ATLRetro

by Melanie Crew
Contributing Writer

‘This Week’ in Retro Atlanta is chock full of bumpin’ and rockin’ events and is just the tip of the iceberg in this wonderfully wicked season of ghosts and goblins, spooks and the spook-tacular!! Come one, come all! Get out there and enjoy all that Atlanta has to offer from the rockin’est tunes to the nostalgic films of yesteryear.  You won’t be disappointed! There’s something for everyone, so get off the couch, turn off the television and join us in Retro Atlanta!

Monday, September 23

Don’t let the Monday blues get you down! 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!’ or release it all with Midnight Revival at Blind Willie’s. Get that new-wave vibe with Rush Midnight at Smith’s Olde Bar. Pork it up with Pead Boy & The Pork Bellies at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack. For a little history, head on over to The Plaza Theater’s premiere screening of  LETTERS TO JACKIE: REMEMBERING PRESIDENT KENNEDY (2013), a  documentary film that reveals the moving and powerful letters received by Jackie Kennedy in the months following the assassination of the President.

Tuesday, September 24

Let John Hughes drag you back to the good ol’ high school days in the 80-iest of 80s teen flick THE BREAKFAST CLUB (1985) at Northlake Festival Movie Tavern’s retro cinema series this week!  If you’re looking for a new-wave revolution, check out Sonen at 529 and get that Joy Division-esque thrill you’ve been craving! Jam it up with Joe Gransden and his jazz jam session at Twain’s in Decatur every Tuesday at 9 pm. If you’re hankering for some bluegrass, head on over to Eddie’s Attic for the bluegrass and soul sounds of the Tumbleweed Wanderers or make a trip to Steve’s Live Music in Sandy Springs for their weekly Bluegrass & Hootenanny Jam featuring The Night Travelers with special guest Curtis Jones.  Maybe you need something a little bit faster, a little bit more upbeat. Smith’s Olde Bar promises you just that with that cool rockabilly sound of Kool Kat Phil Stair, lead vocalist of Grim Rooster, starting at 8 pm.  Danny ‘Mudcat’ Dudeck fires up the blues at Blind Willie’s. And if you still haven’t found what you’re looking for, delve a little bit darker withe the Old School 90s Rave Trax, beatin’ it down at The Shelter.

Wednesday, September 25

529 offers some great tribute bands with Nameless Nameless grinding out the sounds of Nirvana, The Deluxe Interiors punkin’ it up like The Cramps and Tracer Metula bringing the 90s surf-pop sounds of Weezer to the stage.  The Cobb Energy Performing Arts Center promises a night of retro fun with the nine-time-Grammy-winning solo artist and original founder of the Manhattan Transfer, Janis Siegel, along with Kevin Mahogany and the multi-Grammy winning act, The Legendary Count Basie Orchestra. Blind Willie’s charges up the red-hot blues sounds of the Electromatics. Noel Stephen & the Darlings brings it at The Earl, playing music “your grandparents used to love”! Fat Matt’s Rib Shack serves up the vintage blues stylings of The Georgia Flood, while Steve’s Live Music hosts the well-known Little G. Weevil and Billy Gibson. For a taste of that Ramones-esque bubblegum pop/punk you’ve been missing, check out Twin Peaks at the Masquerade. Head on down to the Variety Playhouse to listen to the 90s jazzy, bluesy tunes of Ani Difranco. It’s Ladies Night at Johnny’s Hideaway which plays hits from Sinatra to Madonna for a generally mature crowd. Skip school and meet the brain, the beauty, the jock, the rebel and the recluse in an 11:30 am morning matinee of John Hughes’ 80s classic teen flick THE BREAKFAST CLUB (1985) at Northlake Festival Movie Tavern’s retro cinema series this week!

