ATLRetro

Friday, December 9

Get some rockin’ blues ‘n’ soul with Nick Waterhouse and Kool Kat Rod Hamdallah at the Masquerade! The Star Bar gets to twangin’ with their Cowboy Karaoke event, featuring live-band old-time country and western tunes with Dry Gulch! Yacht Rock Revue delivers their Holiday Special at the Variety Playhouse! Start a family holiday tradition and catch the Atlanta Ballet’s NUTCRACKER at the Fox Theatre, live with the Atlanta Ballet Orchestra through Dec. 24!  Catch The Earl Smith Strand’s holiday song and dance revue, “A Christmas Tradition” running through Dec. 21! Swing on by Nemoe’s Tavern for 17-piece band Metro Jazz Club’s Speakeasy Swing Dance Party! Make your way to the Rialto Center for the Arts for the Moscow Ballet’s “Great Russian Nutcracker” running through Dec. 10! Get some soul with Kyshona Armstrong at Venkman’s and then funk it up with The JAZZ of Prince: A Night of Prince’s Jazz Funk Compositions! Make your way to Avondale Towne Cinema for the BadAsh All Star Team’s Christmas Jam! Rock out with the Atlanta Rhythm Section at Eddie’s Attic! Make your way to Centennial Olympic Park for the Chinese Lantern Festival at 6pm! Geek it up at Atlanta’s 5th Annual BAR WARS PUB CRAWL, from 7-10pm, at Diesel Filling Station! Spook on down to Club Famous as RITUAL Presents: The Nightmare Before Christmas Party! Blues it up during Albert White’s Birthday Bash at the Northside Tavern! Rock out with The Chalfonts and Lexi Street at the Red Light Café! Mr. Sipp gets the blues at  Blind Willie’s! Blues it up with Little G. Weevil at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack! And as always, time-warp it up and get naughty with some uber musically-inclined transsexual aliens at The Plaza Theater as they continue their tradition of screening THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW (1975) every Friday night, featuring the live cast of Lips Down on Dixie at midnight!

Saturday, December 10

Join the hordes of horned and cloven miscreants and creatures during the 2016 Wreck the Halls L5P Krampus Krawl at 8pm, with the ever mischievous Black Sheep Ensemble! Or surf on down to Kavarna as Southern Surf Stomp! presents Kool Kat Chad Shivers & The Silent Knights as they perform The Ventures’ and The Beach Boys’ Christmas albums at 8pm! Jingle all the way to Taverna Plaka Atlanta for Kool Kat Kitty Love’s Cheeky Belles Stockings With Care Cabaret and Charity Sock Drive! Get intergalactic and geek on down to the Masquerade for Markster Con’s Bash of the Empire IV: Atlanta Star Wars Party at 9pm! Get mischievous at Stomp & Stammer’s (Kool Kat Jeff Clark) 20th Birthday Party and get your garage rock fix with The Coathangers, Dasher and Bad Spell at The Star Bar! It’s a night of rockin’ blues with Kool Kat Brooks Mason and The Georgia Flood (album release) with All the Locals at Vinyl! Rock out with Earthless, Ruby the Hatchet and Future Hunter at The Earl! Get old-timey with Whiskey Gentry, Kool Kat Blair Crimmins & The Hookers and City Mouse at the Variety Playhouse! Bluegrass it up with John McCutcheon at Eddie’s Attic! Get your ‘60s/’70s holiday rock fix with The Rainmen’s Holiday Spectacular at Avondale Towne Cinema with Kitten Fontaine! Battle & Brew goes to the Dark Side during their STAR WARS Cosplay Night at 8pm! Get artsy this holiday season and make your way to the Goat Farm Open Studio and Holiday Sale from 12pm-6pm! Get the blues with Brown Dog at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack! Have a Chicken Pickin’ Brunch with Dusty Roads at Venkman’s, later followed by Nirvana Unplugged featuring Nameless Nameless!  Blues it up with House Rocker Johnson & The Shadows at Blind Willie’s! The Northside Tavern gets rockin’ with a little Chicago/Delta blues of The Breeze Kings! St. James Live! delivers their Tribute to the Legends night every Saturday night! And as always, DJ Romeo Cologne transforms the sensationally seedy Clermont Lounge into a ’70s disco/funk inferno late into the wee hours of the night.

Sunday, December 11

Go old-school at Eddie’s Attic with their Gospel Brunch featuring Beverly “Guitar” Watkins and Danny ‘Mudcat’ Dudeck! TCM Big Screen Classics presents Fred Zinnemann’s FROM HERE TO ETERNITY (1953) at theatres across Atlanta (7pm) [Hollywood Stadium 24 (Chamblee); AMC Barrett Commons 24 (Kennesaw); AMC Sugarloaf Mills 18 (Lawrenceville)]; and Cinemark Tinseltown 17 (Fayetteville)]! Get the blues with 10,000 Pontiacs at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack! Shimmy on down to the Red Light Café for a night of tease ‘n’’ circus shenanigans with Luxotica Lounge Cabaret! Make your way to City Winery for The Hartswick/Coffin Project! Get sweet and low down blues-style at the Northside Tavern with Uncle Sugar!

Ongoing

Scrooge it up at the Alliance Theatre’s 27th season of “A CHRISTMAS CAROL” running through Dec. 24!

Make a trek to the Island of Misfit Toys a.k.a. the Center for Puppetry Arts as they present Jon Ludwig’s adaptation of RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER, directed by Tim Sweeney, running through Dec. 31!

Dad’s Garage’s Big Boozy Nerdy Game Night brings out the kid in you, every first Monday of the month at 7pm!

Union EAV rocks out with their Punk Rock Karaoke ATL, and every last Tuesday of the month!

Geek it up at My Parents’ Basement with their weekly Tuesday night Nerd Trivia at 8pm!

Nerd Film Mafia screenings at the Diesel Filling Station following NerdCore Trivia, every last Tuesday of the month!

