ATLRetro

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 Melanie Crew
Managing Editor

It’s a Holiday Hootenanny in ATLRetro This Week! Take a gander at all the janglin’ shindigs we’ve found for you!

Monday, November 25

Experience the glow of the Atlanta Botanical Garden‘s annual electrical extravaganza shining nightly through Jan. 11! Rev it up as Kool Kat Hot Rod Walt goes solo for the night at Smokin’ Cues in Stockbridge! Make your way to The Earl for a night with Mikal Cronin and Shannon Lay! Rock out and tune into Kool Kat Rev. Andy Hawley’s Psychobilly Freakout Radio broadcasting on Garage 71 at 8pm, every Monday! Get your vinyl fix at Little 5 Points Corner Tavern’s Records of Mass Destruction, every Monday! Get some soul with K. Michelle at the Tabernacle! Make your way to Smith’s Olde Bar for a night with the Better Daze Ahead Band! 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!” Boogie on down to the Northside Tavern and spend an evening with Lola at her famous Monday Night Northside Jam!

Tuesday, November 26

Get old-school with the Blind Boys of Alabama and Kristen Englenz at Eddie’s Attic! The Royal Opera House’s THE NUTCRACKER screens at Landmark Midtown Art Cinema at 7pm! Pop rock it up with Sara Bareilles at the Fox Theatre! Or get your death metal fix with Cannibal Corpse at the Masquerade! Jam it up with Joe Gransden and his jazz jam session at Venkman’s! The Star Bar delivers a night of retro shenanigans with DJ Quasi Mandisco’s 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, November 27

Grinder Nova and the Mariachi Pit Stop Band return to The Star Bar, one night only! Boogie down with Bela Fleck & the Flecktones at Atlanta Symphony Hall! Spend the night with Coy Bowles (Zac Brown Band) at the Variety Playhouse! Bluegrass it up at Waller’s Coffee Shop! Get bewitched and catch a Flashback Cinema screening of Chris Columbus’s HARRY POTTER & THE SORCERER’S STONE (2001) at theatres across Atlanta [Northlake Festival Movie Tavern (Tucker); GTC Merchant’s Walk Cinemas (Marietta); Movie Tavern at Horizon Village (Suwannee); and The Springs Cinema & Taphouse (Sandy Springs)! ATL Collective relives The Grateful Dead’s AMERICAN BEAUTY at City Winery! Stomp on down to Eddie’s Attic for a night with Sam Burchfield & The Scoundrals! The Manchester Orchestra presents the 10th Annual The Stuffing event featuring GroupLove, Foxing, O’ Brother, Kevin Devine, and Brother Bird at the Fox Theatre! Skank on down to Smith’s Olde Bar for a night with The Supervillians! The Highlander rocks out with their Punk/Metal/New Wave Karaoke Night, every Wednesday! Funk it up with the Mike Veal Band at Tin Roof Cantina! Waller’s Coffee Shop gets down with a Bluegrass Thanksgiving Jam! Get jazzy at the Red Light Café with The Gordon Vernick Quartet! Or make your way to the Northside Tavern for a rockin’ night of blues with the Tyler Neal Band! And as always, it’s Ladies Night at Johnny’s Hideaway which plays hits from Sinatra to Madonna for a generally mature crowd.

Thursday, November 28

Gobble, Gobble, Hey! it up in ATLRetro! Shake a ghastly tail feather at 529 with DKA Sisters of Turkey Goth Danse Party! Catch a screening of Tommy Wiseau’s THE ROOM (2003) at The Plaza Theater at 7:30pm! The Northside Tavern gets rockin’ with a little Chicago/Delta blues of The Breeze Kings! The Star Bar kicks it in the Little Vinyl Lounge with Karaoke Night, every Thursday! Get your boogie on at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack, as Chickenshack 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, November 29

Get your holiday cheer on during the Puddles Pity Party & Friends Holiday Jubilee at Center Stage, featuring Kool Kat Big Mike Greier! Get retro rocked at The Star Bar with the Highriders, JJ & the Hustlers, Ricer and RUST! Spend the night with Basquiat and catch a screening of Edo Bertoglio’s DOWTOWN ’81 (2000) at The Plaza Theater! Tribute pays tribute to the Allman Brothers Band at City Winery! Folk rock it up with Ralph Roddenbery at the Crimson Moon Cafe! Back N Black pays tribute to AC/DC at Madlife Stage & Studios! Get the garage rockin’ blues with Kool Kat Rod Hamdallah at the Northside Tavern! Rock on down to the Red Light Café for the 20th Annual Glenn Phillips Day-After-Thanksgiving Show! Get ‘90s alt-rocked at the Roxy with Collective Soul! The Last Waltz Ensemble pays tribute to The Band and Bob Dylan at Smith’s Olde Bar! Stomp on down to the Tabernacle for a night with Blackberry Smoke! Futurebirds rock out at the Variety Playhouse! The Dirty Doors pay tribute to The Doors at Venkman’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, November 30

