by Melanie Crew
Managing Editor
Get ready to shake it with Santa and check out all the festive events we’ve found for you in ATLRetro This Week!
Monday, December 17
Catch a screening of Nicholas Roeg’s THE MAN WHO FELL TO EARTH (1976) at The Plaza Theater through Dec. 19! Get revved and tune into Kool Kat Rev. Andy Hawley’s Psychobilly Freakout Radio 
broadcasting on Garage 71 at 8pm! Get your vintage holiday fix with an Old Fashioned Christmas in Dahlonega, through Dec. 23! Boogie on down to Out Front Theatre Company for The Ethel Merman Disco Christmas Spectacular, through Dec. 22! Get your vinyl fix during Little 5 Points Corner Tavern’s Records of Mass Destruction event every Monday! Get some soul with Avery Sunshine at City Winery! Get festive at the Fox Theatre with their free Mighty Mo & More event featuring a screening of Jon Favreau’s ELF (2003) and live tunes by The Cody Matlock Band! Geek it up holiday-style at My Parents’ Basement during their December Drink and Draw event! Or catch a screening of Jon Favreau’s ELF (2003) at Cinemark Movies 10 (Fayetteville), through Dec. 20! Or make your way to Studio Movie Grill’s (Alpharetta/Marietta) screening of Jeremiah S. Chechik’s NATIONAL LAMPOON’S CHRISTMAS VACATION (1989) at 7pm! Swing on by Big Band Night featuring Joe Gransden and his amazing 17-member orchestra at Café 290 every first and third Monday of the month! Get the blues with Bill Sheffield at Blind Willie’s! 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 as they dish out The Pork Bellys and a plate full ‘o finger lickin’ BBQ!
Tuesday, December 18
Kool Kat “Big Mike” Geier a.k.a. Puddles Pity Party brings you cheer at the Fox Theatre with his Holiday Jubilee! Spend the night with Ed Roland & Friends at Eddie’s Attic! It’s a Kool Kat holiday hootenanny with Kool Kat Jeffrey Butzer and T.T. Mahoney as they present A Charlie Brown Christmas with Kool Kat Chad Shivers & the Silent Knights performing the Ventures’ and the Beach Boys’ Christmas albums at Madlife Stage & Studios! Get some soul with Avery Sunshine at City Winery! Jam it up with Joe Gransden and his jazz jam session at Venkman’s every Tuesday! 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! Get down with The Entertainment Crackers at Blind Willie’s! Johnny Cash Now pays tribute to the Man in Black at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack! And as always, groove on down with Swami Gone Bananas at the Northside Tavern!
Wednesday, December 19
Catch a spooky holiday double feature with Tim Burton’s THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS (1993) and Joe Dante’s GREMLINS (1984) at Noni’s Bar & Deli during their Cinema Paradiso film event starting at
10pm! Boogie down to The Vista Room for Michelle Malone & the Hot Toddies Cool Yule Shindig! The Basement dishes out a night of nomadic folk metal with Tengger Calvary! Get your Texas country, Western Swing fix with Asleep at the Wheel at City Winery! Make your way to the Red Clay Theatre for a night with Jump, Little Children and The New Oblivion Quartet! Funk it up with the Mike Veal Band at Tin Roof Cantina! Hula on down to The SOS Tiki Bar for a Tiki Holiday Celebration, through Dec. 31! Make your way to the Northlake Festival Movie Tavern’s Flashback Cinema series screening of Jeremiah S. Chechik’s NATIONAL LAMPOON’S CHRISTMAS VACATION (1989), or catch a screening at The Springs Cinema & Taphouse! Spend the night with Ed Roland & Friends at Eddie’s Attic! It’s a night of Honky-Tonk Karaoke with Andrea Colburn & Mud Moseley at The Star Bar! Get jazzy at the Red Light Café with The Gordon Vernick Quartet! Fat Matt’s Rib Shack gets down with The Wild Hares! The Electromatics dish out a night of Chicago/West Coast blues at Blind Willie’s! Or make your way to the Northside Tavern for a rockin’ night of blues with the Tyler Neal Band! 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 20
Have a revved out holiday at the Masquerade during Horton’s Holiday Hayride in Heaven starring Reverend Horton Heat, Junior Brown, The Blasters and Big Sandy, or go to Hell and rock out with H.R. of Bad Brains with Odd Holiday! The Earl Smith Strand Theatre presents a merry holiday marathon with 
screenings of Frank Capra’s classic, IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE (1946)! Hula on down to Tiki Tango, opening officially in mid-January, for a Holiday Tiki Tease/Pink Elephant Mug Exchange, from 6pm – 10pm! Jingle it up as David Ellington jazzes it up with his Charlie Brown Christmas at Venkman’s! Naughty or nice? Doesn’t matter kiddies, just make your way to The Plaza Theater for Cineprov’s 11th Annual Ruining Childhood Memories XMas Show at 7:30pm! Videodrome and The Plaza Theater get bizarre with their Plazadrome Cult Film Series screening of Terry Gilliam’s BRAZIL (1985) at 9:30pm! Rock out at The Earl with The Howling Tongues, The Pink Spiders and The Deacons! Get down with the BadAsh AllStar Team at the Red Light Café! Cow punk it up at The Star Bar with Blood Oaks, Ghost Moths, Close Enough and The Breaknecks! Get rocked at the Variety Playhouse during the 8th Annual Atlanta Holiday Hootenanny benefitting Atlanta Habitat for Humanity! Jazz it up with Ronnie & Debra Laws at Suite Food Lounge! Boogie on down to Out Front Theatre Company for The Ethel Merman Disco Christmas Spectacular, through Dec. 22! It’s Mai Tai Thursday at Trader Vic’s so hula on down for a night of rockin’ island tunes and some killer island cocktails! The Northside Tavern gets rockin’ with a little Chicago/Delta blues of The Breeze Kings! The Juke Joint Dukes get the blues at Blind Willie’s! 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, December 21