The Plaza Theater Time-Warps it up as they screen, THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW (1975) every Friday night, featuring the live cast of Lips Down on Dixie at midnight!

Every first and third Mondays are Big Band Nights at Café 290, featuring Joe Gransden and his amazing 16-piece orchestra playing jazz and swing standards in the tradition of The Glen Miller Orchestra and other legendary groups.  Second and fourth Mondays are Bumpin the Mango, ‘The groove that makes you want to move!’

Every first Wednesday is the Graveyard Tavern’s Graveyard Swing Night, featuring the swingin’ jazz and boogie-woogie sounds of the Savoy Kings!

If you have a suggestion for a future event that should be included in This Week in Retro Atlanta or see something we missed, please email us at atlretro@gmail.com.

Forget being nice, it’s Krampus X-Mas time again Dec. 8-17 at 7 Stages. The acclaimed Atlanta theater group brings back its twisted holiday tradition in a brand-new variety show featuring Santa/Satan,Japanese monsters, giant robots, spectacular make-up and costumes, heavy metal music, and Hellish hilarity. After 10 years of Krampus, 7 Stages says it’s the last year for to enjoy them deck the halls with debauchery, so you’ll want to make sure you don’t their unique take on the German anti-Claus. Check out the campy trailer and purchase tickets here.

ATLRetro caught up with the Krampus himself, or rather his human manifestation Adam Lowe, to find out more about this year’s fear-tivities, as well as what else is up with 7 Stages and his own acting career.

ATLRetro: You’re playing the most iconic character of Christmas next to Santa, literally the anti-Santa, at the culmination of a years-long tradition. Does that place a certain pressure on you to get it right?

Adam: Thankfully the most pressure I feel during the production is the weight of the horns, although I’m told we are getting new, lighter ones this year, so that’s a relief. I’ve been fortunate to work with the scriptwriter and the director before, and that relationship has done a lot to mitigate any performance anxiety I might otherwise feel.

How are you preparing to get into character?

Satan and I have been Facebook messaging a lot.

Tell us a bit about this year’s Krampus Christmas. How will it preserve past 7 Stages traditions and is it a challenge to stay fresh?

Krampus Christmas has always been a celebration of heavy metal, PBR, and community, and this year is no different. Many of the same people are involved each year. We really are like a tight-knit—if dysfunctional—family, and that familial energy and enthusiasm carries over to the production. This year is significant because the theme of the show tackles an issue that is hotly debated in Atlanta in recent years: gentrification.

Adam Lowe.

Always been curious how much of Krampus is scripted vs. improv. Can you talk a little about how the production evolved?

Every year is a little different, but I would say generally the cast attempts to stick to the script. Of course, the joy of live performance, especially raucous, irreverent live performance like Krampus, is that anything can happen.

How long does it take for you to get into make-up and costume for the Krampus? And out of it?

About an hour and a half to get in, given our test runs! Maybe 30 minutes to get out of everything.

Without spoilering too much, do you have a favorite part or scene in this year’s production, and why?

There is a fight between Krampus and several demons. The scale of the fight is impressive, and involves a industrial scissor lift.

You played two key and very different roles in THE THREEPENNY OPERA (read our Retro Review here), which congrats, was extended after good reviews and box office. Brecht wrote it in the twilight years of the Weimar Republic. After the results of the presidential election, did you feel anything eerie about performing it this fall? Anything else you’d like to say about doing THREEPENNY?

I wish I could claim a sense of foreboding during THE THREEPENNY OPERA run, but I ended up every bit as flabbergasted by the election results as everyone else. Honestly, THREEPENNY was simply a fantastic show. For me, it was a great escape from the election-related talking heads and other political noise. The cast was incredible, and I met a lot of very talented, kind people.

7 Stages always strikes us for its daring and its quality—like Off Broadway in Atlanta. What’s it like to work with this phenomenal theater company and are you going to be in any more productions in the 2016-2017 season?

I’m always thrilled to get a call from 7 Stages. They dare to do theatre that few others will. I don’t have any specific plans for the upcoming season as of yet, but those guys have my number.

Anything else you’d like to share about Krampus, 7 Stages or what’s next for you?

I’m excited to have recently joined the Humorology Atlanta team as a hospital clown, and will be working with them a lot this upcoming year.  Check us out at the Humorology Atlanta Facebook page here. I’m looking forward to seeing what the new year holds!

by Melanie Crew
Managing Editor

Baby, it’s cold outside! But no worries!  ATLRetro promises to get you warm and toasty with a week of rockin’ good times, filled to the brim with nostalgic holiday goodness! So get hip to the jive and come on out to see what Retro Atlanta has in store for you!

Monday, December 5

Catch a screening of John Huston’s THE TREASURE OF SIERRA MADRE (1948) at the Alpharetta Branch Library at 10:30am! Celebrate 15 years of Hayao Miyazaki’s SPIRITED AWAY (2001) at theatres across Atlanta at 12pm [Avalon Stadium 12 (Alpharetta); Hollywood Stadium 24 (Chamblee); Perimeter Pointe 10; AMC Barrett Commons 24 (Kennesaw); Cinemark Tinseltown 17 (Fayetteville); Studio Movie Grill (Duluth) and AMC Southlake Pavilion 24 (Morrow)! Blues it up with Bill Sheffield at Blind Willie’s! Get funky and groove on down to Café 290 every second and fourth Monday of the month for a taste of Bumpin the Mango, ‘The groove that makes you want to move!” Skye Paige, “Queen of Slide Guitar” rocks out at the Little Vinyl Lounge! Boogie on down to the Northside Tavern and spend an evening with Lola at her famous Monday Night Northside Jam! And blues on down to Fat Matt’s Rib Shack for a night with The Pork Bellies!

