ATLRetro

Monday Sept. 19

Adrian Belew Power Trio plays Variety Playhouse.  It’s a roots-rock/retrobilly Monday at The Earl with The Serenaders and Australia’s Wagons. Swing to bimonthly Big Band Night with Joe Gransden and a 16-piece orchestra at Cafe 290. From 3 PM on, savor tropical sounds and libations, as well as a Polynesian dinner during Mai Tai Monday at Smith’s Olde Bar. Northside Tavern hosts its weekly Blues Jam.

Tuesday Sept. 20

The original line-up of ’80s synth pop band Modern English want to melt with you at Smith’s Olde Bar. Grab your horn and head to Twain’s in Decatur for a Joe Gransden jazz jam session starting at 9 PM. Fedora Blues is at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack. Notorious DJ Romeo Cologne spins ‘70s funk and disco at 10 High in Virginia-Highland. Catch Tues. Retro in the Metro nights at Midtown’s Deadwood Saloon, featuring video mixes of ’80s, ’90s and 2Ks hits.

Wednesday Sept. 21

Get ready to rumba, cha-cha and jitterbug at the weekly Swing Night at Graveyard Tavern. The Hollidays bringing some soul to Fat Matt’s Rib Shack. Danny “Mudcat” Dudeck blues it down at Northside Tavern. Dance to ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s hits during Retro in the Metro Wednesdays presented by Godiva Vodka, at Pub 71 in Brookhaven.

Whiskey Belt.

Thursday  Sept. 22

Dale Watson says there’s nothing Retro on his latest album CARRYIN’ ON, but the maverick country traditionalist has been playing around since the early ’80s and is playing Smith’s Olde Bar tonight with Mickey & the Motorcars. Go Retro-Polynesian to Tongo Hiti’s luxurious live lounge sounds, as well as trippy takes on iconic pop songs, every Thurs. night at Trader Vic’s. Honky tonk it with Whiskey Beltwho continue their all-September Thursday night free gigs at Kathmandu Kitchen(formerly Pho Truc) in Clarkston. Party ‘70s style with DJ Romeo Cologne at Aurum Lounge. Breeze Kings & Chickenshack bring on the blues respectively at Northside Tavern and Fat Matt’s Rib Shack.

Friday, Sept. 23

You can even bring the kids and grab a sandwich and a milkshake (or cheap beer, if we know your type) at an 8 p.m. early gig by Spooky Partridge at Rocket 88 in Decatur. Dusty Booze and the Baby Haters play later. Come hang 10 and get revved up for tomorrow’s Clarkston Surf Fest with a Pre-Party at the Highland Inn Ballroom, featuring outrageous surf local heroes The Mystery Men? and Nashville’s awesome Rebel Surfers, featuring special guest Philip Townsend from C.N.i Cow on drums. In case you missed our interview with Rebel Surfers’ Pete Jamestone before their high energy set at the Rockabilly Luau last June, catch up on your reading here. Or if your idea of going Retro is surfing the New Wave instead, Blondie plays Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre.

Blair Crimmins

Blair Crimmins and the Hookers resurrect ’20s ragtime with a 21st century twist at Star Bar tonight in their only local show this fall, playing with two other well-reviewed time capsule acts, the Lonesone City Travelers from Orlando and giant-squid-lovin’ Matty Sheets and the Blockheads from Greensboro, NC. Vocalist Kayla Taylor performs a soulful mix of jazz standards from the ’30s, ’40s and ’50s at Fernbank Museum of Natural History’s Martinis and IMAX. It’s another sexy Tango Night at Callanwolde, including lessons in the authentic Argentine version for all levels followed by a dance party. The Blues Benders bring on the blues at Fat Matt’s, and Mudcat blues it down at Northside Tavern. Earth Wind & Fire take you back to the ’70s with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra in the Delta Classic Chastain series. And it’s a hard Southern rockin’ night at Vinyl with Six Shot Revival, Motortrain, Bigfoot & The One Through Tens.

Feeling more cinematic? Also opening tonight at Dad’s Garage is ZONKERS – An Eighties Tit Comedy. Yup the zany guys and gals at Dad’s celebrate a beautiful and largely forgotten movie genre – films about girls with big boobs that are out of the league of the nerdy boys that crave them. At a summer camp! Plus zero gravity scenes set in outer space and a Boob Bot. Through October 14 on the Main Stage.