Celebrate 20 rockin’ years of The Earl with The Oblivions and Kool Kat Quintron & Miss Pussy Cat! Holiday shenanigans ensue at Atlanta Symphony Hall as the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra provides the soundtrack to Chris Columbus’s holiday favorite, HOME ALONE (1990) at 7:30pm! Departure pays tribute to Journey at The Earl Smith Strand Theatre! Get funky with Mother’s Finest at the Buckhead Theatre! Stomp on down to the Crimson Moon Cafe for a night with Michelle Malone & The Hot Toddies! Ellis Paul gets folksy at Eddie’s Attic! Interstellar Echoes pay tribute to Pink Floyd at Madlife Stage & Studios! Get ‘90s alt-rocked at the Roxy with Collective Soul! Rockabilly it up at The Star Bar with the Georgia Dish Boys, Tyler Key & Strangers, Dan Clifford & The Tall Boys, Fun Isn’t Fair and Fatties! Stomp on down to the Tabernacle for a night with Blackberry Smoke! Americana it up with American Aquarium at Terminal West! Or get your folk-rock fix with Shawn Mullins at the Variety Playhouse! Get old-timey with the Canyon Ladies at Waller’s Coffee Shop! Make your way to The Bakery for Plasma Fest 2019! Get down with the Rib Shack Lady at the Northside Tavern! 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 1

Spend Dunch with Greg Cartwright (The Oblivions) at The Earl! Holiday shenanigans ensue for a second day at Atlanta Symphony Hall as the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra provides the soundtrack to Chris Columbus’s holiday favorite, HOME ALONE (1990) at 3pm! The Earl Smith Strand Theatre presents a Sing-A-Long with Robert Wise’s THE SOUND OF MUSIC (1965) at 3pm and 7:30pm! TCM Big Screen Classics presents a 30th Anniversary screening of Rob Reiner’s WHEN HARRY MET SALLY (1989) at theatres across Atlanta [AMC Barrett Commons 24 (Kennesaw); Hollywood Stadium 24 (Chamblee); Avalon Stadium 12 (Alpharetta); Perimeter Pointe 10; Georgian Stadium 14 (Newnan); AMC Sugarloaf Mills 18 (Lawrenceville); Regal Mall of Georgia Stadium (Buford); AMC Southlake Pavilion 24 (Morrow); AMC Avenue Forsyth (Cumming); Regal McDonough Stadium 16; and Regal Atlantic Station Stadium 18]! Get down with Boomers Gone Wild at the Crimson Moon Cafe! Or get countrified with Kristian Bush at Eddie’s Attic! Catch a Flashback Cinema screening of Chris Columbus’s HOME ALONE (1990) at theatres across Atlanta [Northlake Festival Movie Tavern (Tucker); GTC Merchant’s Walk Cinemas (Marietta); Movie Tavern at Horizon Village (Suwannee); and The Springs Cinema & Taphouse (Sandy Springs)! Get the blues with 10,000 Pontiacs at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack! Funk it up with Risky Biscuit at Tin Roof Cantina! Get sweet and low down blues-style at the Northside Tavern with Uncle Sugar!

Ongoing

The Aurora Theatre rings in the season with their Christmas Canteen, through Dec. 23!

Get your diner fix this holiday season with Horizon Theatre’s production of WAFFLE PALACE CHRISTMAS, running through Dec. 29!

Experience the glow of the Atlanta Botanical Garden‘s annual electrical extravaganza shining nightly Nov. 16 – Jan. 11!

New-Wave it up with Kool Kat VJ Anthony during an 80s New Wave Music Video Dance Party every 2nd Saturday of the month at Amsterdam Atlanta!

Geek it up as NerdLanta presents their Back to the ‘80s Movie Night, every third Thursday of the month, at Mother Bar+Kitchen!

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.

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.

by Melanie Crew
Managing Editor

This Week in ATLRetro is the bee’s knees! Come see all the retro shenanigans we’ve dug up for you!

Monday, February 19

Catch a screening of Mika Kaurismaki’s MAMA AFRICA: MIRIAM MAKEBA (2011) at The Plaza Theater, through Feb. 22! Bossa Nova it up with Bebel Gilberto at City Winery! 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! Blues it up with John Paul Barry 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 for a side of Dry White Toast and a plate full ‘o finger lickin’ BBQ!