Tuesday, December 6

Light up the season at the Northlake Festival Movie Tavern’s screening of Jeremiah Chechik’s NATIONAL LAMPOON’S CHRISTMAS VACATION (1989) at 7:30pm! Make your way to City Winery for an evening with John Oates! Get gritty with Muddy Magnolias, Sarah Potenza and Crystal Hopkins at Eddie’s Attic! Make your way to Smith’s Olde Bar for a night with the Sunny South Blues Ban, the Kris Lager Band and Blood on the Harp! Blind Willie’s gets down with Andrew Black! The Star Bar delivers a night of retro shenanigans with their Downtown Tuesday Night Dance Party featuring retro-soul, funk, ‘80s, ‘90s and more! Head on downstairs to the Little Vinyl Lounge for a night with Kenny Howes and Mike Goldman! And as always, groove on down with Swami Gone Bananas at the Northside Tavern!

Wednesday, December 7

Make your way to the Variety Playhouse as Seu Jorge performs a special tribute to David Bowie while recreating the set to Wes Anderson’s A LIFE AQUATIC! Charlie Brown it up as David Ellington performs “A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS” at Venkman’s! Get jazzy with Lizz Wright at City Winery! Get some soul with The Hollidays at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack! Get down at The Vista Room with Hannah Zale, Greg Lee and Kaz Hawkins! Light up the season at the Northlake Festival Movie Tavern’s encore screening of Jeremiah Chechik’s NATIONAL LAMPOON’S CHRISTMAS VACATION (1989) at 7:30pm!  Boogie on down to East Atlanta’s Graveyard Tavern for their Graveyard Swing Night, held the first Wednesday of every month, promising an evening of swingin’ jazz and jive with the Savoy Kings! Get the blues with The Nick Johnson Trio at Blind Willie’s! Jazz it up at the Red Light Café with The Gordon Vernick Quartet! Darwin’s Burgers & Blues gets down and dirty at their Blues Jam hosted by The Cazanovas! The Star Bar gets down with their Okie Dokie Karaoke, every Wednesday at 9pm! Or rock on downstairs to the Little Vinyl Lounge for a night of retro shenanigans with Kool Kat Jeff Clark and Stomp & Stammer’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Trivia at 8pm! Or make your way to the Northside Tavern as Danny ‘Mudcat’ Dudeck fires it up with his rockin’ blues! St. James Live! delivers their Hump Days Blues night, getting classic blues-style every Wednesday! And as always, it’s Ladies Night at Johnny’s Hideaway which plays hits from Sinatra to Madonna for a generally mature crowd.

Thursday, December 8

Get mischievous and naughty it up as 7 Stages presents their final season of Krampus Xmas, featuring the Little Five Points Rock Star Orchestra and our Kool Kat of the Week Adam Lowe (Kool Kat Interview coming soon!), Krampas himself, running through Dec. 17! Rock out with Blake Rainey & His Demons, Jeremy Ray and Ex-Wives at The Earl! Funk it up with Stanley Clarke at the Variety Playhouse! Celebrate 15 years with an encore screening of Hayao Miyazaki’s SPIRITED AWAY (2001) at theatres across Atlanta at 12pm [Avalon Stadium 12 (Alpharetta); Hollywood Stadium 24 (Chamblee); Perimeter Pointe 10; AMC Barrett Commons 24 (Kennesaw); Cinemark Tinseltown 17 (Fayetteville); Studio Movie Grill (Duluth) and AMC Southlake Pavilion 24 (Morrow)! Get folksy with Cereus Bright and the Highbeams at Eddie’s Attic! Flamenco it up at the Red Light Café! Get down and dirty with Sweet Betty & The Shadows at Blind Willie’s! It’s Mai Tai Thursday, so hula on down to Trader Vic’s for a night of Jamaaican soul with Lloyd’s Rocksteady Revue and tasty cocktails! The Northside Tavern gets rockin’ with a little Chicago/Delta blues of The Breeze Kings! The Cody Matlock Band delivers a night of blues at Darwin’s Burgers & Blues in Marietta! Stagger on over to Noni’s Bar & Deli for their Bitter Heroes event featuring DJ Brian Parris as he gets charmingly morose with a little New-Wave, The Smiths and The Cure! Get your boogie on at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack, as Chickenshack featuring Eddie Tigner, delivers some honky-tonk blues! And as always, boogie down at Mary’s, as the East Atlanta venue gets funky with their weekly Disco in the Village.

Friday, December 9

Get some rockin’ blues ‘n’ soul with Nick Waterhouse and Kool Kat Rod Hamdallah at the Masquerade! The Star Bar gets to twangin’ with their Cowboy Karaoke event, featuring live-band old-time country and western tunes with Dry Gulch! Yacht Rock Revue delivers their Holiday Special at the Variety Playhouse! Start a family holiday tradition and catch the Atlanta Ballet’s NUTCRACKER at the Fox Theatre, live with the Atlanta Ballet Orchestra through Dec. 24!  Catch The Earl Smith Strand’s holiday song and dance revue, “A Christmas Tradition” running through Dec. 21! Swing on by Nemoe’s Tavern for 17-piece band Metro Jazz Club’s Speakeasy Swing Dance Party! Make your way to the Rialto Center for the Arts for the Moscow Ballet’s “Great Russian Nutcracker” running through Dec. 10! Get some soul with Kyshona Armstrong at Venkman’s and then funk it up with The JAZZ of Prince: A Night of Prince’s Jazz Funk Compositions! Make your way to Avondale Towne Cinema for the BadAsh All Star Team’s Christmas Jam! Rock out with the Atlanta Rhythm Section at Eddie’s Attic! Make your way to Centennial Olympic Park for the Chinese Lantern Festival at 6pm! Geek it up at Atlanta’s 5th Annual BAR WARS PUB CRAWL, from 7-10pm, at Diesel Filling Station! Spook on down to Club Famous as RITUAL Presents: The Nightmare Before Christmas Party! Blues it up during Albert White’s Birthday Bash at the Northside Tavern! Rock out with The Chalfonts and Lexi Street at the Red Light Café! Mr. Sipp gets the blues at  Blind Willie’s! Blues it up with Little G. Weevil at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack! And as always, time-warp it up and get naughty with some uber musically-inclined transsexual aliens at The Plaza Theater as they continue their tradition of screening THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW (1975) every Friday night, featuring the live cast of Lips Down on Dixie at midnight!

