have much more fun at this week’s Martinis & IMAX at Fernbank Museum of Natural History, redubbed “Night of the Kraken,” which promises to be fantastically out of time and marvelously in tune with the recently opened MYTHIC CREATURES: DRAGONS, UNICORNS AND MERMAIDS special exhibition. Attendees are encouraged to compete in a fantasy-inspired costume contest hosted by Professor Morte, “ghost host with the most” of the Silver Scream Spookshow. Bartenders will be serving up mythic-themed cocktails including a Krakentini, featuring Kraken rum. And playing in the shadow of the skeletons of the world’s most gigantic dinosaurs—primeval beasts whose bones perhaps inspired medieval belief in dragons—fittingly is one of Atlanta’s most imaginative bands, Blair Crimmins and the Hookers.

You might think of ragtime as kind of quaint, but you wouldn’t be talking about Crimmins’ take on this 1920s form of jazz. Remember that they didn’t call the Twenties Roaring for nothing. In fact, you might even describe Crimmins’ high-energy style as “in your face” as rock ‘n’ roll. Except the groupies would be flapper girls, and the band is playing instruments your grandparents would approve of from banjo to accordion, saxophone to piano, trumpet to trombone—and may be accompanied by antics inspired by the best vaudeville comedy. What does this have to do with mythic monsters? Well, let’s just say in the midst of the madcap mania, some of the lyrics are also decadently dark.

ATLRetro caught up with the mastermind behind this one-of-a-kind act for a last-minute preview of this not-to-be-missed hootenanny themed around a giant monster of the deep.

1. What drew you personally to the ragtime, 1920s sound?

Early Ragtime jazz and Dixieland represents a time when jazz was brand new and exciting. People [were] taking classical instruments and making these wild sounds with them. It’s like the first time someone turned up the overdrive on their guitar amp. It made people turn their heads and say “What the hell is that sound?!”

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Decided it might make more sense to run Weekend Update on Friday mornings than on Thursdays. You can still find out about Thursday activities, of course, in This Week in Retro Atlanta on Mondays. And of course, you can plan ahead for the whole weekend.

Friday March 4

Blair Crimmins.

Legendary pianist George Winston tickles the ivories at Variety Playhouse. Blair Crimmins and the Hookers provide a 1920s Vaudeville atmosphere during amagical Fernbank Museum of Natural History’s Martinis and IMAX themed“Night of the Kraken” tying in with its current MYTHIC CREATURES: DRAGONS, UNICORNS AND MERMAIDS special exhibition which will be open for viewing that night. Also, hear they’ll be serving up special mythic-themed cocktails, including a Krakentini, featuring Kraken rum, Silver Scream Spookshow‘s Professor Morte will be a special guest, and there’s a costume contest planned, too, so don your most mythical duds. Just about to post a last-minute interview with Blair about the fanciful festivities, so be sure to check that out.

Celebrate Mardi Gras early and decadently, or rather BART-I GRAS, with the insane crew of Avondale Estates’ Bart Webb Studios and the sexy and sassy Syrens of the South, Big Easy cuisine provided by Zatarain’s, beads, masks, and the first Bart-i Bra contest where the best decorated bra will be judged to crown the first Queen or King of Bart-i Gras.

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Atlanta certainly has earned its place on the map of the Neo-Burlesque Revival with amazing performers and troupes. Now this steamy Southern city finally is getting its first bonafide burlesque festival, too. In case you’ve been too naughty to notice, Southern Fried Burlesque Fest dances into town next weekend, Thurs. March 10- Sun. March 13, 2011, at the Holiday Inn Hotel and Conference Center in Decatur. But co-founders Katherine Lashe and Ursula Undress (Syrens of the South Productions) kindly have agreed to pull back the curtains and strip down to some of the delicious details…

Katherine Lasche & Ursula Undress invite you to some Southern-fired fun at Atlanta's first burlesque festival.

1. Is there any story behind how you hatched the idea for Southern Fried Burlesque Fest and why Atlanta needs its own festival?

Katherine Lashe: Atlanta’s the biggest city in the Southeast and a hot bed for burlesque with guest performers coming in all the time so it seemed to make sense that we should have a festival to show off all of the amazing talent from all aspects of burlesque that the Southeast had to offer, in addition to showing the Southeast what the rest of the world has to offer as well.

Ursula Undress: I had heard some talk about how we needed to do something like it here at a few of the Atlanta Burlesque & Cabaret Meet-Ups and had been to a few other state-specific festivals. So I supported Katherine with wanting to move forward with one here and told her I would do whatever I could to help. We definitely have the talent in the city and surrounding areas—so it has become sort of a regional thing.

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“Dancing is like dreaming with your feet,” goes the famous quote by Constanze. If that’s true, David Spencer has spent his life in dreams. Since he was a little boy, he let his feet guide him, and they haven’t led him astray from becoming a sought-after high school date to professional ballroom dancing shows and competitions. For the past 30 years, he’s also been a ballroom dance instructor, and he currently shares his secrets to fantastic footwork at Allure Ballroom Atlanta, near Cumberland Mall, and at the Atlanta Ballroom Dance Centre in Sandy Springs.

However, aspiring and seasoned ballroom dancers wanting to hone their moves will get to practice in top-hat style this spring as David leads a pair of Thursday night 10-week classes for beginners (7 PM) and continuing dancers (8 PM) starting March 24 at Callanwolde. For those not versed in vintage Atlanta, this magnificent Gothic-Tudor-style mansion in Druid Hills was completed in 1920 and once belonged to Howard Candler, president of The Coca-Cola Company and son of its founder Asa Candler. Now it’s a cultural arts center and special occasion venue listed on the National Register of Historic Places, but one can only imagine the Gatsby-like grand gatherings that happened here in days gone by.

ATLRetro recently caught up with David to find out why he has such a passion for ballroom dance and also get a preview of these special Callanwolde classes, which represent just a few of the visual and performing arts seminars at the mansion this spring.

1. How did you first get into ballroom dancing and is there any story behind that?

I was very fortunate to have a mother that would sit and watch all the old, classic movies with me as a child—everything from musicals to horror films. We would pile up on the sofa or the bed and watch with a big tub of popcorn. By the age of 7, I made the decision that when I grew up, I wanted to be Gene Kelly. It is no wonder that I teach dancing for a living now. Oddly enough, with Mr. Kelly as my role model, tap dancing is the only form of dance I have not studied—yet.

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