ATLRetro

by Melanie Crew
Managing Editor

Hey all you dapper fellas and glitzy gals! Cupid got your tongue? Be ours this year and celebrate all that is vintage and Valentine’s in ATLRetro!

1. CROONERS & RED HOT JAZZ. Croon on down to The Earl Smith Strand Theatre for The Sam Cooke Experience, featuring Markell Williams dishing out a soulful revue of “Cupid” proportions at 8pm; $35/$45 (Feb. 14)! Moon River on down to Rialto Center for the Arts for the GSU Jazz Band’s tribute to Johnny Mercer, featuring Joe Gransden and Francine Reed! Swing on by Venkman’s for a romantic night featuring Vince Guaraldi’s classic BE MY VALENTINE CHARLIE BROWN, performed by Dave Ellington’s Peanut Gallery at 6:30pm (Feb. 14)! Or jazz it up during the Emory Jazz Fest’s free Big Band Night at the Emerson Concert Hall, featuring Peter Erskine, Darek Oles, Gary Motley and the Emory Big Band at 8pm (Feb. 10). The Vista Room gets jazzy with Joe Gransden’s Valentine’s Dinner Show at 7:30pm, featuring a Prix Fixe Menu (Feb. 14)! Jazz it up with Diana Krall at Atlanta Symphony Hall at 8pm (Feb. 9)! The Fox Theatre gets some soul and jazzes it up with their 12th Annual Valentine Celebration for Lovers & Friends featuring Jeffrey Osborne and Rachelle Ferrell (Feb. 10)!

2. BLACKHEARTS ROCK. Rocksteady on down to The Star Bar for their Valentine’s Rock –N- Ska! event featuring Kitty Rose & The Rattlers and Kool Kat Rev. Andy Hawley with Southern Ska Syndicate at 10pm (Feb. 16)! Spend Valentine’s Day with Hello Ocho at The Earl dishing out a night of psyche-y Kraut rock featuring Adron, Mick Mayer and more (Feb. 14)! Rock out with Boygirlfriends, Cuntry and more at 529 (Feb. 14)!

3. OH LA LA!  Burly-Q and karaoke get twisted with The Candybox Revue’s Love and Anti-Love Karaoke at Gaja Korean Bar at 9:30pm (Feb. 8)! Take a peek behind the red curtain during RITUAL’s Moulin Rouge Valentine’s Party at Heretic, featuring DJs, tarot readings, dancing and more from 10pm – 3am (Feb. 9)! Get sinfully seductive at and let Kool Kat Katherine Lashe and her burly-Q gals of Syrens of the South spice up your Valentine’s evening with their Tease Tuesday Burlesque: Hearts & Heartbreakers event, shakin’ it up at the Red Light Café (Feb. 13)! Shake a tail feather this Valentine’s Day at Paris On Ponce’s 14th Annual Valentine’s Day Burlesque with two tantalizing shows each night, 7:30pm and 9:30pm; $45 general/VIP tables (Feb. 9 & 10)!

4. BLOODY HEARTS ‘N’ ARTS.  The Highlander spills their ode to love gone wrong with their Broken Hearts & Bloody Valentines Art Show, from 9pm -12am (Feb. 9)! The Highland Inn Ballroom & Lounge hosts an Inn-Love-Artists-Market, featuring 25 vintage and more vendors from 5-10pm (Feb. 11)! 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. 11)!

5. 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 Celebration!  $110 gets you 2 admissions, a photo, champagne in keepsake glasses and more (Feb. 3-14)!

6. 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. 9); Doors at 7 pm! ATL Collective presents Sade’s “Love Deluxe” at Venkman’s, 6pm/10pm (Feb. 10)! Dance Your Valentine Off with Susi French Connection at Avondale Towne Cinema at 9pm (Feb. 17)! Spend Valentine’s Day with The Kennedys (Blue Moon Orchestra) at the Red Clay Theatre, doors at 6:30pm (Feb. 14)!