Thursday, September 26

It’s your chance to FINALLY catch Steven Spielberg’s critically-acclaimed film about the loveable alien, ET (1982), on the big screen at 9:30 pm at The Plaza Theater during their Fall Focus on Directors series.  Rock on over to The Earl to catch three decades worth of punk rock with the Cosmic Psychos, formed in 1982 and formerly known as Spring Plain. Get your boogie on at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack, as Chickenshack delivers some honky-tonk blues and head on over to Steve’s Live Music for the bluesy funk sounds of George Price while Blind Willie’s promises a jamming good time with the sounds and ‘blues woman power’ of Beverly ‘Guitar’ Watkins.  Northside Tavern presents the classic 50s Chicago-style blues of The Breeze Kings. For a pickin’ good time, head on over to the Red Light Café as they offer up the sounds of Apostles of Bluegrass and Battlefield Collective as part of their Thursday Bluegrass Jam. The Wood Brothers’ blues/funk/folk revival sounds can be heard at the Variety Playhouse. Get your boogie on at Mary’s, as the East Atlanta venue gets funky with their weekly Disco in the Village. Relax with a cocktail while listening to the groovy sounds of Kool Kat Big Mike and Tongo Hiti at vintage tiki bar, Trader Vic’s.  It’s 80s/90s Retro Video Night with free drinks ’til 10 at The Shelter. If you prefer a grungier surf sound, head on over to 529 to take in the Mood Rings.  And it’s your last chance to intermingle with the Brat Pack in John Hughes’ 80s classic teen flick THE BREAKFAST CLUB (1985) at Northlake Festival Movie Tavern’s retro cinema series this week!

Friday, September 27

Today begins the spook-tacular, dark and Twisted Fears Horror Weekend at the Atlanta Marriott Perimeter Center! Experience the horrific and gory Italian Invasion while perusing the vender room, witnessing the Walk of the Dead and participating in the Day of the Woman Pageant! Watch for our Kool Kat of the Week interview with con organizer Jeremy Morris soon, but the line-up includes an extravaganza of retro guests (many of whom have never creeped into our neck of the woods before) including Barbara Steele, Queen of Horror and the ever beautiful star of BLACK SUNDAY (1960), the Italian gothic horror film directed by Mario Bava. Also appearing is the legendary Italian cinematographer. Lamberto Bava, Mario Bava’s son, a director specializing in horror, giallo and fantasy films and best known for A BLADE IN THE DARK (1983), DEMONS (1985), DEMONS 2 (1986) as well as a long list of made-for-television movies. Ruggero Deodato,  is the director of the original spaghetti western, DJANGO (1966) and is also known for CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST (1980) and the thriller, HOUSE ON THE EDGE OF THE PARK (1980). Other guests include Fred Williamson, a.k.a “The Hammer”, a blaxploitation star of the ‘70s, who still gives it everything he’s got and Tony Todd, most notably known for his role as the CANDYMAN in the film with the same name. A DAY OF THE DEAD reunion was slated, but sadly has been cancelled. So, if you love horror, come on down and get your gore on!

Anime Weekend Atlanta, co-founded by Kool Kat Jason Merrill, at Cobb Galleria, featuring all the retro anime you could want, from informational panels (Anime Blinded Me With Science, Old School Classroom and the Mega 80s Panel) to screenings in several video rooms focusing on the foundations of anime with a focus on ASTRO BOY of the 60s up to the present! So, come on out and anime it up!

The living dead begin their gruesome and spooky haunts today with the Atlanta Zombie Apocolypse (AZA), a total immersion experience, throwing its victims right in the middle of a zombie outbreak, capable of causing a lifetime of terror! This journey is not for the faint of heart so, prepare to scream, prepare to cry and come get your zombie fightin’ skills on! Check out our Kool Kat Madeline Brumby, for details on previous years’ AZA and watch for our own scary sneak preview soon! The AZA runs until November 2, so you’ll have ample opportunity to kick some zombie tail!  Also launching tonight is award-winning homegrown haunt, Netherworld, scaring you this year with two attractions, The Dead Ones and Boogeyman.