Tuesday, February 20

Rattle & Roar with the Earls of Leicester and Early James & The Latest at City Winery! Get jazzy with Aubrey Logan and The Sabor! Brass Band at Eddie’s Attic! Make your way to the Red Light Café for a night with The Laymen, Marla Feeney and more! The Fox Theatre presents the RENT 20th Anniversary Tour, through Feb. 28! Get witchy at Fado Irish Pub during their Harry Potter TriWizard Pub Quiz at 8pm! Jam it up with Joe Gransden and his jazz jam session at Venkman’s every Tuesday! Stomp on down to Blind Willie’s for a night with the BooHoo Ramblers! 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 21

New Wave it up with Howard Jones and get haunted with Rachel Sage at City Winery! The Plaza Theater kills it with a screening of Lau Kar-leung’s 36th CHAMBER OF SHAOLIN (1979)! 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! Emory Cinematheque continues their “Black Lives on the Small Screen” series with a screening of Marlon Riggs’s PBS documentary, BLACK IS…BLACK AIN’T (1995) at 7:30pm! Get countrified with Chris Knight at Eddie’s Attic! Spend the night with Chuck McDowell, Michelle Malone, John Cable and Julie Gribble at the Red Clay Theatre! Get retro-inspired with Elizabeth & The Catapult, Laura Cortese & The Dance Cards and The Good Graces at Smith’s Olde Bar! Madame Company pays tribute to Bad Company while The Damn Truth relives the tunes of the past at The Vista Room! Get the blues with Ike Stubblefield at Avondale Towne Cinema! The Electromatics dish out a night of Chicago/West Coast blues at Blind Willie’s! Make your way to Turner Field for the UniverSoul Circus! 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)]! Funk it up with the Mike Veal Band at Tin Roof Cantina! 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 22

Get intergalactic as the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra delivers their STAR WARS – A New Hope in Concert at Atlanta Symphony Hall! Rock out with KICK – The INXS Experience at City Winery! Tom Hill dishes out some rockin’ blues at the Clermont Lounge! Howiestein and Mister Wilson dish out their Over the Edge Record Party featuring punk, soul, ‘70s glam and more at The Highlander! Jazz it up with Kyshona Armstrong at Venkman’s! Get folksy with Josh Garrels and Wilder Adkins at Terminal West! Make your way to the Red Light Café for the BadAsh Allstar Team’s Eagles Jam! Get down and dirty with Sweet Betty & The Shadows at Blind Willie’s! Cody Matlock & the Mothership get down at Darwin’s Burgers & Blues! Get countrified and rock out with Chris Knight and The Steel Woods at Eddie’s Attic! It’s Mai Tai Thursday at Trader Vic’s so hula on down for a night of rockin’ tunes with the Knotty Boys and some 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 23

Honkytonk it up at The Star Bar with The Wheel Knockers, Kool Kat Caroline & The Ramblers, Heather Luttrell, and Alan Shelton & Bar Community Stars! Kink it up with Kool Kats galore during CandyBox’ February Underground Burlesque Show at Elliot’s Street Pub with Kool Kat Roula Roulette, Kool Kat Talloolah Love and more! Eighties it up with Kool Kat Becky Cormier Finch with Denim Arcade at Wild Wing Café in Dunwoody! Interstellar Echoes pay tribute to Pink Floyd at The Vista Room! Rock out with a night of tributes at Smith’s Olde Bar featuring Freebird (Kool Kat Rich Desantis), Led Zeppelified, Back Yardbirds and Solar Lunartic! Rockabilly it up with Hillbilly Casino at Dixie Tavern! Modern folk meets old-school soul with Sam Burchfield, Nathan Angelo and Chris Ayer at Eddie’s Attic! Rock on down to Hell and get mischievous with The F@cking Pantera Cover Band at the Masquerade! Stomp on down to the Red Light Café for a night with Brian Revels & The Heat Lightning, Five Shot Jack and Papa Jack Couch! Americana it up at the Tin Roof Cantina with The Ain’t Sisters! Rock out with Bas Clas at Avondale Towne Cinema! The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra delivers an intergalactic encore of their STAR WARS – A New Hope in Concert at Atlanta Symphony Hall! Geek it up with Dad’s Garage as they present Improvised Dungeons & Dragons! Spend the night with Zabadodat at Darwin’s Burgers & Blues! The Andy T. Band with Alabama Mike gets the blues at Blind Willie’s! Danny ‘Mudcat’ Dudeck fires it up with the Atlanta Horns at the Northside Tavern! Get down with Beverly “Guitar” Watkins 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 24