Saturday, December 10

Join the hordes of horned and cloven miscreants and creatures during the 2016 Wreck the Halls L5P Krampus Krawl at 8pm, with the ever mischievous Black Sheep Ensemble! Or surf on down to Kavarna as Southern Surf Stomp! presents Kool Kat Chad Shivers & The Silent Knights as they perform The Ventures’ and The Beach Boys’ Christmas albums at 8pm! Jingle all the way to Taverna Plaka Atlanta for Kool Kat Kitty Love’s Cheeky Belles Stockings With Care Cabaret and Charity Sock Drive! Get intergalactic and geek on down to the Masquerade for Markster Con’s Bash of the Empire IV: Atlanta Star Wars Party at 9pm! Get mischievous at Stomp & Stammer’s (Kool Kat Jeff Clark) 20th Birthday Party and get your garage rock fix with The Coathangers, Dasher and Bad Spell at The Star Bar! It’s a night of rockin’ blues with Kool Kat Brooks Mason and The Georgia Flood (album release) with All the Locals at Vinyl! Rock out with Earthless, Ruby the Hatchet and Future Hunter at The Earl! Get old-timey with Whiskey Gentry, Kool Kat Blair Crimmins & The Hookers and City Mouse at the Variety Playhouse! Bluegrass it up with John McCutcheon at Eddie’s Attic! Get your ‘60s/’70s holiday rock fix with The Rainmen’s Holiday Spectacular at Avondale Towne Cinema with Kitten Fontaine! Battle & Brew goes to the Dark Side during their STAR WARS Cosplay Night at 8pm! Get artsy this holiday season and make your way to the Goat Farm Open Studio and Holiday Sale from 12pm-6pm! Get the blues with Brown Dog at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack! Have a Chicken Pickin’ Brunch with Dusty Roads at Venkman’s, later followed by Nirvana Unplugged featuring Nameless Nameless!  Blues it up with House Rocker Johnson & The Shadows at Blind Willie’s! The Northside Tavern gets rockin’ with a little Chicago/Delta blues of The Breeze Kings! St. James Live! delivers their Tribute to the Legends night every Saturday night! And as always, DJ Romeo Cologne transforms the sensationally seedy Clermont Lounge into a ’70s disco/funk inferno late into the wee hours of the night.

Sunday, December 11

Go old-school at Eddie’s Attic with their Gospel Brunch featuring Beverly “Guitar” Watkins and Danny ‘Mudcat’ Dudeck! TCM Big Screen Classics presents Fred Zinnemann’s FROM HERE TO ETERNITY (1953) at theatres across Atlanta (7pm) [Hollywood Stadium 24 (Chamblee); AMC Barrett Commons 24 (Kennesaw); AMC Sugarloaf Mills 18 (Lawrenceville)]; and Cinemark Tinseltown 17 (Fayetteville)]! Get the blues with 10,000 Pontiacs at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack! Shimmy on down to the Red Light Café for a night of tease ‘n’’ circus shenanigans with Luxotica Lounge Cabaret! Make your way to City Winery for The Hartswick/Coffin Project! Get sweet and low down blues-style at the Northside Tavern with Uncle Sugar!

Ongoing

Scrooge it up at the Alliance Theatre’s 27th season of “A CHRISTMAS CAROL” running through Dec. 24!

Make a trek to the Island of Misfit Toys a.k.a. the Center for Puppetry Arts as they present Jon Ludwig’s adaptation of RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER, directed by Tim Sweeney, running through Dec. 31!

Dad’s Garage’s Big Boozy Nerdy Game Night brings out the kid in you, every first Monday of the month at 7pm!

Union EAV rocks out with their Punk Rock Karaoke ATL, and every last Tuesday of the month!

Geek it up at My Parents’ Basement with their weekly Tuesday night Nerd Trivia at 8pm!

Nerd Film Mafia screenings at the Diesel Filling Station following NerdCore Trivia, every last Tuesday of the month!

The Plaza Theater Time-Warps it up as they screen, THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW (1975) every Friday night, featuring the live cast of Lips Down on Dixie at midnight!

Every first and third Mondays are Big Band Nights at Café 290, featuring Joe Gransden and his amazing 16-piece orchestra playing jazz and swing standards in the tradition of The Glen Miller Orchestra and other legendary groups.  Second and fourth Mondays are Bumpin the Mango, ‘The groove that makes you want to move!’

Every first Wednesday is the Graveyard Tavern’s Graveyard Swing Night, featuring the swingin’ jazz and boogie-woogie sounds of the Savoy Kings!

If you have a suggestion for a future event that should be included in This Week in Retro Atlanta or see something we missed, please email us at atlretro@gmail.com.

by Melanie Crew
Managing Editor

Kick off the holidays ATLRetro-style and see what’s shakin’ this week!

Monday, November 28

Folk it up with Caroline Aiken, Faye Webster and Cortez Garza at City Winery! Catch a screening of George Cukor’s CAMILLE (1936) at the Alpharetta Branch Library at 10:30am! Blues it up with Barrelhouse Bob Page at Blind Willie’s! Get funky and groove on down to Café 290 every second and fourth Monday of the month for a taste of Bumpin the Mango, ‘The groove that makes you want to move!” Skye Paige, “Queen of Slide Guitar” rocks out at the Little Vinyl Lounge! Boogie on down to the Northside Tavern and spend an evening with Lola at her famous Monday Night Northside Jam! And blues on down to Fat Matt’s Rib Shack for a side of Dry White Toast and a plate full ‘o finger lickin’ BBQ!

