ATLRetro

By Jordan Barbeau
Contributing Blogger

Monday, November 14

The dark, moody sounds of Peter Murphy can be heard at Masquerade tonight, along with 2000s dark dance band She Wants Revenge. 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. To break up the Monday monotony, head over to Fat Matt’s Rib Shack for dinner and a show, as local blues/jazz band Dry White Toast performs at 8 PM.

Tuesday, November 15

The self-proclaimed “most sophisticated hillbilly you’ve ever seen,” Michelle Shocked brings her classy country to Eddie’s Attic. Lisa Richards opens the show. Check out the southern blues/jazz stylings of Pokey LaFarge and The South City Three 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 p.m. Crosstown All Stars play Fat Matt’s Rib Shack. Catch Tues. Retro in the Metro nights at Midtown’s Deadwood Saloon, featuring video mixes of ’80s, ’90s and 2Ks hits.

Wednesday, November 16

Get ready to rumba, cha-cha and jitterbug at the weekly Swing Night at Graveyard Tavern. The Hollidays make it a soulful night at 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.

Tongo Hiti.

Thursday, November 17

Tongo Hiti play Retro-Polynesian luxurious live lounge sounds, as well as trippy takes on iconic pop songs, every Thursday night at Trader Vic’s. The Breeze Kings and The Chickenshack bring on the blues respectively at Northside Tavern and Fat Matt’s Rib Shack.  Brandon Rickman of Lonesome River Band plays Bluegrass Thursday at Red Light Cafe.

Friday, November 18

After 15 years, Stomp and Stammer, Atlanta’s finest music monthly, is still going strong! Celebrate their success at The Earl with the first night of the Stomp and Stammer 15^th Birthday Jamboree , a free rockfest with what Publisher Jeff Clark dubs “four of Atlanta’s finest and freshest bands”:  Biters, Gold-Bears, Lucy Dreams and The Head! The Artmore Hotel  showcases the vintage jazz talents of Kayla Taylor Jazz, who also is our Kool Kat of the Week. Spice things up with sexy Latin dances such as Salsa, Merengue and Cha-Cha during Salsa Night, featuring Salsambo Dance Studio, at Fernbank Museum of Natural History’s Martinis and IMAX, where live music, drinks and food compliment documentaries on Atlanta’s largest IMAX movie screen.

Focusing on audio art in place of visual art, the High Museum of Art’s  Friday Jazz features the piano talents of Joe Alterman. The Yacht Rock Revue is coming to The Earl Smith Strand Theatre, a landmark vintage cinema in Marietta Square, paying tribute to smooth hits of the late ‘70s including Michael Mcdonald, Hall & Oates  and Steely Dan. Johnny Scales brings on the blues at Fat Matt’s.

Saturday, November 19

It’s all about the ladies at the Plaza Theatre! Well, a certain sort of ladies when Blast-Off Burlesque screens its latest Taboo-La-La feature, John Waters’ outrageous cult classic FEMALE TROUBLE, along with costume contests and food galore! Check out our sexy sneak preview from Blast-Off’s own Melanie Magnifique here.

Night two of the Yacht Rock Revue’s gig at The Strand features the cover band playing two legendary rock albums live in their entirety. The night kicks off with a performance of The Beatles’ album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, followed by an uncanny live synchronization of Pink Floyd’s DARK SIDE OF THE MOON with THE WIZARD OF OZ (1939).

Part 2 of Stomp and Stammer’s 15th Birthday Jamboree brings even more rocking fun with three great regional bands – Middle Tennessee’s Those Darlins, New Orleans’ Missing Monuments and Athens, GA’s Lera Lynn. During the day, the National Museum of Aviation is holding a sale of different vintage airline items, including toys, DVDs, seat belts, etc. The Variety Playhouse tonight holds a community benefit concert, showcasing several different jazz acts. The Last Waltz Ensemble, a Bob Dylan and The Band tribute band, rocks Smith’s Olde Bar. America’s loudest lounge singer Richard Cheese & Lounge Against the Machine  applies his unique swinging style to popular rock, metal, hip-hop and rap songs at Center Stage.

The Star Community Bar whets your appetite for southern rock with a show consisting of Gringo Star, Sovus Radio  and Lightnin’ Ray Jackson. For a bluesy/country rock evening, check out Burning Time at Fat Matt’s. And as usual, DJ Romeo Cologne transforms the sensationally seedy Clermont Lounge into a ’70s disco/funk inferno late into the wee hours.

Sunday, November 20

Rocksploitation serves up blues “dunch” between 1-4 PM at The Earl. Tony Bryant brings on the blues at Fat Matt’s. Even more blues come in the form of Uncle Sugar at Northside Tavern. For a more intense hard rocking evening, head over to 529  for a show including Hellbender, Demonaut and Meen.

Ongoing

The Center for Puppetry Arts’ official stage adaptation of the Rankin-Bass misfit Christmas TV classic Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is back for a second year with Rudolph, Clarisse, Hermie. Yukon and all the beloved characters. Watch for an interview with adapter/director and Center Artistic Director Jon Ludwig soon. Through Dec. 31.

Fabrefaction Theatre Company brings Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler’s chilling, suspenseful, heart-pounding masterpiece of murderous barber-ism and culinary crime to the stage. A tale of retribution and in essence, obsession, SWEENEY TODD, THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET serves up a delicious portion of gruesome humor, sinister spite and suspicious meat pies. Through Nov. 13.

Explore one of America’s most iconic theaters in AIN’T NOTHING LIKE THE REAL THING: HOW THE APOLLO THEATER SHAPED AMERICAN ENTERTAINMENT, a special exhibition at the Atlanta History Center . Presented by the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, in collaboration with the Apollo Theater Foundation, the display includes historic and contemporary costumes, playbills, music scores, graphic images and recorded music. Through March 4, 2012.

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.

PICASSO TO WARHOL, a special art exhibition at the High Museum of Art, features over 100 works of art from 14 of the most influential artists of the 20th century. Through Apr. 29, 2012.

If you know of a cool happening coming up soon, send suggestions to ATLRetro@gmail.com.