Comedy Kurt Russell’s Snake Plissken may not have been a smiling kind of guy, and we’re sure CineProv! will make the most out of calling him Snake when they ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK tonight at Relapse Theatre. Or share some nostalgia with your own kids as THE GOONIES (1985) starts a three-day run at GSU’s Cinefest with shows tonight at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. (Sat. and Sun. at 7 p.m.).

Saturday Sept. 24

Three big music events duke it out today. It could be a bit Retro to say that Music Midtown is back and its return is not unwelcome, but since the line-up is pretty contemporary, we have to say if you’re living in the best of yesteryear, the 5th Annual Clarkston Surf Fest has to win out with 1o great bands from noon into the night including local faves The Mystery Men?, The Surge! , Stratogeezer and El Fossil, as well as regional favorites Daikaiju (AL), Aqualads (NC), The Intoxicators (FL), The Necronomikids (AL), Kill, Baby…Kill (AL) and The Monterreys (NC). Best of all, it’s free and family-friendly, so you introduce the kids to some great music without shelling out big bucks.

On the other hand, we have to admit that any event centered around the Star Bar has plenty of Retro street cred, too. During Saturday’s Little Five Fest, for just $10 from 12:30 p.m. to gone midnight, you can enjoy more than 35 bands on multiple stages both in and outside the Star Bar, as well as at Criminal Records (12:30-3:30 p.m.) and Aurora Coffee (all ages 4-8 p.m.).  Extra Retro points go to you if you buy something at Criminal, which, as you’ve most likely heard, has been going through some tough times lately. Better yet, buy some vinyl.

Of course, that couldn’t be all that’s happening. Elvis Costello and the Imposters play Chastain. And in a punk rock slugfest, it’s Bad Brains up in Heaven at Masquerade vs. Meat Puppets at The Earl. How did that happen? And metalheads, get thee to Wild Bill’s for Stryper. If you’re more the ’70s rock revivalist type, The 32nd Annual Giant Miller Lite Chili Cook-Off at Stone Mountain Park serves up great chili, a jalapeno-eating concept and four tribute bands, Miller Time (Steve Miller Band), Sex Type Things (Stone Temple Pilots), ZOSO (Led Zeppelin) and Free Fallin (Tom Petty). Fun starts at 10 a.m. and concludes with 2011 Chili Awards at 6:30 p.m. And take a walk on the ’60s/’70s wild side down in Hell at the Masquerade as Mon Cherie & WarholBoy Present Incognito: A WarholBoy Factory Birthday Extravaganza including a “15 Minutes of Fame” Talent Show, Psychedelic Raffle and Edie Sedgwick Lookalike Contest, as well as Eye Candy Performances & drag by The Chelsea Girls, The Factory Gang, Ultra Violet and more. Be sure to dress to impress Warhol-style. And as usual, DJ Romeo Cologne transforms the sensationally seedy Clermont Lounge into a ’70s disco/funk inferno late into the wee hours.

Sunday Sept. 25

Front Porch Session Players serve up the music at blues “dunch” between 1-4 PM at The Earl. Snake Legs bring on the blues at Fat Matt’s. You’ve got another chance to see The Meat Puppets if you road trip it to The Melting Point in Athens.

Closing This Week

The Museum of Design Atlanta (MODA)‘s current exhibit WaterDream: The Evolution of Bathroom Design, runs through Sept. 24 in the dynamic new Midtown space. Displays take visitors through a four-part journey into the bathroom from the birth of minimalist aesthetics in 20th century design to current concepts.

Ongoing

Ding-Dong the Wicked Witch is the Hero?! That’s the premise of the Broadway hit musical WICKED, an upside-down retelling of the 1939 movie version of THE WIZARD OF OZ. And we can’t think of a more magical place for the Broadway Across America touring production to stage it than 1929 movie palace the Fabulous Fox Theatre. If you’re on a budget, come to the box office 2 1/2 hours before showtime and submit your name for daily drawings of limited last-minute $25 orchestra seat tickets. Read our exclusive interview with former Atlanta actorMark Jacoby, who plays the Wizard, here. Tues.-Sun. performances run through Oct. 9.

LIFE AND DEATH IN THE PYRAMID AGE: THE EMORY OLD KINGDOM MUMMY features the first public viewing in 50 years of the oldest Egyptian mummy in the Western Hemisphere, acquired from excavations at Abydos by Emory Theology Professor William A. Shelton in 1920. Watch for a Really Retro piece on this fascinating exhibit at Emory’s Michael C. Carlos Museum soon. Through Dec. 11, 2011.

Tune back in on Friday for Weekend Update. If you know of a cool happening that we’ve missed, send suggestions to ATLRetro@gmail.com.