7. LOVIN’ ON THE SILVER SCREEN.  ‘Here’s looking at you kid!’ Take a peek at love and romance Old Hollywood-style at The Earl Smith 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’s screening of Jim Sharman’s THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW (1975) at 11:59pm, for $10 (Feb. 10)! For those who can’t make it to Marietta, the Aurora Cineplex in Roswell is also screening Michael Curtiz’ CASABLANCA at 7pm with special treats for the ladies (Feb. 10 & 14)! Or catch a screening of Curtiz’ classic during Northlake Festival Movie Tavern’s Flashback Cinema series at 2:30pm/7:30pm (Feb. 11)! WUSSY MAG presents a 7pm Galentine’s Day event and screening of Hugh Wilson’s FIRST WIVES CLUB (1996) at The Plaza Theater (Feb. 14)!

8. CUPID’S CULINARY DELIGHTS.  Hula on over to Trader Vic’s and escape into the island atmosphere of love with their 4-course Prix Fixe Menu, $65/person (Feb. 14). The French are known for their romantic gestures, so get romantic at Petite Violette (formerly Petite Auberge) for their special 5-course Valentine’s Day Menu beginning at 5:30pm, featuring live entertainment and more for $74.95/person (Feb. 14)!

9. 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 (Feb. 10 & 11)! Spook on down to Folklore Haunted House in Acworth for their My Bloody Valentine haunt at 7:30pm (Feb. 16 & 17)!

10. COMEDY, THEATRE, & SCIENCE, OH MY! Battle & Brew gets geeky mushy with their COSPLAY: ROMANCE NIGHT at 8pm (Feb. 10)! The Fernbank Museum delivers a night of science ‘n’ romance with their Fernbank After Dark: Love on the Brain event (Feb. 9)! 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)!

by Melanie Crew
Contributing Writer

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 on this day of love and seduction!

1. Red Hot Jazz. Get jazzy with your love tonight at the Crimson Moon, with Atlanta’s Jazz Diva, Tommie Macon (Tommie Macon & The Gentle Men) and her Evening of Jazz, Wine & Roses event! It’ll be a night of romance, tasty libations made to the little god of love, a special Valentine’s Day menu, a rose for your Valentine and sultry jazz standards!  Doors at 8 pm! Or let Kayla Taylor serenade you with her romantic jazz standards while dancing the night away with your sweetie under the dinosaurs sipping a few sexy cocktails at the Fernbank Museum of Natural History’s Martinis and IMAX!

2. 80s All the Way.  Find your Prince (or Princess) at Vinyl this Valentine’s Day as you rock out with ATL Collective paying homage to Prince and sharing their intimate re-telling of his classic album, ‘1999’! Or rock on over to the Drunken Unicorn for their Valentine’s Formal, featuring live tunes by Smithsonian, a tribute to The Smiths and Kool Kat Joshua Longino with Andrew & the Disapyramids throwing a rockin’ beach party of love!  So, get dolled up, put on your dancin’ shoes and get down with the one who stole your heart! Doors at 9 pm! Or be a smooth operator and sail on down to Park Tavern in Piedmont Park for Lover’s Day with Yacht Rock Schooner! It’ll be an evening of smooth 70s and 80s love songs and a champagne toast, so put on your dancin’ shoes and come aboard! $15 online/$20 at the door. Doors at 7 pm! And for those about to rock, grab the rocker guy or chick in your life and get sinfully mischievous at Hottie Hawgs Smokin’ BBQ this Valentine’s Day with Sin City Atlanta delivering their rockin’ tribute to AC/DC!  

3. Deep Roots.  Get rustic and spend Valentine’s Day ‘in the round’ old-time-style at the Red Light Café, while rockin’ the roots troubadour swagger with Tommy Wommack, David Olney, Adam Klein and the swampy roots n’ blues of David Jacobs-Strain!

