ATLRetro

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’s 17-piece Big Band at 8pm (Feb. 12)! Rat Pack Now croons on down to the Red Clay Theatre (Feb. 12 at 8pm; Feb. 13 at 1:30pm)! Or jazz it up during the Emory Jazz Fest’s Big Band Night at the Schwartz Center for Performing Arts, featuring the Gary Motley Trio (Feb. 13) and includes free admission; performance at 8pm. Get lovey-dovey at Rialto Center for the Arts’ Valentine Love Concert featuring Michael Henderson, The Dramatics and Jean Carne, from 7-9pm (Feb. 14)! Venkman’s begins the day with their Valentine’s Day Brunch with the Higher Ground Jazz Duo, and follows that up with a Valentine’s Day Dinner featuring classical jazz with Le Grand Fromage and an a la carte menu prepared by Chef Nick Melvin (Feb. 14)! The Fox Theatre gets some soul and jazzes it up with their Valentine Celebration for Lovers & Friends featuring El DeBarge and Ken Ford (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 second annual Bloody Valentine’s event, featuring Kool Kat Aileen Loy with Till Someone Loses an Eye; circus shenanigans with The Thimberling Circus and more bloody romantic fun (Feb. 11)! Boogie down at The Star Bar’s Blackheart’s Ball, featuring The Midnight Larks, Shantih Shantih, Coma Girls, and Emily Marie Palmer & Kool Kat Jeffrey Butzer (Feb. 13)! Hey all you Kool Kittens and Kinky Kats! Grab your favorite guy or gal and rock on down to The Earl for their Sadie Hawkins Dance: Valentine’s Day Rock Show/Women’s Shelter Benefit featuring performances by Hymen Moments, Hank & Cupcakes, StarBenders and Kool Kat Kate Jan with SEX BBQ (Feb. 14)!

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 9th Annual Vixen’s Valentease Vaudeville & Variety Show (Feb. 12)! The Famous Pub welcomes you to the Spectacular! Come see what’s behind the red curtain at RITUAL’s Moulin Rouge Valentine’s Day Ball featuring The Black Sheep Ensemble and more! $10 gains entrance to this exciting extravaganza starting at 10pm (Feb. 12)! Or shimmy on down to the Shakespeare Tavern for Hearts A’Blaze Entertainment’s Pantheon of Divini-TEASE with Kool Kat Talloolah Love, Kool Kate Persephone Phoenix and more! (Feb. 13). Get a little naughty this Valentine’s Day at Paris On Ponce with Valentine’s Mischief with Madeline featuring a little jazzy cabaret with Suzy Sazerac & the Peels and Cat Vigor’s burly-Q troupe, Cat’s Kittens (Feb. 13)!

4. It’s Boogie Time. Boogie down because FUNKY GOOD TIME is coming to Aisle 5 for their Funky Good Time Valentine’s Dance bringing you the best Funk, Soul, Disco, Latin, Boogie, and R&B love songs on some piping hot vinyl (Feb. 13)!

5. Art, Comedy & Theatre, OH MY! Blackhearts and anti-V-day miscreants, rock on down to The Highlander for their Broken Hearts & Bloody Valentines Art Show, delivering a night of multi-media art, including our pal Kool Kat Chris Hamer of Urbnpop and so much more (Feb. 11)! The Highwire Comedy Co. presents their Happy Valentine’s Day Mr. President comedy show at the Highland Inn Ballroom Lounge (Feb. 12)! The Red Light Café presents two THE VAGINA MONOLOGUES Valentine’s performances, benefitting One Billion Rising at 8pm (Feb. 12 & Feb. 13) at 8pm! Dig up some swell goodies for your sweet/blackheart and make your way to My Parents’ Basement for The Valentine’s Day Bizarre Bazaar featuring 13 local artists and designers, including Kool Kat Chris Hamer of Urbnpop, from 1-5pm (Feb. 13)! The Center for Puppetry Arts presents their Valentine’s Date Night (adults-only) with puppet shenanigans and complimentary desserts (Feb. 13)! The Cobb Energy Performing Arts Center transforms into a Parisian bohemian cabaret as the Atlanta Ballet presents “Moulin Rouge: The Ballet”, shaking a tail at 8pm (Feb. 13)!

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! $99 gets you 2 admissions, a photo, Valentine’s scroll, champagne in keepsake glasses, a light up rose and 2 admissions to the dungeon! Get classically romantic at Atlanta Symphony Hall as they present their Be Mine performance, featuring songs from the greatest young romances in classical music; Bizet’s “Carmen”; Puccinni’s “La Boheme” and more!