Tuesday, November 29

Get witchy at the Diesel Filling Station with their special Harry Potter Trivia at 8pm! Make your way to the Northlake Festival Movie Tavern for a screening of Chris Columbus’ HOME ALONE (1990) at 7:30pm! Rock out with Steve Vai’s Passion & Warfare 25th Anniversary Tour show at the Variety Playhouse! Make your way to the Fox Theatre, but don’t shoot your eye out as they present “A Christmas Story – The Musical,” sleighing through Dec. 4! Blind Willie’s gets down with Slow Parade! The Star Bar delivers a night of retro shenanigans with their Downtown Tuesday Night Dance Party featuring retro-soul, funk, ‘80s, ‘90s and more! And as always, groove on down with Swami Gone Bananas at the Northside Tavern!

Wednesday, November 30

Ragtime jazz it up with Penny Serenade at Venkman’s! Scrooge it up at the Alliance Theatre’s 27th season of “A CHRISTMAS CAROL” running through Dec. 24! Cross Moon River in style with a TCM Big Screen Classics screening of Blake Edwards’ BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY’S (1961) at theatres across Atlanta, screening at 2pm/7pm [Avalon Stadium 12 (Alpharetta); Hollywood Stadium 24 (Chamblee); AMC Barrett Commons 24 (Kennesaw); AMC Sugarloaf Mills 18 (Lawrenceville)]; Regal McDonough Stadium 16 (McDonough); Cinemark Tinseltown 17 (Fayetteville); and Georgian Stadium 14 (Newnan)! Make your way to the Northlake Festival Movie Tavern for an encore screening of Chris Columbus’ HOME ALONE (1990) at 7:30pm! Make your way to Eddie’s Attic for a night with Rick Derringer! Get your traditional country fix with The Secret Sisters at City Winery! Rock out with Glen Iris at The Earl! Get the blues with Kool Kat Scott Glazer’s Mojo Dojo at Blind Willie’s! Frankie’s Blues Mission gets down and dirty at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack! Jazz it up at the Red Light Café with The Gordon Vernick Quartet! Darwin’s Burgers & Blues gets down and dirty at their Blues Jam hosted by The Cazanovas! The Star Bar gets down with their Okie Dokie Karaoke, every Wednesday at 9pm! Or rock on downstairs to the Little Vinyl Lounge for a night of retro shenanigans with Kool Kat Jeff Clark and Stomp & Stammer’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Trivia at 8pm! Or make your way to the Northside Tavern as Danny ‘Mudcat’ Dudeck fires it up with his rockin’ blues! St. James Live! delivers their Hump Days Blues night, getting classic blues-style every Wednesday! And as always, it’s Ladies Night at Johnny’s Hideaway which plays hits from Sinatra to Madonna for a generally mature crowd.

Thursday, December 1

Get intergalactic this holiday season with Riff Trax’ Holiday Special Double featuring Nicholas Webster’s SANTA CLAUS CONQUERS THE MARTIANS (1964) and a Christmas Shorts-Stravaganza at theatres across Atlanta (7pm) [Avalon Stadium 12 (Alpharetta); Hollywood Stadium 24 (Chamblee); Perimeter Pointe 10; GTC Merchants Walk 12 Cinema (Marietta); AMC Barrett Commons 24 (Kennesaw); AMC Sugarloaf Mills 18 (Lawrenceville)]; Regal McDonough Stadium 16 (McDonough); Cinemark Tinseltown 17 (Fayetteville); and Georgian Stadium 14 (Newnan)! Make your way to the Northlake Festival Movie Tavern for an encore screening of Chris Columbus’ HOME ALONE (1990) at 7:30pm! Get your ‘60s neotropical soul fix with Adron and Cicada Rhythm at Eddie’s Attic! Old-time it up with The Jugtime Ragband and The Clams at the Red Light Café! New Wave it up with Howard Jones and Indianapolis Jones at the Variety Playhouse! Blues it up with House Rocker Johnson & The Shadows at Blind Willie’s! Have a Merry Funkin’ Christmas with Secondhand Swagger at Venkman’s! It’s Mai Tai Thursday, so hula on down to Trader Vic’s for a night of island tunes and tasty cocktails! The Northside Tavern gets rockin’ with a little Chicago/Delta blues of The Breeze Kings! The Cody Matlock Band delivers a night of blues at Darwin’s Burgers & Blues in Marietta! Stagger on over to Noni’s Bar & Deli for their Bitter Heroes event featuring DJ Brian Parris as he gets charmingly morose with a little New-Wave, The Smiths and The Cure! Get your boogie on at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack, as Chickenshack featuring Eddie Tigner, delivers some honky-tonk blues! And as always, boogie down at Mary’s, as the East Atlanta venue gets funky with their weekly Disco in the Village.

Friday, December 2

Rock on down to The Star Bar for James Hall & The Steady Wicked’s Album Release Party (“Electric Hex”) with Darling Machine and The Crush! Get mischievous at Sweetwater Bar & Grill in Duluth with Radio Cult, Kool Kats The Casket Creatures, Savage Remains and Learning to Count (Ramones tribute)! Get funky and blues it up with the AJ Ghent Band at Eddie’s Attic! Yacht Rock Revue plays The Beatles at Venkman’s! Catch a 25th Anniversary screening of Julie Dash’s DAUGHTERS OF THE DUST (1991) at the Landmark Midtown Art Cinema! Rock out during Day 1 of the International Pop Overthrow Atlanta at the Red Light Café with Pelicans & Their Allies, Steve Baskin, Matt Brown, The Shut-Ups, Paul Melancon  The New Insecurities, The Soogs and The Stoplight Roses! Stomp on down to Blind Willie’s for a night with Delta Moon! And as always, time-warp it up and get naughty with some uber musically-inclined transsexual aliens at The Plaza Theater as they continue their tradition of screening THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW (1975) every Friday night, featuring the live cast of Lips Down on Dixie at midnight!