Rock, rock, rock ‘n’ roll high school on down to The Star Bar for the 3rd Annual Rock –N- Roll High School Tribute to the Ramones featuring Little Leslie & The Bloodshots, Kool Kat Hot Rod Walt & The Psycho Devilles and more! Rock on down to The Earl for a night with Gunpowder Gray, Silver Tongue Devils, Sash the Bash and Adam Anzio! Folk it up with The Indigo Girls at the Red Clay Theatre! Get intimate with Kool Kat “Big Mike” Geier and the Kingsized 3 at The Vista Room! Mark Nelson & Friends present Songs in the Key of Stevie at Venkman’s! Get funky and spend the night with The Revolution at the Tabernacle! Learn some history with the Gwinnett Parks Foundation’s Historic Walking Tours every Saturday through April 21! The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra delivers an intergalactic encore of their STAR WARS – A New Hope in Concert at Atlanta Symphony Hall! Kool Kat Rich Desantis and the Street Fighting Band pay tribute to The Rolling Stones at MadLife Stage & Studios in Woodstock! Smith’s Olde Bar dishes out another night of tributes with el scorcho (Weezer), Runnin’ Down a Dream (Tom Petty Revue) and M.E.R.M.E.R (REM)! The Rainmen dish out a night of ‘60s and ‘70s rock ‘n’ roll at Darwin’s Burgers & Blues! Danny ‘Mudcat’ Dudeck fires it up with the Atlanta Horns and Ross Pead at the Northside Tavern! Get down with The Vipers at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack! Make your way to Blind Willie’s for a night with House Rocker Johnson & The Shadows! St. James Live! delivers their Tribute to the Legends night every Saturday night! 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, February 25

Spend the night with funk granddaddy, George Clinton & The Parliament Funkadelic, at the Buckhead Theatre! Get old-timey with J.D. Wilkes, Nikki & The Phantom Callers, and The Waymores at Smith’s Olde Bar! Get some soul with Martin Sexton at City Winery! Universal Pictures Presents a screening of Jim Henson/Frank Oz’ THE DARK CRYSTAL (1982) at theatres across Atlanta at 2pm/7pm [AMC Barrett Commons 24 (Kennesaw); Regal Atlantic Station Stadium 18; 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); Regal Mall of Georgia 20 Plus Imax (Buford); AMC Dine-In North Point Mall 12 (Alpharetta); and AMC Avenue Forsyth (Cumming)]! Make your way to Eddie’s Attic for a night with Francine Reed! Shimmy on down to the Red Light Café for Super Happy Funtime, a live band burlesque circus troupe! Make your way to Venkman’s for Harrison 75, an acoustic tribute to George Harrison! Join the manhunt and catch a screening of Henry Hathaway’s TRUE GRIT (1969) 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! (LAST CHANCE!)

The Fox Theatre presents the RENT 20th Anniversary Tour, through Feb. 28!

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!

Learn some history with the Gwinnett Parks Foundation’s Historic Walking Tours every Saturday through April 21!

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.

by Melanie Crew
Managing Editor

ATLRetro jingles into the holiday season This Week! Come see what we’ve found for you!

Monday, December 18

Get some soul with Avery*Sunshine and Coriology at City Winery! Catch a screening of Arthur Hiller’s THE IN-LAWS (1979) at the Alpharetta Branch Library at 10:30am! Boogie on down to The Vista Room for Christmas Crooners Karaoke! Get old-timey at Avondale Towne Cinema with their Folk Roots event! 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! Cody Matlock gets the blues 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 19

The Fox Theatre presents their free 12th Annual Mighty Mo & More holiday event, featuring a screening of George Seaton’s holiday classic, MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET (1947) at 6:30pm! Northlake Festival Movie Tavern continues their Retro Cinema series with a screening of Frank Capra’s holiday classic, IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE (1946) at 7:30pm! Get some soul with Avery*Sunshine and Paula Champion at City Winery! Rock out with The Drownd Hounds, Willess and Jackwagon at Smith’s Olde Bar! Darwin’s Burgers & Blues gets down with the Poverty Level Band! Blind Willie’s gets down with Frankie’s Blues Mission! 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! Fat Matt’s Rib Shack dishes out a night of rockin’ blues with Gray & the Bad Boys! And as always, groove on down with Swami Gone Bananas at the Northside Tavern!