The Red Light Café begins their International Pop Overthrow Music Festival, featuring the retro sounds of Blake Rainey & His Demons, The Shut-Ups, bringing in a new-wave resurgence, the ever popular Casper and The Cookies, a retro-revival group with sounds compared to the B-52s, and more. Eddie’s Attic is slingin’ the sounds of Richard Bicknell while Willy Jackson belts it out at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack and Crystal Bright and the Silver Hands gives it their all at Steve’s Live Music. If the bluesy twangy sounds of New Orleans is what you’re hankerin’ for, head on down to Smith’s Olde Bar to get your fill of Davis Rogan. For an 80s throwback, the Variety Playhouse is hosting Colin Hay, formerly lead vocalist of Men At Work or head on down to see Lionel Ritchie at Chastain Park. Nick Longo brings his jazzy sound, harkening the old school sounds that’ll have you up dancing under the dinosaurs at the Fernbank Museum of Natural History’s Martinis and IMAX.

Saturday, September 28

Rumble on down to Hell on Wheels. In its 13th year, it promises to be ‘out of control’! So, head on up to Buford and say ‘hey’ to Kool Kat Right Reverend Andy Hawley of Psychobilly Freakout (Garage 71 Internet Radio). The event begins at 11 am, so come hell or high water, there are no excuses to miss this rockabilly rumblin’ extravaganza! Hell on Wheels promises a rockin’ good time with the upbeat and rockin’ sounds of the Sideburners, Grim Rooster and the thrash-grass sounds of The Living Deads that will keep you dancing till the pigs come home!

Day Two of the Twisted Fears Horror Weekend begins.  Doors open at 10 am, promising a horror-ific time! Day Two of Anime Weekend Atlanta includes the screening of Osamu Dezaki’s SPACE ADVENTURE COBRA (1982) in the 80s video room at 2 pm and don’t forget to bebop down in your best 40s and 50s gear to experience the BeBop Lounge, a jazz club echoing the sounds of legends like Dizzie Gillespie, Nina Simone, Thelonious Monk, Miles Davis and maybe even a little swing for those of you who want to boogie woogie!

The Star Bar hosts their annual Johnny Cash Tribute & Diabetes Benefit, featuring the nostalgic sounds of the Ghost Riders Car Club with Kool Kat Spike Fullerton on guitar, Slim Chance and the Convicts, the Sideburners, AM Gold with Kool Kat Joel Burkhart, and Atlanta’s ‘rockin’ and stompin’ blues band’,  Chicken and Pigs! All proceeds go to benefit the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation, so it’s a swell chance to support a great cause while jammin’ to some good tunes!  House Rocker Johnson & The Shadows will be bluesin’ it up at Blind Willie’s while Kool Kat Hot Rod Walt will be rockin’ out with the Psycho-DeVilles at the Dixie Tavern in Marietta.  The sci-fi punk vaudeville burlesque collective, also known as Blast-Off Burlesque, presents presents FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS (1998), at their Blast Off Burlesque Taboo-La-La event at The Plaza Theater at 10 pm, with a live stage show followed by the screening. Come early for lobby shenanigans and a free cocktail, and read our Retro Review here. And as always, DJ Romeo Cologne transforms the sensationally seedy Clermont Lounge into a ’70s disco/funk inferno late into the wee hours of the night.

Sunday, September 29

Start your day with a bluegrass brunch with The Porch Bottom Boys at Big Tex from 11am to 1 pm. It is day three and your last chance this year to get your scare on and live to tell the tale at Atlanta’s premier horror convention at Twisted Fears Horror Weekend as well as getting your fill of anime from its conception to the most modern at Anime Weekend Atlanta.  The Plaza Theater’s Cineprov, Atlanta’s longest-running and award-winning movie-riffing shows presents NIGHT OF THE COMET (1984) at 7:30 pm.

Ongoing

Atlanta Zombie Apocolypse runs from Sept. 27 through Nov. 2. 

Netherworld haunts from Sept. 27 through Nov. 2.

LETTERS TO JACKIE: REMEMBERING PRESIDENT KENNEDY (2013), a two-hour documentary film that reveals the moving and powerful letters received by Jackie Kennedy in the months following the assassination of the President, is being screened at the The Plaza Theater from Sept. 23 to Sept. 26.

Every Tuesday night, Wednesday morning and Thursday night is Retro Cinema at Movie Tavern.

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!’

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.