Saturday, December 3

Get your ‘70s psych rock fix with Kool Kat Adam McIntyre with The Pinx, Plaster (Reunion Show), Spore Lord and The Buzzards of Fuzz at 529! Kick off the killer Krampus season with Little Vinyl Lounge’s (The Star Bar) Deck the Walls: The L5P’s Krampus Art Show featuring original art for sale by Kool Kat Shane Morton, Kool Kat Aileen Loy, Dirk Hays and more through Dec. 10! Catch Day 2 of the International Pop Overthrow Atlanta as it invades the Red Light Café with Tony Low, Chris McKay, Brent Daniel, The Raves, the Netherglades, Kenny Howe & The Wow! and Kool Kat Ray Dafrico & His Band! And rock out at The Star Bar proper with El Scorcho (Weezer tribute), Siamese Dream (Smashing Pumpkins tribute) and Hyperspace! Or get Drawn & Disorderly holiday-style with Kool Kat Chris Hamer (Urbnpop) with a Holiday Art Market at Red Brick Brewing Company! Kool Kat Spike Fullerton’s Russian Roulette Band and The Punknecks get down at the Elliot Street Pub! Make your way to the Variety Playhouse for a night with Mike Gordon! Or rock out with Strutter: The Ultimate Tribute to KISS at the Masquerade! Spend A Victorian Holiday at the Oakland Cemetery from 11-4pm, with carols, a reading of “The Night Before Christmas”, hot cocoa and more! Get artsy with Jenny Bell and more with “Adornment – Holiday Art Show and Open Studio” featuring live tunes by W8ting 4 UFOs with Bill Taft at Sycamore Place Gallery from 6-9pm! Get spooked for a good cause during Containment Haunted House’s (Lithonia Springs) terror-ific Toy Drive! Walk the plank and catch a screening of Brian Henson’s MUPPET TREASURE ISLAND (1996) at 7pm at the Center for Puppetry Arts! Jump on down to the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Center for a night with The Brian Setzer Orchestra! Support your local artists at the EAYC’s Lovecrafts: Local Artist’s Market from 1-6pm! Have a Chicken Pickin’ Brunch with Sailing to Denver at Venkman’s! Clashinista dish out a tribute to The Clash with Straw Polly at The Earl! Get down and dirty with Jarekus Singleton at Blind Willie’s! St. James Live! delivers their Tribute to the Legends night every Saturday night! And as always, DJ Romeo Cologne transforms the sensationally seedy Clermont Lounge into a ’70s disco/funk inferno late into the wee hours of the night.

Sunday, December 4

Celebrate 15 years of Hayao Miyazaki’s SPIRITED AWAY (2001) at theatres across Atlanta at 12pm [Avalon Stadium 12 (Alpharetta); Hollywood Stadium 24 (Chamblee); Perimeter Pointe 10; AMC Barrett Commons 24 (Kennesaw); Cinemark Tinseltown 17 (Fayetteville); Studio Movie Grill (Duluth) and AMC Southlake Pavilion 24 (Morrow)! It’s your last chance to catch Atlanta’s best pop and rock ‘n’ roll with Day 3 of the International Pop Overthrow Atlanta at the Red Light Café with Lord High Admirals, Fairshake, After California, Orange Hat, Golden Eels, What the…? and The Joe & Joe Show! It’s a night of rockin’ soul with Diane Durrett and Soul Suga at Eddie’s Attic! Jazz it up with the Tray Dahl Jazz Quintet during Venkman’s Bottomless Mimosa Brunch! Get sweet and low down blues-style at the Northside Tavern with Uncle Sugar!

Ongoing

Scrooge it up at the Alliance Theatre’s 27th season of “A CHRISTMAS CAROL” running through Dec. 24!

Make a trek to the Island of Misfit Toys a.k.a. the Center for Puppetry Arts as they present Jon Ludwig’s adaptation of RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER, directed by Tim Sweeney, running through Dec. 31!

Dad’s Garage’s Big Boozy Nerdy Game Night brings out the kid in you, every first Monday of the month at 7pm!

Union EAV rocks out with their Punk Rock Karaoke ATL, and every last Tuesday of the month!

Geek it up at My Parents’ Basement with their weekly Tuesday night Nerd Trivia at 8pm!

Nerd Film Mafia screenings at the Diesel Filling Station following NerdCore Trivia, every last Tuesday of the month!

The Plaza Theater Time-Warps it up as they screen, THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW (1975) every Friday night, featuring the live cast of Lips Down on Dixie at midnight!

Every first and third Mondays are Big Band Nights at Café 290, featuring Joe Gransden and his amazing 16-piece orchestra playing jazz and swing standards in the tradition of The Glen Miller Orchestra and other legendary groups.  Second and fourth Mondays are Bumpin the Mango, ‘The groove that makes you want to move!’

Every first Wednesday is the Graveyard Tavern’s Graveyard Swing Night, featuring the swingin’ jazz and boogie-woogie sounds of the Savoy Kings!

If you have a suggestion for a future event that should be included in This Week in Retro Atlanta or see something we missed, please email us at atlretro@gmail.com.

by Melanie Crew
Managing Editor

Hey all you ATLRetro kiddies! Start some new holiday traditions this year and let us guide the way! Whether you’re lookin’ to escape or just needing to get out and breathe, we’ve got a cornucopia of holiday rockin’ fun lined up that will fill you to the brim with giddy! So, come on out and get Retro rockin’ holiday-style!