Wednesday, December 20

Videodrome and John McClane dish out an adventurous holiday matinee with a screening of John McTiernan’s DIE HARD (1988) at 529 at 4pm! Stomp on down to Terminal West for their 7th Annual Holiday Hootenanny featuring Jim Lauderdale, Lary Keel, Jeff Mosier, Johnny Knapp, Ralph Roddenbery, Count M’Butu, Yonrico Scott, Gaurav Malhotra, Bill Fleming, Nick Disebastian, Kevin Thomas, Donna Hopkins, Bobby Miller, Fiddlin’ Faye, Zebulon Bowles, Richie Jones, Jared Womack, Matthew Williams, Evan Sarver and more! Get countrified with Moonshine at The Vista Room! Northlake Festival Movie Tavern continues their Retro Cinema series with an encore screening of Frank Capra’s holiday classic, IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE (1946) at 7:30pm! Get the rockin’ blues with The Cazanovas at Darwin’s Burgers & Blues! Funk it up with the Mike Veal Band at Tin Roof Cantina! Catch a screening of Jeremiah Chechik’s holiday classic, NATIONAL LAMPOON’S CHRISTMAS VACATION (1989) at Studio Movie Grill (Alpharetta/Duluth) at 7:15pm! Get down with Art Holliday at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack! The Electromatics dish out a night Chicago/West Coast blues at Blind Willie’s! 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 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 21

Cross the pond for the Red Light Café’s Beatles Holiday Jam! It’s XXX-Mas with Metal McDonald at The Star Bar, or get old-timey and stomp on down to the Little Vinyl Lounge for a night with The Waymores! Or catch Deck the Hall & Oates Holiday Special with Mike Veal and Ganesh Lee at The Vista Room! Or make your way to Center Stage for a night with Puddles Pity Party, a.k.a. Kool Kat “Big Mike” Geier! Get some swampadelic soul with Larkin Poe and Cicada Rhythm at Terminal West! Get your Americana fix at Eddie’s Attic with Joshua Fletcher and Casey Harper! Ed Roland dishes out his Winter Wonder Bash at the Buckhead Theatre! Get countrified and make your way to The Earl Smith Strand Theatre for their Strand Ole Opry Country Christmas event! Jingle on down to Venkman’s as David Ellington jazzes it up with his Charlie Brown Christmas! Cody Matlock & the Mothership get down at Darwin’s Burgers & Blues! It’s Mai Tai Thursday at Trader Vic’s so hula on down for a night island tunes and some killer cocktails! The Northside Tavern gets rockin’ with a little Chicago/Delta blues of The Breeze Kings! 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! Get your boogie on at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack, as Chickenshack featuring Eddie Tigner, delivers some honky-tonk blues! Blues it up with The Shadows at Blind Willie’s! And as always, boogie down at Mary’s, as the East Atlanta venue gets funky with their weekly Disco in the Village.

Friday, December 22

Big band it up and get some holiday cheer with two helpings of the Joe Gransden Christmas Special with Francine Reed at Eddie’s Attic! ATL Collective presents James Brown Funky Christmas with Bernard Purdie, Fred Wesley, Marcus King, Kool Kat Ruby Velle and more at the Variety Playhouse! Or make your way to Center Stage for a melancholy holiday encore with Puddles Pity Party, a.k.a. Kool Kat “Big Mike” Geier! Spend the night with Kitten Fontaine and The Rainmen at Avondale Towne Cinema! The Highlander presents Christmas with The Crush, Bleach Garden and Hot Ram! Royal Johnson & Natchez Tracers get down at Darwin’s Burgers & Blues! Rock out with New Madrid at The Earl! Funk it up with Wasted Potential Brass Band at the Northside Tavern! Retro rock out with Banks & Shane at the Red Clay Theatre! Folk it up with The Brookses at the Red Light Café! It’s a night of rockin’ tributes at Smith’s Olde Bar with Flannel Nation, Running With the Devil, Shake Your Money Maker and Stone Temple Pirates! Or get down with The Sundogs at The Vista Room! Jingle on down to Venkman’s as David Ellington jazzes it up with his Charlie Brown Christmas! Blues it up with House Rocker Johnson & The Shadows at Blind Willie’s! Willy Jackson gets the blues at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack! Time-Warp it up at The Plaza Theater The 17th Annual Rocky Horror Holiday Show featuring THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW (1975) and the live cast of Lips Down on Dixie at 11:30pm!

