ATLRetro

By Zohra Yaqub
Contributing Writer

Monday, Oct. 29

The Starlight Drive-In presents a Hell-o-Ween double feature of horror cult classics TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE (1974) and Lucio Fulci’s CITY OF THE LIVING DEAD, aka THE GATES OF HELL (1980) tonight through Halloween. Northside Tavern hosts its weekly Blues Jam featuring Lola Gulley. Head over to Fat Matt’s Rib Shack for a hearty serving of BBQ and Dry White Toast.

Tuesday, Oct. 30

Free at 529 Bar in East Atlanta, Tender Prey: The Music of Nick Cave featuring this week’s Kool Kat, Molly Harvey of The Residents, former Kool Kat Jeffrey Butzer, TT Mahoney and Michael Bradley alongside many others. The Cave Women will be performing Nice Cave songs, as well as PJ Harvey and The Birthday Party, Ben Trickery will be performing some Tom Waits classics, and Andy DeLoach will perform songs by Leonard Cohen. As a Halloween bonus, Ninja Puppet Productions will be putting on a puppet show. TRICK R TREAT (2007/2009), a film in the hallowed tradition of 20th century horror anthology classics, is playing at The Plaza. Directed by Michael Dougherty and starring Anna Paquin, Brian Cox and Dylan Baker, it follows the interwoven stories of four people Halloween night. Read our ATLRetro preview here. Also playing at The Plaza, the best-worst movie you may ever see, THE ROOM (2003), directed by and starring Tommy Wiseau. It’s not another manic Monday, but Susanna Hoffs of The Bangles is performing at Eddie’s Attic this Tuesday in support of her latest solo album, SOMEDAY, a record inspired by her love of the music of the 1960s. Recent Kool Kat Calu Cordeira mixes tiki libations at 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 starting at 9 p.m. J.T. Speed rocks the blues at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack or you can blues it down with Nathan Nelson & Entertainment Crackers at Northside Tavern.

Wednesday, Oct. 31 Halloween

Dress in your spookiest, darkest attire for The Revenge of Mary’s Goth Night. DJs will be spinning the best in Goth Rock, Dark Wave, Death Rock, New Wave, Synth Pop, Industrial and Horror Punk! Mostly classic ’80s tunes but with some new sounds thrown in for fresh blood. Catch a free show at Star Bar on Halloween! Star Bar’s 21st Annual Halloween Party will feature music by some of Atlanta’s favorites, The Coathangers, SeaLions and Swank Model. Head over to Twain’s to celebrate the 4th Annual Moonshiners’ Ball. Prizes go to the best ’70s TV character costumes; band starts playing at 10 p.m. The Starlight Drive-In adds Lucio Fulci’s ZOMBIE (1980) to conjure up a Hell-o-Ween triple feature also featuring horror cult classics TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE (1974) and Lucio Fulci’s CITY OF THE LIVING DEAD (1980) tonight through Halloween.

It’s tribute night at The Basement. Located under The Graveyard Tavern in East Atlanta, Industry Halloween will have two floors of fun for the price of one! Local musicians have come together to play tributes to the Misfits, Nirvana, ELO and Bad Brains. Get ready to rumba, cha-cha and jitterbug at the weekly Swing Night at Graveyard Tavern. The Hollidays make it a soulful Halloween night at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack, and Danny “Mudcat” Dudeck blues away the spirits at Northside Tavern.

Thursday Nov. 1

Mark BBQ Sultan is playing a free show at Star Bar because he is on a “Sounds Like a Haunted Jukebox” Tour. Halloween doesn’t end on the last day of October. Celebrate the Day of the Dead with Megan Jean & The KFB and Adron at The 5 Spot. Come out to watch DERBY BABY (2012) at The Plaza at 7 p.m. Emmy Award-winning filmmakers, Robin Bond and Dave Wruck, take you with them on their international quest to learn about the drama, the friendships and the addictive nature of the women’s flat-track roller derby. It’s a dance-off! Come down to Hand in Hand for the famous Midnight 80s and 90s dance contest. Eat, drink and play a classic game with an adult spin every Thursday night as Mon Cherie presents Mad Lib-Ations, Atlanta’s newest Retro weekly pastime, starting at 7 p.m. at the Corner Tavern in Little 5 Points. The fun-filled night includes games and prizes from some of the city’s most fun Retro retailers, Psychobilly Freakout and punk faves spun by The Right Reverend Andy and a raffle. Relax with a tropical cocktail at vintage tiki bar Trader Vic’s where Tongo Hiti plays Retro-Polynesian luxurious live lounge sounds, as well as trippy takes on iconic pop songs, every Thursday night. The Breeze Kings and Chickenshack bring on the blues respectively at Northside Tavern and Fat Matt’s Rib Shack. Culliton, Dean & Bass play Bluegrass Thursday at Red Light Cafe starting at 9 p.m., but come early and bring your own instruments for a locals jam at 7 p.m. Mike Z Trio honkytonks it up at Big Tex and Frankie’s Blues Mission plays at The Family Dog.