7. Groovin’ Up Slowly. Be a smooth operator and sail on down to Park Tavern in Piedmont Park for Valentine’s Day Eve-Eve (Feb. 12) with Yacht Rock Schooner! It’ll be an evening of smooth 70s and 80s love songs, so put on your dancin’ shoes and come aboard! Doors at 7 pm! ATL Collective presents Sade’s “Love Deluxe” at Venkman’s (Feb. 13)! $15 advance/$20 door. Doors at 9:30pm.

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 (Feb. 13).

9. Cupid’s Culinary Delights! Hula on over to Trader Vic’s and escape into the island atmosphere of love with their Tropical Valentine’s Day special entrée, Hong Kong Sea Bass at $35/person (Feb. 13 & 14). Have a bloody fantastic time and snag a few tasty morsels during Blast-Off Burlesque’s Cardiac Arrest: Eat Your Heart Out Bake Sale at the Euclid Avenue Yacht Club from 1-5pm (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 loved to death while traversing the land of passionate souls longing for love. Tours haunt 3-5pm! $16 adults/$10 students (Feb. 13 & Feb. 14)! Or for a pre-Valentine’s event (Feb. 11) get your bloody heart ripped out 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!

Our top pick for Saturday Oct. 6 is a truly scrumptious tribute to one of our favorite Retro treats. Willy Wonka would appreciate the World of Pure Imagination that is the Sugar Dolls‘ annual Day of the Cupcake celebration. The confectionary-inspired festivities begin at Sacred Heart Tattoo ( Little Five Points location) from noon to 7 p.m. with $50 cupcake tattoos, sugar skull decorating & contest, free cupcakes, games and live performances. Then at 7 p.m., the fun moves to  The Five Spot where a $15 cover ($10 with cupcake tattoo) gets you $5 Lucid Absinthe, free masks for early arrivals and music by bands Christ, Lord, Toy Devils and Till Someone Loses an Eye featuring Aileen Loy, as well as special guests The Thimblerig Circus, The Chameleon Queen, Clay Crockerof Prentice Suspensions and aerial performances by: Lori VanVoorhis, Mara Chanin, Aileen Loy and Alexis Gorsuch. And of course, the Cupcake Eating Contest will be back as well! There’s also an art auction, and eccentric garb is encouraged but not required! The entire day and evening supports Aid Atlanta. Still don’t get what it’s all about. Read more about The Sugar Dolls and last year’s Day of the Cupcake here.

In the mood to eat cupcakes and drink absinthe, now?!  To get in the holiday spirit ahead of time, here’s a special adult cupcake recipe from The Sugar Dolls to tantalize your tastebuds…

The Sugar Dolls

“The Little Death”

Cupcake recipe with “Lucid Absinthe’ “

Cake Ingredients

• 2 cups sugar
• 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup Cocoa or  DARK Cocoa ( depending on how much of a bite you want)
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup boiling water

Heat oven to 350°F
Put liners into your cupcakes pan. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of electric mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin) You may want to use a piping bag to put your batter into you liners, fill liners half way.
Bake 30 to 35 minutes
Cool completely
Lucid Ganche

• 12 ounces chocolate, chopped into small pieces
• 1 cup heavy cream
• optional 1/4 cup Lucid Absinthe’

Place chocolate pieces in a large bowl. Heat heavy cream on medium high until it comes to a boil then slowly add your chocolate while maintaining a stir once melted take off heat and add in your absinthe, let cool.  While that cools you will need to hollow out the center of your cupcakes, then slowly pour the ganache into the center of each cake.
Now to frost!
Lucid Mocha Frosting

• 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 3 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon table salt
• 1 teaspoons vanilla extract or 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 2 tablespoons milk or heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons dark fresh brewed coffee
• 1/4 cup Lucid Absinthe’

Cream butter for a few minutes in a mixer, Sift  confectioners sugar  and cocoa into the mixing bowl once incorporated add remaining  ingredients.  If your frosting needs a more stiff consistency, add a little more sugar. If your frosting needs to be thinned out, add additional Absinthe if your feeling frisky  or dark coffee if you need more bite and kick. Either way Whip the mess out of that frosting give it the good beating you want it to give you.  Frost cupcakes.  If you would like a garnish for your cupcakes, make another batch of ganche and once cool, drizzle it a top your tasty treats with a chocolate covered espresso bean or two.