Monday, August 26

Northside Tavern hosts its weekly Blues Jam featuring blues and southern soul singer Lola Gulley. Enjoy your BBQ with a side of Dry White Toast at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack. Take a look at well…the bright side of life…er, death with Monty Python’s LIFE OF BRIAN (1979) at 9:40 p.m. at The Plaza Theatre.

Tuesday, August 27

Acid Jazz Meets ElectroSwing at Edgewood Speakeasy. Get ready to call the GHOSTBUSTERS (1984) at Northlake Festival Movie Tavern, as they continue their August retro cinema classic series of Classic Comedies! MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL (1975) brings coconuts and at least one killer rabbit to The Plaza Theatre at 9:40 p.m. Kool Kat Calu Cordeira mixes tiki libations during Mai Tai Tahitian Tuesday starting at 9 p.m. at the Dark Horse Tavern. Grab your horn and head over to Twain’s in Decatur for a Joe Gransden jazz jam session. Blues it down with Nathan Nelson & Entertainment Crackers at Northside Tavern. Crosstown Allstars brings the blues to Fat Matt’s Rib Shack, and Timo Arthur fires up the blues at Blind Willie’s. Steve’s Live Music in Sandy Springs hosts a weekly Bluegrass & Hootenanny Jam led by Jason Koornick & Hank Weisman.

Wednesday, August 28

It’s Ladies Night at Johnny’s Hideaway which plays hits from Sinatra to Madonna for a generally mature crowd. Danny “Mudcat” Dudeck brings the Piedmont blues to Northside Tavern, and Frankie’s Blues Mission deliver some soul to Fat Matt’s Rib Shack. The Cazanovas blues it on down at Blind Willie’s. Greet the day with an 11:30 a.m. matinee of GHOSTBUSTERS (1984) at Northlake Festival Movie Tavern’s Retro Cinema series this week! And it’s your last night to worship at the altar of Monty Python’s LIFE OF BRIAN (1979) at 9:40 p.m. at The Plaza Theatre.

Tongo Hiti.

Thursday, August 29

Something called Dragoncon takes off in downtown Atlanta. There’s plenty o’ Retro at one of the nation’s biggest pop culture geekfests, a phrase we utter with the utmost affection, starting with The Annual Bunny Hutch featuring Kool Kat of the Week Talloolah Love. Get your boogie on at Mary’s, as the East Atlanta venue gets funky with their weekly Disco in the Village. Relax with a cocktail while listening to the groovy sounds of Kool Kat Big Mike and Tongo Hiti at vintage tiki bar, Trader Vic’s. Beverly “Guitar” Watkins brings the blues to Steve’s Live Music. Heather Luttrell delivers the blues at Blind Willie’s. Northside Tavern presents the classic 50s Chicago-style blues of The Breeze Kings. At Fat Matt’s Rib Shack, hear the honkytonkin’ blues of Chickenshack. It’s 80s/90s Retro Video Night with free drinks ’til 10 at The Shelter. Battlefield Collective and B Wayne and the Belfrys strum it up at Red Light Cafe‘s Bluegrass Thursday. And it’s your last chance to catch GHOSTBUSTERS (1984) at Northlake Festival Movie Tavern  MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL (1975) at The Plaza Theatre.

Jeffrey Butzer. Photo credit: Melissa J Butzer.

Friday, August 30

Dragoncon continues in downtown Atlanta. Our top Retro pick for today is the  Second Annual Pin-ups by the Pool Party. Read all about it from the luscious lips of Kool Kat of the Week Talloolah Love. Past Kool Kat Jeffrey Butzer & The Bicycle Eaters bring a touch of Bohemian Paris to The Basement, along with Loraine. Rolling Nowhere, Strung Like a Horse and I Want Whisky make it a righteous roots and honkytonkin’ night at The Earl. It’s garage rock, hard southern dishospitality and more at the Star Bar with another super multi-band line-up including Swamp Juice, Beitthemeans, Six Shot Revival, Dirt Bag Love Affair, Red Rocket Deluxe and  our favorite all-female Elvis tribute band, The Pelvis Breastlies. Secondhand Swagger shakes up some soulful, southern-fried funk under the dinosaurs at Fernbank Museum of Natural History’s Martinis and IMAX. The Western Sizzlers and “very special guest indeed” Johnny Cash Now delivers some honkytonk blues to Northside Tavern, and Sandra Hall and house-band The Shadows serve up the blues at Blind Willie‘s. Timo Arthur Trio play the blues at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack. ET (1982) phones home again at Landmark Midtown Art Cinema at midnight. And it’s your chance to Do the Time Warp again at THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW with full costumed floor show by Lips Down on Dixie every Friday at midnight at The Plaza Theatre.