4. That’s Why They Call it the Blues.  Valentine’s Day got you down?  A little too jaded for your own good?  Well, jump, jive n’ wail your way to Big Tex for Valentine’s Day with the Tommy Dean Trio!  It’ll be a night of blues, swing, jazz and soul standards! It’s a Rat Pack Valentine’s Day, so come on out and dance the night away! Music and dancing begins at 9 pm!

5. Shakespeare In Love & Really Retro.  Get romantically retro and take in William Shakespeare’s classic tale of star-crossed lovers and feuding families at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Center! The Atlanta Ballet premieres Jean-Christophe Maillot’s alluring yet stripped down production of Romeo et Juliette, hailing all the way from Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo! The Atlanta Ballet Orchestra accompanies the beautifully choreographed masterpiece with Sergei Prokofiev’s provocative and breathtaking score! Tickets start at $20 and performance begins at 8 pm! 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!  $99 gets you 2 admissions, a photo, Valentine’s scroll, champagne in keepsake glasses, a light up rose and 2 admissions to the dungeon!

6. Groovin’ Up Slowly.  Disco on down to Edgewood Avenue for a Valentine boogie with the one you love and your very own Romeo!  DJ Romeo Cologne that is, getting’ groovy at The Music Room on Edgewood Avenue!  Or shake a tail feather and boogie on over to The Artmore Hotel (Studio Lounge) and get groovy with Groove Centric!  $72 will get you the Tastes for Two package, which includes a bottle o’ red, dinner and chocolate truffles!   Or get funky with your Valentine at The Star Bar during their Valentine Daze event with Cousin Dan, xXgLaSsLuShXx and Miss Britta!

7. 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. Enjoy a few cocktails during cocktail hour with your dapper fella or glamorous gal at Rick’s Café Americain, set up in the lobby & lounge, open at 7 pm and throughout the film!

8. Be Mine, Pop Culture-Style!  Grab your beloved bestie and even the kiddies for a dinner fit for a king at Pallookaville Fine Foods in Avondale Estates! A king of pop culture and classic monsters, that is! They’ve got monsters and circus freaks and retro-themed food, oh my!  So, you won’t want to miss their Valentine’s Day Feast running through Feb. 16, which includes the essential dinner of love, a ‘la Lady & The Tramp-style, Spaghetti & Meatballs and the fixins followed by chocolate-covered strawberries!  Adults $18, Kiddies $10!

9. 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 loved to death while traversing the land of passionate souls longing for love, beginning at 5 pm! $10 adults/$5 students! Or let the blood-letting begin as the Prince of Darkness rocks you while draining your veins at the Dracula: The Rock Opera CD Release Party & Concert with The Little Five Points Rockstar Orchestra, at 7 Stages running through Feb. 15! Or for a Valentine’s Eve (Feb. 13) event, get romantically massacred at  Mary’s for their ‘Goth Nite St. Valentine’s Massacre’ event! It’ll be a Goth throw down featuring classic Goth rock, synth pop, post-punk and even tunes from the New Romantic era!  And, bring a personalized Goth Valentine’s card to score some free swag! And for all you Tim Burton and bleeding heart lovers, get gothic and dress as your favorite Burton character at Jungle Atlanta during their Burton Valentine’s Ball!  It’ll be a night of Burlesque, aerial performances and all things dark and morbidly fantastique! Headlining burlesque performance by Vita DeVoid, dressed as Sally from A NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS, venders including our swanky BFF artist and vintage vending gal, Jezebel Blue, and so much more! Best costume wins $100! $10 cover before midnight!

10. My Mischievous Valentine!  Get a little naughty this Valentine’s Day with your lovely at Paris On Ponce for their 6^th annual Valentine’s Day Show, featuring Burlesque, comedy, female impersonators and a saucy, adult entertainment and atmosphere!  Performances by Raquell Lord, Maya Montana, Coco Couture, Alicia Kelly, Angelica D’Paige, Smoking McQueen, Carmen Corazon and so much more! $45 general. $215 for an up-front for four table including wine/champagne, chocolates and cupcakes!