Monday, November 21

Shake a tail feather with The Chameleon Queen, Kool Kat New Orleans Jon and more at the Electric Glitterland Rock ‘n’ Roll Cabaret at Smith’s Olde Bar! Rock out with A Drug Called Tradition, Holy Wave, Reverends and Fake Flowers at 529! Catch a screening of Preston Sturges’ SULLIVAN’S TRAVELS (1941) at the Alpharetta Branch Library at 10:30am! Get your old-school country fix with Radney Foster at Eddie’s Attic! Blues it up with Danny ‘Mudcat’ Dudeck at Blind Willie’s! Swing on by Big Band Night featuring Joe Gransden and his amazing 16-member orchestra at Café 290 every first and third Monday of the month! Skye Paige, “Queen of Slide Guitar” rocks out at the Little Vinyl Lounge! Boogie on down to the Northside Tavern and spend an evening with Lola at her famous Monday Night Northside Jam! And blues on down to Fat Matt’s Rib Shack for a side of Dry White Toast and a plate full ‘o finger lickin’ BBQ!

Tuesday, November 22

Catch the Landmark Midtown Art Cinema’s Classics Series screening of Oliver Stone’s JFK (1991) at 7pm! Rock out with The Naked & Famous, XYLO and The Chain Gang of 1974 at the Buckhead Theatre! Get old-timey with The VaudeVillians and Aaron Till at the Red Light Café! Make your way to the Tabernacle for a night with Jim James! Make your way to the Fox Theatre for a night with The 1975! Jam it up with Joe Gransden and his jazz jam session at Venkman’s every Tuesday! Blind Willie’s dishes out a night of the blues with Frankie’s Blues Mission! The Star Bar delivers a night of retro shenanigans with their Downtown Tuesday Night Dance Party featuring retro-soul, funk, ‘80s, ‘90s and more! And as always, groove on down with Swami Gone Bananas at the Northside Tavern!

Wednesday, November 23

Get stuffed at Center Stage’s The Stuffing VII event with the Manchester Orchestra and more! Pay tribute to The Beastie Boys with Ill Communication and Behind the Sun at Smith’s Olde Bar! Retro it up with Yacht Rock Revue at Venkman’s! Cirque Dreams Holidaze invades the Fox Theatre through Nov. 25! Make your way to City Winery as ATL Collective brings you Rumours and Tusk Hits! Rock on down to 529 for a night with Forsaken Profits, Rotten Stitches, Pleasures of the Ultraviolent and Pamela! Rock out with The Good Life, Field Mouse and Jake Bellows at The Earl! The Electromatics dish out a night of Chicago and West Coast blues at Blind Willie’s! Frankie’s Blues Mission gets down and dirty at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack! Jazz it up at the Red Light Café with The Gordon Vernick Quartet! Darwin’s Burgers & Blues gets down and dirty at their Blues Jam hosted by The Cazanovas! The Star Bar gets down with their Okie Dokie Karaoke, every Wednesday at 9pm! Or rock on downstairs to the Little Vinyl Lounge for a night of retro shenanigans with Kool Kat Jeff Clark and Stomp & Stammer’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Trivia at 8pm! Or make your way to the Northside Tavern as Danny ‘Mudcat’ Dudeck fires it up with his rockin’ blues! St. James Live! delivers their Hump Days Blues night, getting classic blues-style every Wednesday! And as always, it’s Ladies Night at Johnny’s Hideaway which plays hits from Sinatra to Madonna for a generally mature crowd.

Thursday, November 24

Burn off all the extra Turkey Day stuffing in ATLRetro! Boogie down Turkey Day Goth-style at 529! It’s Mai Tai Thursday, so hula on down to Trader Vic’s for a night of island tunes and tasty cocktails! The Northside Tavern gets rockin’ with a little Chicago/Delta blues of The Breeze Kings! The Cody Matlock Band delivers a night of blues at Darwin’s Burgers & Blues in Marietta! Stagger on over to Noni’s Bar & Deli for their Bitter Heroes event featuring DJ Brian Parris as he gets charmingly morose with a little New-Wave, The Smiths and The Cure! Get your boogie on at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack, as Chickenshack featuring Eddie Tigner, delivers some honky-tonk blues! And as always, boogie down at Mary’s, as the East Atlanta venue gets funky with their weekly Disco in the Village.

Friday, November 25

Bluegrass it up absurdist-style with the Packway Handle Band, City Mouse and Kool Kat Col. Bruce Hampton at Eddie’s Attic! Rock out with Glenn Phillips (Hampton Grease Band) at the Red Light Café! Grab your partner and make your way to the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Center for Dirty Dancing – The Classic Story on Stage, running through Nov. 27! City Winery gets down with Who’s Bad!, a Michael Jackson tribute! The Last Waltz Ensemble pays tribute to Bob Dylan and The Band with Seth Winters and the Kris Youmans Band at Smith’s Olde Bar! Eighties it up with Members Only at Venkman’s! Sleuth it up at the Historic Oakland Cemetery during The Harvest Hunt, running through Nov. 27! Kick off the ice skating season with the Park Tavern’s “Purple Party on Ice” featuring a night of Prince music videos and tunes! House Rocker Johnson & The Shadows bring down the house at Blind Willie’s! Make your way to the Northside Tavern as Danny ‘Mudcat’ Dudeck fires it up with his rockin’ blues! Get down with Beverly “Guitar” Watkins at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack! And as always, time-warp it up and get naughty with some uber musically-inclined transsexual aliens at The Plaza Theater as they continue their tradition of screening THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW (1975) every Friday night, featuring the live cast of Lips Down on Dixie at midnight!