Saturday, December 23

It’s a Kool Kat holiday hootenanny with Kool Kat Jeffrey Butzer and his trio’s 10th Anniversary of A Charlie Brown Christmas with Kool Kat Chad Shivers & the Silent Knights at Kavarna! Have a horrorific holiday season with a screening of Joe Dante’s GREMLINS (1984) at Regal Theatres across Atlanta as part of their Holiday Classics Series at 12pm [Regal Atlantic Station Stadium 18; Regal Hollywood Stadium 24 (Chamblee); Regal Mall of Georgia 20 Plus Imax (Buford); and Regal McDonough Stadium 16 (McDonough)]! Big band it up and get some holiday cheer with two helpings of the Joe Gransden Christmas Special with Francine Reed at the Red Clay Theatre! Rock on down to Terminal West for The New Stew with Jimmy Hall: Reimagining The Rolling Stones in Concert  1970! Haunt on down to Amsterdam Atlanta for Kool Kat VJ Anthony’s COFFIN CLASSICS: Goth Industrial Music Video Dance Party featuring Goth, dark 80s and more! Get the blues with the Mike Lowry Band at Darwin’s Burgers & Blues! Garage rock it up with The Pink Spiders and Killing Kuddles at The Earl! Spend the night with William Kimbrough, Skinny DeVille & Fish Scales, Jade Passion and more at Eddie’s Attic! Tribute dishes out a night of The Allman Brothers tunes at the Northside Tavern! Jingle on down to Venkman’s as David Ellington jazzes it up with his Charlie Brown Christmas! Boogie down with the kiddies at Aunt Yvonne’s ‘Lil Misfits Dance Party at Avondale Towne Cinema! Jam it up at The Vista Room with Captain Trips & The Sunstroke Serenaders! Get down and dirty with Sana Blues at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack! Blues it up with George Hughley & The Shadows at Blind Willie’s! Catch a free screening of Jon Favreau’s ELF (2003) at Venkman’s at 10:30am! St. James Live! delivers their Tribute to the Legends night every Saturday night!

Sunday, December 24

The Earl Smith Strand Theatre presents a merry holiday marathon with screenings of Frank Capra’s classic, IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE (1946) from 1pm – 7pm! Get sweet and low down blues-style at the Northside Tavern with Uncle Sugar with Eddie Tigner! And you won’t want to miss 10,000 Pontiacs at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack!

Ongoing

Aurora Theatre – Lawrenceville presents A CHRISTMAS CAROL, bah humbugging through Dec. 23! (LAST CHANCE!)

Boogie down to The Earl Smith Strand Theatre for A Christmas Tradition, their holiday song and dance revue, jingling all the way through Dec. 23! (LAST CHANCE!)

OnStage Atlanta performs A CHRISTMAS STORY, through Dec. 23! (LAST CHANCE!)

The Alliance Theatre dishes out a holiday classic and presents A CHRISTMAS CAROL at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Center, through Dec. 24! (LAST CHANCE!)

The Atlanta Ballet presents the NUTCRACKER at the Fox Theatre, through Dec. 28!

Center for Puppetry Arts presents your favorite traditional seasonal reindeer tale, RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER, jinglin’ through Dec. 31!

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.

by Melanie Crew
Managing Editor

Come see what we’ve dug up just for you in ATLRetro This Week!

Tuesday, March 28

Folk it up with Six Organs of Admittance and Duet for Theramin Lap and Steel at The Earl! Bluegrass on down to Eddie’s Attic for a night with Old Salt Union, Brian Elmquist and Jenni Lyn Gardner! Pop on down to the Variety Playhouse for a night with The Magnetic Fields! Get down and dirty with Gray & The Bad Boys at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack! 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 their Downtown Tuesday Night 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, March 29

Get the rockin’ blues with Davin McCoy at Eddie’s Attic! The Hollidays deliver a night of rhythm ‘n’ soul and rock ‘n’ roll at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack! Bluegrass it up at The Vista Room with The Vista Stringband! Jazz it up 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 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, March 30

It’s a hootenanny and a half at The Vista Room with Kool Kat Col. Bruce Hampton & the Madrid Express! Make your way to Grady High School and Meet the Authors of Black Speculative Fiction, including Milton Davis, Kool Kat Balogun Ojetade, Gerald Coleman, Valjeanne Jeffers and more! Get your Cretan lute fix with Xylouris White and White Magic at The Earl! Rock out with Los Lobos at City Winery! The Masquerade dishes out a night of gritty garage punk-y grass with Strung Like a Horse and Bella’s Bartok! Stomp on down to Terminal West for a night with Whiskey Myers and The Steel Woods! Or make your way to Venkman’s for a night with Jackson County Line! It’s a hootenanny and a half at The Star Bar with The Hooten Hallers, Andrea Colburn & Her Low Standards and more! It’s Mai Tai Thursday and a night of Dick Dale-esque shenanigans so get swanky with Grinder Nova at Trader Vic’s! The Northside Tavern gets rockin’ with a little Chicago/Delta blues of The Breeze Kings! 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! 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, March 31