Get down with James Brown at the Buckhead Theatre during ATL Collective’s Funky Christmas! Have a hellacious XMas and make your way to the Heretic for Ritual’s Jingle Hell Rock! Jazz it up with Tyrone 
Jackson at the High Museum’s Friday Jazz event! Make your way to Smith’s Olde Bar for The Vegabonds, Kendall St. Company and Pierce Edens! Get rootsy with the Truth & Salvage Co. and Migrant Worker at Terminal West! Rock out with the North Mississippi AllStars at the Variety Playhouse! Catch a screening of Jon Favreau’s holiday classic ELF (2003) at SCADShow at 6pm! Boogie on down to Out Front Theatre Company for The Ethel Merman Disco Christmas Spectacular, through Dec. 22! Rock out at The Earl with James Hall & The Steady Wicked! Neon Queen delivers the songs of ABBA at Venkman’s! Make your way to Eddie’s Attic for a night with Howie Day, Sam Burch and Pip the Pansy! Get the blues with Sana Blues at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack! The Northside Tavern funks it up with Zydefunk! Blues it up with Sandra Hall & The Shadows at Blind Willie’s! 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, December 22
Get hellacious and make your way to The Star Bar for Unholy Night: Drag Me to Hell with Lavonia Elberton! Swing on by the Red Clay Theatre for Joe Gransden and his amazing 16-piece orchestra! Make your 
way to City Winery for a night with Jane Lynch! Rock out at The Earl with Maiden Killers (tribute to Di’Anno), Paladin and Built for Speed (tribute to Motorhead)! The Atlanta Rhythm Section rocks out at Eddie’s Attic! Maggoo’s Heroes and the Burrito Bandits rock out at The Highlander! Get festive with Celtic Woman with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra at Atlanta Symphony Hall! Indie folk it up with The Weepies at the Variety Playhouse! It’s a Kool Kat holiday hootenanny with Kool Kat Jeffrey Butzer and T.T. Mahoney as they present two show of A Charlie Brown Christmas with Kool Kat Chad Shivers & the Silent Knights performing the Ventures’ Christmas album at Kavarna! Haunt on down to Amsterdam Atlanta for Kool Kat VJ Anthony’s COFFIN CLASSICS: Goth Industrial Darkwave Music Video Night featuring Goth, dark 80s and more! Catch a free screening of Jon Favreau’s holiday classic ELF (2003) at Venkman’s at 10:30am, and then jingle it up as David Ellington jazzes it up with his Charlie Brown Christmas! It’s your last chance to boogie on down to Out Front Theatre Company for The Ethel Merman Disco Christmas Spectacular! Get the holiday blues with The Kerry Hill Xmas Show at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack! Make your way to the Northside Tavern for a night with Charlie Wooten & The Fish Mouth Fools! St. James Live! delivers their Tribute to the Legends night every Saturday night! Get down and dirty with Beverly “Guitar” Watkins at Blind Willie’s! And as always, DJ Romeo Cologne and DJ Kwasi Mandisco transforms the sensationally seedy Clermont Lounge into a ’70s disco/funk inferno late into the wee hours of the night.
Sunday, December 23
Have a spectacular holiday and swing on by Eddie’s Attic for two shows featuring Joe Gransden & His Big Band with Francine Reed! Get down with Macy Gray at City Winery! Shimmy on down to the Red Light Café for a Burlesque Howliday shindig! It’s your last chance to get your vintage holiday fix with an Old Fashioned Christmas in Dahlonega! Make your way to the Northlake Festival Movie Tavern’s Flashback Cinema series screening of Frank Capra’s classic, IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE (1946)! Get down with 10,000 Pontiacs at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack! Funk it up with Risky Biscuit at Tin Roof Cantina! Jingle on down to Venkman’s as David Ellington jazzes it up with his Charlie Brown Christmas! Get sweet and low down blues-style at the Northside Tavern with Uncle Sugar with Eddie Tigner!
Ongoing
The Aurora Theatre presents Charles Dickens’ A CHRISTMAS CAROL through Dec. 22! (LAST CHANCE!)
Boogie on down to Out Front Theatre Company for The Ethel Merman Disco Christmas Spectacular, through Dec. 22! (LAST CHANCE!)
The Aurora Theatre delivers their Christmas Canteen, through Dec. 23! (LAST CHANCE!)
Get your vintage holiday fix with an Old Fashioned Christmas in Dahlonega, through Dec. 23! (LAST CHANCE!)
The Fox Theatre kicks off the holiday season with THE NUTCRACKER, through Dec. 24!
The Alliance Theatre presents A CHRISTMAS CAROL at the Cobb Energy Centre through Dec. 24!
The Center for Puppetry Arts presents a holiday favorite classic, RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER, through Dec. 30!
Horizon Theatre stages world premiere of WAFFLE PALACE CHRISTMAS, through Dec. 30!
Horizon Theatre presents MADELINE’S CHRISTMAS through Dec. 30!
Synchronicity Theatre presents A YEAR WITH FROG AND TOAD, through Dec. 30!
Get revved and tune into Kool Kat Rev. Andy Hawley’s Psychobilly Freakout Radio broadcasting on Garage 71 at 8pm, every Monday through Dec. 31!
ATL CRAFT presents a magical occult Movie Night every second Friday of every month!
My Parents’ Basement goes old-school with their monthly Pinball Tournament, every first 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!
The Highlander rocks out with their Punk/Metal/New Wave Karaoke Night, every Wednesday!
Get your vinyl fix during Little 5 Points Corner Tavern’s Records of Mass Destruction! event, every Monday!
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.
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