Saturday, August 31

Cosplayers take to the streets for a 10 a.m. parade and much more as Dragoncon continues. Today also is the day for DragonCon Burlesque, A Glamour Geek Revue, produced by Kool Kat of the Week Talloolah Love. And we have to admit we’re pretty darned excited at hear Malcolm McDowall and David Warner together talking about TIME AFTER TIME with ATLRetro pal Anthony Taylor at 4 p.m. in the Atlanta Ballroom at the Westin Peachtree Atlanta. Plus the legendary Cabal Cut of Clive Barker’s NIGHTBREED (1989)screens at 11:30 p.m., also at the Westin, preceded by  Q&A and Signing” at 10 p.m. with Russell Cherrington (restoration director), as well as stars Craig Sheffer, Doug Bradley, Nick Vince and Chris McCorkindale. Cigar Store Indians swing into Smith’s Olde Bar. Rev up for Sunday’s Drive Invasion with a groovy pre-party at The Star Bar with The Woggles, The Hate Bombs and Muck & the Mires. Neoglam/post-punk ATLRetro faves The Sexual Side Effects, featuring Kool Kat Amber Taylor, play ConTourage’s KahunaCon a few blocks down from Dragoncon at The Big Kahuna restaurant/club. The Randy Chapman Birthday Bash celebrates the blues at Northside Tavern, and Houserocker Johnson and The Shadows play the blues at Blind Willie’s. Ron Cooley and the Hard Times rock the blues at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack. The Rainmen pour some 60s/70s good time rock n roll into Big Tex. As always, DJ Romeo Cologne transforms the sensationally seedy Clermont Lounge into a ’70s disco/funk inferno late into the wee hours of the night. Bike on over to see sci-fi classic ET (1982) during midnight madness at the Landmark Midtown Art Cinema.

Sunday, September 1

Atlanta’s best Retro bands and movie all-day/night festival, DRIVE INVASION 2013 invades the world-famous Starlight Drive-In again. Headlining from the farthest reaches of the galaxy is MAN… OR ASTRO-MAN?, with Memphis garage thud legends The Oblivians, as well as surf, garage, honytonk and monsterganza from Gargantua, The Intoxicators!, The Pits, The Mystery Men?, Kill Baby Kill, Ghost Riders Car Club, a special tribute to The Penetrators, and more. This year’s flicks take off at dark with an ’80s sci-fi blowout with THE LAST STARFIGHTER (1984),THE ADVENTURES OF BUCKAROO BANZAI ACROSS THE EIGHTH DIMENSION! (1984), and JOHN CARPENTER’S: THE THING (1982). Catch Retro Reviews by Aleck Bennett of all three cult classics here.

Dragoncon also continues in downtown Atlanta. Our top picks of what to do on Sunday include The Artifice Club’s Mechanical Masquerade: The Retropolis. For more info, check out our interview with  Kool Kat of the Week Talloolah Love! Treat the kids to a final morning matinee of ET (1982) at 10:30 a.m. at Landmark Midtown Art Cinema. Have a bluegrass brunch with Banjolicious at Big Tex starting at noon. Tony Bryant Blues Band bring on the blues style at Fatt Matt’s Rib Shack. Sample a spoonful of blues courtesy of Uncle Sugar at Northside Tavern. The Jez Graham Trio jazzes up The Family Dog with Sam Skelton.  And Woody Allen’s BANANAS (1971) kicks off 10 Days of Woody Allen in this fall’s Director’s Series at 7:45 p.m. at The Plaza Theatre.

Ongoing

Johannes Vermeer’s GIRL WITH A PEARL EARRING visits The High Museum of Art, along with other Dutch masterpieces by Rembrandt and more, through Sept. 29.