Videodrome (JavaDrome) continues their Frank Perry retrospective with a screening of his THE SWIMMER (1968) at 8:30pm, with an introduction by Justin Bozung, Perry’s official biographer, and out soon-to-be Kool Kat of the Week! Get experimental and make your way to the Atlanta Contemporary Art Center for Kool Kat Andy Ditzler’s Film Love Presents: The Most Human Desire event, focusing on the films of Chick Strand! Rock out with the Starbenders at Avondale Towne Cinema! Orchestra Noir, The Atlanta African-American Orchestra invite you to “A Night at the Symphony” at Center Stage! Funk it up at City Winery with Paul & Fred and the New Orleans Suspects! Get to bluegrassin’ with Noam Pikelny at The Earl! Shimmy on down to the Red Light Café for Twirly Whirly Burly-Q featuring classic burlesque with a classic twirl! Folk rock it up with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band at Atlanta Symphony Hall! It’s a rockin’ feud at the Variety Playhouse with Led Zeppelin vs. The Who performed by Yacht Rock Revue, with special guest Peter Stroud! Spend the night with Drivin’ ‘n’ Cryin’ and Five-Eight at The Vista Room! 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, April 1

Get intergalactic at 529 with W8ing4UFOs, Shawnthony Calypso, the 4th Ward Afro-Klezmer Orchestra and Kool Kat Aileen Loy with Till Someone Loses and Eye! Skank on down to City Winery for a night with Kool Kat Rev. Andy and the Southern Ska Syndicate! Don’t be the fool who misses Kool Kat “Big Mike” Geier a.k.a. Puddles Pity Party at Center Stage! Or geek it up at Studio Space Atlanta for Hair of the Dragon VI, the premiere costume studio party! Jam it up with Dead Affect with special guest Honeywood at Avondale Towne Cinema! Spend the night with Radiohead at Philips Arena! Rock out with Drivin’ ‘n’ Cryin’ and Five-Eight at The Vista Room! Come on out to Eddie’s Attic for a night with Michelle Malone, Gareth Asher and more! Blues it up with Rough Draft at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack! St. James Live! delivers their Tribute to the Legends night every Saturday night!

Sunday, April 2

Head on down to City Winery for a night with Micky Dolenz! Get down with tunes of the ‘60s and ‘70s with Boomers Gone Wild at the Crimson Moon Café! Rock out with The Flaming Lips at the Tabernacle! Get sweet and low down blues-style at the Northside Tavern with Uncle Sugar! Blues it up with Fatback Deluxe at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack!

Ongoing

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.

by Melanie Crew
Managing Editor

Hey all you dapper fellas and glitzy gals! Cupid got your tongue? “Be Mine”, vintage-style this year and celebrate all that is vintage and Valentine’s in Retro Atlanta! Get romantic, retro-style and see what we have in store for you during this week of love and saucy seduction!

1. Crooners and Red Hot Jazz. Swing on by The Earl Smith Strand Theatre for Douglas Cameron and his 17-piece Big Band’s Fly Me to the Moon concert at 8pm (Feb. 14)! Rat Pack Now croons on down to the Red Clay Theatre, doors at 6:30pm (Feb. 15)! Or jazz it up during the Emory Jazz Fest’s free Big Band Night at the Schwartz Center for Performing Arts, featuring the Gary Motley Trio at 8pm (Feb. 11). Croon away with our Kool Kat “Big Mike” Geier and his King-sized Trio at The Vista Room (Feb. 10)! Venkman’s dishes out a Valentine’s Day Dinner featuring classical jazz with Le Grand Fromage and a Prix fixe menu by Executive Chef Nick Melvin, $65/person, begins at 5:30pm (Feb. 14)!

2. Blackhearts Unite. It’s a night of murder ballads made popular by Nick Cave, Tom Waits, Nirvana and a whole lotta’ bloody maniacal mayhem at The Earl with their third annual Bloody Valentine’s event, featuring Kool Kat Aileen Loy with Till Someone Loses an Eye, W8ing4UFOs, a motley mix of musicians and performers and more bloody romantic fun (Feb. 10)!

3. Oh là là!  Get sinfully seductive at 7 Stages during Kool Kat Katherine Lashe and the burly-Q gals of Syrens of the South’s 10th Annual Vixen’s Valentease Vaudeville & Variety Show (Feb. 11)! And if you just can’t get enough let Ms. 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 (Feb. 14)! Or shimmy on down to the Shakespeare Tavern for Hearts A’Blaze Entertainment’s Vari-E-Tease! A Valentine’s Burlesque Show with Kool Kat Talloolah Love, Kool Kat Roula Roulette, Kool Kat Lola LeSoleil, Kool Kat Ursula Undress, DJ Doctor Q and more! (Feb. 11). Get a little naughty with a flock of flirty feathers this Valentine’s Day at Paris On Ponce’s 12th Annual Valentine’s Burlesque Show “Birds of Paradise” with two tantalizing shows each night, 7:30pm and 9:30pm (Feb. 11 & 12)! Or Strut your stuff and get kinky with Mary and Friends: Love is Love event at the Red Light Café (Feb. 10)!