Friday, Nov. 2

Have you purchased your two tickets to paradise? And by “paradise,” we mean Wild Bill’s to watch Eddie Money perform his classic hits from the ’70s and ’80s. How much will two tickets cost me? Tickets cost anywhere from $20 for advanced general admission to $60 for mezzanine seating. Head over to Kavarna to hear Chris Scruggs & His Steel Guitar play a free show for all of you honky-tonk-loving music fans. Hitchcock Month kicks off at The Plaza with ROPE (1948), starring James Steward, John Dall and Farley Granger. The film is playing all weekend and remastered in high definition. Can’t get enough of Hitchcock classics? The Earl Smith Strand Theatre is letting loose THE BIRDS (1963), starring Rod Taylor, Tippi Hedren and Suzanne Pleshette, at 8 p.m. Joe Gransden and Kenny Banks play your favorite jazz standards at the beautiful Lowe’s Hotel! Head over to Big Tex Cantina to check out the soulful sounds of Hannah Thomas or shimmy to Northside Tavern if you are looking for a night of blues with Albert White. The Will Scruggs Jazz Fellowship will be playing under the dinosaurs at Fernbank Museum of Natural History Martinis & IMAX.

Saturday, Nov. 3

Our favorite rock music tabloid, Stomp and Stammer Magazine is celebrating its Sweet 16 Birthday at Star Bar and you are invited! Nashville trio, The Ettes, will be playing some new songs off of their latest album, along with Atlanta’s own Subsonics and the bluesy/beachy garage rock of Ghost Bikini. In the mood for rockabilly? Smooth and the Bully Boys USA Tour with The Psycho-Devilles, featuring our own Kool Kat Hot Rod Walt, will be making their way up to Dixie Tavern in Marietta. Flock to Buckhead Theater this Saturday night at 8 p.m. to catch the new wave classics of A Flock of Seagulls.  Also on the line up, fellow new wavers, Naked Eyes, and and goth rock band, Gene Loves Jezebel.  Why would you run so far away from this?

Catch a rare screening of LOVERS AND LOLLIPOPS (1956) directed by Morris Engel and Ruth Orkin and starring Lori March, Gerald S. O’Loughlin and Cathy Dunn, as part of the ongoing Saturday MOMA AMERICAN INDIES series at the High Museum of Art. Scat on down to Big Tex Cantina in downtown Decatur at 7 p.m. to check out the Tommy Dean Trio as they play favorites from The Rat Pack, classic soul, and great American songbook standards. And 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, Nov. 4

Make it a sizzling and sassy Sunday at Kitty Love’s Sultry Sundays: Spirits of Seduction burlesque show at Red Light Café. Live music and dance performances for $10 at the door. Enjoy a bluegrass brunch at Big Tex Cantina. Fat Back Deluxe rocks the blues at Fat Matt’s, and Uncle Sugar blues it down at Northside Tavern. Or soothe your hair of the dog with some hangover friendly live music with David Reed Wroth playing dunch at 1 p.m. at The Earl.

Ongoing

Every night is The Night of the Living Dead at the Atlanta Zombie Apocalypse, now in its own third season and expanded to include two different walking attractions, Curse of the Undead and ZWar and a zombie shoot at Safety Wolf, the paintball combat complex offMoreland Avenue, just south of I-285.  The Apocalypse continues on Halloween and Fri. Nov. 1-2.

Netherworld.

Netherworld, Atlanta’s favorite haunted house for the past 15 years, is open every night from October 5-November 3.  Ticket prices range from $22 per person for the main haunt, Banshee, to $50 for a speed pass to see both haunts, Banshee and The Hive, and cut to the front of both lines. Through Nov. 3.

At Dark Harvest Haunted House, step right up and brave the cornfields of Bradbury Farm, where the souls of a dead town grow right out of the corn, and Mr. Dark’s Nightshade Odditorium, inhabited by the spirits of long dead sideshow freaks. Oh, and did we mention the Killer Clown Maze? At The Academy Theatre in Avondale Estates through Oct. 31. Read our exclusive ATLRetro preview here.

Chambers of Horror is Atlanta’s most extreme, adults-only horror attraction. Open daily at The Masquerade through Oct. 31, and Fri. Nov. 2 and Sat. Nov. 3. Read our article about 2012’s Chambers here.

Strandemonium.

If you are looking for an exciting way to celebrate the quirkiest holiday of the year, take a trip to Strandsylvania – aka The Earl Smith Strand Theatre to see Strandemonium, a live song and dance musical revue featuring numbers that highlight the most spook-tacular night of the year. Come hear classics like “Monster Mash,” “Purple People Eater” and “Love Potion Number Nine.” Or enjoy a few more current favorites like “Dead Man’s Party” “Zombie Prom” and “Bring on the Freaks.” Tickets are $20 and the show runs through Oct. 31.

Visit the High Museum of Art to see the Fast Forward: Modern Moments exhibit featuring artistic development from the past 100 years, 1913-2013. Artists includeHenri Matisse, Salvador Dalí, Georgia O’Keeffe and Jeff Koons. Closes January 10, 2013

Take retro to another level at the Genghis Khan special exhibition at Fernbank Museum of National History.  Closes January 21, 2013.