Every Tuesday night, Wednesday morning and Thursday night is Retro Cinema at Movie Tavern.

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.

TAGS: None

By Julia Carlson
Contributing Writer

Monday, May 27

Head to Piedmont Park for Atlanta Jazz Festival’s final day. Swing down to Café 290 for Bumpin The Mango at 8:30 p.m. Northside Tavern hosts its weekly Blues Jam featuring blues and southern soul singer Lola Gulley. Enjoy your BBQ with a side of Pead Boy & the Pork Bellies at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack.

Tuesday, May 28

Sonic Generator Presents: Metropolis! includes a free outdoor screening of the new restored, complete cut of Fritz Lang’s silent science fiction classic METROPOLIS (1927), with the premiers of an exciting new score at the Woodruff Arts Center. It’s also playing indoors at the Plaza all week. Hey, mon, hear some of great ska/reggae/roots when the Version City Tour, featuring King Django, Lloyd’s Rocksteady Revue and Hermits of Suburbia, arrives at the Masquerade‘s Purgatory. Musical May concludes at Northlake Festival Movie Tavern with a sing-a-long performance of the much-loved John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John movie GREASE (1978) as the retro cinema classic this week! Kool Kat Calu Cordeira mixes tiki libations during Mai Tai Tahitian Tuesday starting at 9 p.m. at the Dark Horse Tavern. Grab your horn and head over to Twain’s in Decatur for a Joe Gransden jazz jam session. Blues it down with Nathan Nelson & Entertainment Crackers at Northside Tavern. Head over to Fat Matt’s Rib Shack for some old school southern rock and blues with Crosstown Allstars. Tease up that big hair for a Heavy Metal Cover Band at 10 High. Steve’s Live Music in Sandy Springs hosts a weekly Bluegrass Jam. Learn to hula hoop from a master hooper and Kool Kat Rebecca Deshon at Studio Burlesque with a Beginners/All Levels class at 6:30 p.m, followed by Intermediate Hoop Dance. Also Ursula Undress teaches Beginner’s Burlesque at 8:30 p.m.

Wednesday, May 29

Brannen Burland and Schultz bring their creative combo of lap steel and theremin to The Star Bar with Eli Pop, the “white lightning country-blues and psychedelic-dosed rock n roll” of Hymn for Her and Zeppelin-King Crimson-influenced Verge of Bliss. Get schooled by two of Atlanta’s burlesque finest, Katherine Lashe or Kool Kat Talloolah Love in Beginning Burlesque classes at Studio Burlesque. Old enough to feel Retro? It’s Ladies Night at Johnny’s Hideaway which plays hits from Sinatra to Madonna for a generally mature crowd. Danny “Mudcat” Dudeck brings the Piedmont blues to Northside Tavern. Sing-a-long with  GREASE (1978) as the much-loved John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John movie plays a second night at Northlake Festival Movie Tavern this week!

Thursday, May 30

We can’t promise they’ll make your dreams come true but 70s/80s pretty-haired pop duo Hall & Oates do play Chastain Park Amphitheatre.  The Atlanta Food & Wine Festival offers tastings, classes and more through Sunday.  Relax with a cocktail while listening to the ska/reggae/groovy island sounds of Lloyd’s Rocksteady Revue at vintage tiki bar, Trader Vic’s. Go to Northside Tavern to hear the classic 50s Chicago-style blues of The Breeze Kings. Get on over to Fat Matt’s Rib Shack to hear the honkytonkin’ blues of  Chickenshack. It’s 80s/90s Retro Video Night with free drinks ’til 10 at The Shelter.  Sweetwater Creek Bluegrass Band takes the stage at Red Light Cafe‘s weekly Bluegrass Thursday. If you didn’t get the chance to go to Studio Burlesque this week, you have another chance to try out Beginning Burlesque with Ursula Undressat 6:30 p.m., take a Basic Props Class with the Chameleon Queen, Meredith Greer, and enjoy live burlesquein the Performance Track Series at 9:30 p.m. Sing-a-long one more time with  GREASE (1978) when the much-loved John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John movie plays a final night at Northlake Festival Movie Tavern this week!