4. It’s Boogie Time (Funk/Disco).  Get funky and groove on down to The Star Bar for Romeo Cologne’s Granny Panty Hootenanny, featuring the gals of the Clermont Lounge with DJ Quasi Mandisco (Feb. 11)!

5. Art, Comedy & Theatre, OH MY!  The Highland Inn Ballroom & Lounge dishes out a Ballroom Blitz Artist Market, featuring 20 vintage and more vendors from 5-10pm (Feb. 12)! Get wickedly weird this season of love and lust and pick up some local art goodies at the Euclid Avenue Yacht Club’s Lovecrafts: Valentine’s Edition from 1-6pm (Feb. 12)! Dig up some swell goodies for your sinister sweetie and make your way to My Parents’ Basement for their February Bizarre Bazaar featuring 10 local artists and designers, from noon-5pm (Feb. 12)! The Center for Puppetry Arts presents their Valentine’s Night Out (18+) with puppet shenanigans, complimentary desserts, a free caricature of you and your love from 7-9:30pm, $20/person (Feb. 11)! Wax poetic at Center Stage for their Passion & Poetry Valentine’s event featuring spoken word and Broadway-esque performances at 7pm (Feb. 14)! Or be a pair of star-crossed lovers as the Shakespeare Tavern performs their special Valentine’s production of “Romeo & Juliet” at 7:30pm (Feb. 14)! For all our jaded lovers out there, you won’t want to miss Whole World Improv.’s Bitter, Lonely Valentine’s Puke Fest 2017 at 10:30pm (Feb. 11)! Laugh it up with Perfect Strangers Improv’s Perfect Strangers and Flying Giants event this Valentine’s Day at 8:30pm (Feb. 14)!

6. Medieval & Classic. And 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 Day Couples Package!  $110 gets you 2 admissions, a photo, handcrafted chocolates, champagne in keepsake glasses, and more!

7. Groovin’ Up Slowly.  Be a smooth operator and sail on down to Park Tavern in Piedmont Park for Yacht Rock Schooner’s evening of smooth and silly love songs! It’ll be an evening of smooth 70s and 80s love songs, so put on your dancin’ shoes and come aboard (Feb. 10); Doors at 7 pm! ATL Collective presents Sade’s “Love Deluxe” at Venkman’s; Doors at 8:30pm (Feb. 10)!

8. Lovin’ on the Silver Screen.  ‘Here’s looking at you kid!’ Take a peek at love and romance Old Hollywood-style at The Strand Theater as they screen Michael Curtiz’s classic romantic drama, CASABLANCA (1942), starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman at 8pm. Live organ pops variety show and sing-along featuring The Strand’s Mighty Allen Theatre Organ at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $8 for adults and $7 for students, seniors, and military. Or if you’re lookin’ for a little late-night rendezvous with a few transsexual aliens, stick around and catch The Strand Theatre’s screening of Jim Sharman’s THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW (1975) at 11:55pm, for $10 (Feb. 11)! Celebrate the  60th Anniversary screening of Leo McCarey’s AN AFFAIR TO REMEMBER (1957) at theatres across Atlanta (2pm/7pm) [Hollywood Stadium 24 (Chamblee); AMC Barrett Commons 24 (Kennesaw); Avalon Stadium 12 (Alpharetta); AMC Sugarloaf Mills 18 (Lawrenceville)]; Cinemark Tinseltown 17 (Fayetteville); Perimeter Pointe 10; Regal McDonough Stadium 16 (McDonough); and AMC Southlake Pavilion 24 (Morrow) (Feb. 12 & 15)!

9. Cupid’s Culinary Delights!  Hula on over to Trader Vic’s and escape into the island atmosphere of love with their pre-fix Tropical Valentine’s Day Dinner, $60++ (Feb. 14). Grab your geeky guy or gal and make your way to Battle & Brew’s Valentine’s Day Dinner, featuring a Prix Fixe menu, $80/couple (Feb. 14)!

10. We Goth You Covered.  For the darkly romantic, The Oakland Cemetery offers their Love Stories Tour, complete with tales of loves past led by a Victorian-era clad docent. Tours last an hour, just long enough to meet a kindred spirit or even a new love! Get spooked and “Scream in the Dark” with Netherworld’s candlelit evening of ghosts and goblins and monsters, oh my (Feb. 11)! Get loved to death while traversing the land of passionate souls longing for love. (Feb. 11 & 12)! Gussy it up gore-style at the Red Light Café’s Valloween Dance Party featuring The Atlanta Rock ‘n’ Roll All-stars (Feb. 11)!