Friday, May 31

Legendary torch singer Tony Bennett and classical vocalist prodigy Jackie Evancho join the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra at Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre. John McCutcheon, Caroline Herring and Michelle Malone makes its a classic Atlanta roots/folk night at Red Clay Theatre in Duluth. Kingsized, featuring Kool Kat “Big Mike” Geier, make it a swing dance night at  Fernbank Museum of Natural History’s Martinis and IMAX. Denim Arcade, featuring Kool Kat Becky Cormier Finch, brings back the ’80s at Craze Tavern. Enjoy BBQ with a side while listening to SaNA Blues at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack. And over at Northside Tavern Swami Gone Bananas brings “classic rock, jam band and psychedelic” this Friday night.

Saturday, June 1

This Blast-Off Burlesque Taboo-La-La brings possibly the most all-inclusive of  all taboos, John Waters‘ shocking cult classic PINK FLAMINGOS (1972) to The Plaza Theatre. Before the show, enjoy a live stage show guest-starring Baby-Doll and Poly Sorbate, featuring a Filthy Fashion & Sexy Doggie Doo Eating Contest! Win awesome Prizes and enjoy complimentary cocktails in the lobby starting at 9 p.m. Read our Retro Review here! Come on, dress fancy for The Artifice Club‘s The Dandies and Darlings Dance at Frill After Dark at The Marriott Courtyard-Decatur. Hosted by MCs H.M. and Renfield of steampunk favorites The Gin Rebellion, the posh night-out crosses multiple centuries with live music from ’80s tribute band Denim Arcade, featuring Kool Kat Becky Cormier Finch and her husband Wade Finch as Dandy Highwaymen Adam Ant alongside other retro rock and more, dance tunes from DJ Doctor Q sure to move your feet, and a Frill Fashion Show! The Star Bar and PBR present PBR’BQ! starting at 2 p.m. with psych pop band Abby Gogo and free burgers and dogs on the patio, followed by an evening of loud with Crawl, Sons of Tonituah, Degradations and Snake Oil from Florida. Smiths tribute band Smithsonian pitches in with The Goldest and Shook Foil to throw a benefit at the Earl to help with medical expenses for John Kelso, the manager of Bell Street Burritos at the Sweet Auburn Curb Market, critically acclaimed photographer, and  faithful supporter of the Atlanta Sacred Harp singing community. Zydefunk shakes up Northside Tavern.  Eric Roberson takes to Center Stage tonight. Come see Tony Bryant’s blues band at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack. As usual, DJ Romeo Cologne transforms the sensationally seedy Clermont Lounge into a ’70s disco/funk inferno late into the wee hours of the night.

Sunday, June 2

The 11th annual Rock and Roll Monster Bash kicks off at 10 a.m. at the Starlight Six Drive-In. Hosted by the Silver Scream Spookshow‘s Professor Morte, aka co-Kool Kat of the Week Shane Morton, this year’s event promises fiendish death grips with MONSTROSITY CHAMPIONSHIP WRESTLING starting at 1:30 p.m.; vicious vendors; hellish sounds kicking off at 2 p.m. from Alice Cooper tribute band Black Juju, Baby Baby, a reunion of The Butchers, Dracula (singing the hits as only he can!), Spooky Partridge and Metal Gaga (the lovechild of Lady Gaga and Iron Maiden!); plus two classic horror movies in 35 mm majesty at dark, THE DEVIL’S RAIN (1975), starring William Shatner, Ernest Borgnine and John Travolta, as well as Sam Raimi‘s EVIL DEAD 2 (1987), starring Bruce Campbell‘s chin and a chainsaw. Read our Retro Reviews for THE DEVIL’s RAIN here and EVIL DEAD 2 here. Advance tickets are available at https://www.ticketalternative.com. The Bonaventure  Quartet swings into The Earl to pay dunch. Watch for our Kool Kat interview with lead vocalist Amy Pike next week. Cineprov makes some good-spirited fun of Marlon Brando in classic Western ONE EYED JACKS (1961) at The Plaza Theater .The House Trio will jazz up The Family Dog from 7-10pm. Check out some classic bottleneck acoustic blues from Pead Boy and the Pork Bellys at Fatt Matt’s  Rib Shack. Get a Banjolicious brunch at Big Tex starting at noon.

Ongoing

Two black and white classics play this week (May 24-30) at The Plaza Theatre: the recently digitally restored and finally complete silent METROPOLIS (1927) and Martin Scorsese‘s brilliant boxing drama RAGING BULL (1980) starring Robert DeNiro. Watch for Retro Reviews later this week. Oh, and then there’s some comedy called PORKY’S (1982).

EXTREME MAMMALS from sabertooth tiger skulls and wooly mammoth fur to contemporary creatures such as the duck-billed platypus invade Fernbank Museum of Natural History through August 18.

Learn about  a different side to the third American president and Constitution author in the Really Retro special exhibition Slavery at Jefferson’s Monticello: How the Word is Passed Down at the Atlanta History Center through July 7.

Every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday night is Retro Cinema at Movie Tavern. Check out classic movies on the big screen weekly at 7:30 p.m.

Do you have or know of a Retro event we should include in This Week in Retro Atlanta? Be sure to email us at atlretro@gmail.com!

OK, Charles Darwin doesn’t look like all that swinging a guy with that big bushy beard and Victorian suit, but DARWIN, a new special exhibition which just opened last weekend and runs through Jan. 1, 2012 at Fernbank Museum of Natural History, reveals more than a few surprises about the 19th century naturalist who took a five-year sea voyage of discovery on the HMS Beagle and turned the scientific world upside-down with his theory of evolution. For example, his grandfather’s own radical writings helped inspire Mary Shelley to write FRANKENSTEIN, both his mother and wife hailed from the Wedgewood family of pottery fame, he got his stint on the HMS Beagle because Captain FitzRoy wanted “not just a naturalist but a gentleman,” on that trip he rode with gauchos in Patagonia and his letters home included such colorful language as describing an area “red-hot with spiders.” Excuse us, but eek!

Darwin’s most famous stop, of course, was the Galapagos Islands and the entire journey was an adventure, so it seems only fitting that Martinis & IMAX on Friday Sept. 30 has the theme of Island Adventure. Explore the exhibit, follow in Darwin’s footsteps via IMAX to GALAPAGOS, sip on a Galapagos Gimlet and strike a natural or unnatural pose at the Darwin Dress-Up Photo Booth. The evening’s ship of fun is captained by “Big Mike” Geier and notorious Atlanta tiki band Tongo Hiti. His crew inevitably includes some of the most glamorous gals you’d ever want to encounter on a jungle island – the Dames Aflame, featuring Atlanta’s closest connection to the missing link, MonkeyZuma.

We can only imagine what Darwin would have thought of that legendary simian-sapien, but you don’t have to imagine what MonkeyZuma thinks of old man Charles because, well, we asked her…

Are you the missing link, or what’s the origin of your species?

MonkeyZuma is half girl, half monkey-girl.

What do Charles Darwin and evolution mean to you personally?

Zuma loves Charles Darwin because he was known for bridging the gap between humans and animals.  He was the original king of the swingers, a jungle V.I.P.! His evolution theory means that someday, we’re going to have little bitty, really pointy fingers and thumbs so we can all clickity-clickity lickity-splickity on our smartphones and iPads and miniature-microwaves.

What do you hope to learn from the Darwin exhibition?

Zuma wonders: boxers or briefs?  Since he was a naturalist, probably neither!

What special plans do you have to get creative at this week’s Martinis & IMAX (with a little help from Kingsized and Dames Aflame, of course)?

MonkeyZuma never makes any plans. She is barely controlled chaos and will most likely be found sticking her finger in your nachos or knockin’ back several of Fernbank’s signature Pineapple Mojitos while Dames Aflame’s own Shockaboom and Chico teach all the local natives some exotic Island dances to the Tongo Hiti soundtrack.  It’s best not to look Zuma in the eye if she is approaching. Just bring some extra cash and buy the sexy simian some booze.  She’ll let ya “huele” her “dedo” and then be on her way, to destroy someone else’s date night.

All photos courtesy of Dames Aflame.