Saturday, November 26

It’s a rockin’ ruckus at 529 with the Starbenders, Midnight Larks, Motor Earth and Bitter! Celebrate the holidays with Mannheim Steamroller Christmas at the Fox Theatre! Rock out with NOBUNNY, The Cowboys and Bad Spell at The Earl! Get your old-soul Americana and jazzy fix with The Clydes and Kyshona Armstrong at Venkman’s! Rock out with Departure as they pay tribute to Journey at the Earl Smith Strand Theatre! Get your 90s alt rock fix with Edwin McCain at City Winery! Stomp on down to the Crimson Moon Café for a night with EG Kight! Folk it up at Eddie’s Attic with Ellis Paul! Make your way to the Historic Oakland Cemetery’s Malts & Vaults of Oakland event, where beer meets history! Todd Prussin bluegrasses it up at the Red Light Café! Get folksy with Shawn Mullins at the Variety Playhouse! Get down and dirty with Sandra Hall & The Shadows at Blind Willie’s! St. James Live! delivers their Tribute to the Legends night every Saturday night! Blues it up with Juke Joint Jones at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack! Make your way to the Northside Tavern as Danny ‘Mudcat’ Dudeck fires it up with his rockin’ blues! And as always, DJ Romeo Cologne transforms the sensationally seedy Clermont Lounge into a ’70s disco/funk inferno late into the wee hours of the night.

Sunday, November 27

Django Earnhardt delivers a little gypsy jazz and western swing at Venkman’s! Cross Moon River in style with a TCM Big Screen Classics screening of Blake Edwards’ BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY’S (1961) at theatres across Atlanta, screening at 2pm/7pm [Avalon Stadium 12 (Alpharetta); Hollywood Stadium 24 (Chamblee); AMC Barrett Commons 24 (Kennesaw); AMC Sugarloaf Mills 18 (Lawrenceville)]; Regal McDonough Stadium 16 (McDonough); Cinemark Tinseltown 17 (Fayetteville); and Georgian Stadium 14 (Newnan)! The Cody Matlock Band delivers a night of blues at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack! Get sweet and low down blues-style at the Northside Tavern with Uncle Sugar!

Ongoing

The Michael C. Carlos Museum presents their “Doorway to an Enlightened World” exhibit, running through Nov. 27! (LAST CHANCE)

Make a trek to the Island of Misfit Toys a.k.a. the Center for Puppetry Arts as they present Jon Ludwig’s adaptation of RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER, directed by Tim Sweeney, running through Dec. 31!

Dad’s Garage’s Big Boozy Nerdy Game Night brings out the kid in you, every first Monday of the month at 7pm!

Union EAV rocks out with their Punk Rock Karaoke ATL, and every last Tuesday of the month!

Geek it up at My Parents’ Basement with their weekly Tuesday night Nerd Trivia at 8pm!

Nerd Film Mafia screenings at the Diesel Filling Station following NerdCore Trivia, every last Tuesday of the month!

The Plaza Theater Time-Warps it up as they screen, THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW (1975) every Friday night, featuring the live cast of Lips Down on Dixie at midnight!

Every first and third Mondays are Big Band Nights at Café 290, featuring Joe Gransden and his amazing 16-piece orchestra playing jazz and swing standards in the tradition of The Glen Miller Orchestra and other legendary groups.  Second and fourth Mondays are Bumpin the Mango, ‘The groove that makes you want to move!’

Every first Wednesday is the Graveyard Tavern’s Graveyard Swing Night, featuring the swingin’ jazz and boogie-woogie sounds of the Savoy Kings!

If you have a suggestion for a future event that should be included in This Week in Retro Atlanta or see something we missed, please email us at atlretro@gmail.com.

THE NIGHT WATCHMEN (2016) Dir: Mitchell Altieri. Starring James Remar, Matt Servitto, Tiffany Shepis. Opening Night Feature, Buried Alive Film Festival. Thursday Nov. 17. 9 p.m. 7 Stages. $12. Trailer here. ]]

Put together vampire clowns, buckets of blood, four bored security guys and their corporate gal crush and a trippy ’80s-sounding soundtrack set in Baltimore and you have THE NIGHT WATCHMEN, which has its U.S. premiere Thursday night at 7 Stages as the opening feature of the 2016 Buried Alive Film Festival. Which is to say that we enjoyed the hell out of it.

We caught up with director Mitchell Altieri to go behind the coffins and see how something this crazy and retro got made in the 21st century. Oh, and what it was like working with James Remar of THE WARRIORS!

ATLRetro: How did you guys get the idea to mix clowns with vampires?

Mitchell Altieri: Hello Anya, thanks for having me at ATLRetro. When I was hired to direct the film, the script was already written. Ken Arnold and Dan DeLuca came up with the story and Dan and Jamie Nash wrote the script. The script went thru a few different drafts and incarnations and when I came on board there were no clowns in the script, but during pre-production Dan and Jamie mentioned that they had a version with clowns. And I was like, “yes, please.” It just really fit with the fun story we were filming!

Anything else you’d like to add about THE NIGHT WATCHMEN’s genesis?

Go see it! It’s a real fun ride, with lots of action and scares but I’d like to let the movie to speak for itself.

The movie has an ‘80s horror movie vibe down to the soundtrack. How intentional was that, and do you have a particular affinity to ‘80s horror movies, and maybe some favorites?

Yes, it was definitely intentional! I love those ‘80s horror films that you rented on VHS from the local video stores, films like THE NIGHT OF THE COMET (1984), FRIGHT NIGHT (1985) or KILLER CLOWNS FROM OUTER SPACE (1988). And that’s what I wanted to do with our film, make it super fun and scary, even silly at points like those ‘80s films.  

Loved the soundtrack. Can you talk a little about it?

Our composer Kevin Kerrigan out of London, ate it up… he had a blast scoring the music! He was so excited to do such a retro score. And the guys who wrote the original songs, Fake Figures, loved it just as much. They are an actual band that wrote and recorded these songs while on tour, so it was a fun break for them. I really wanted the score and soundtrack to make you instantly get that 80s feeling, even though it’s a film set in present day, I want the audience also think that it can easily take place in the 80s.   

Mitchell Altieri with Tiffany Shepis, Diona Reasonover, Cheryl Staurulakus, Rain Pryor & Donald Imm. Photo credit: Herbert Mann.

There’s a hell of a lot of blood in this movie. How much did you go through?

Let’s just say we ran out of blood like five or six times. We used a lot. I don’t think I’ve ever run out of that much blood before.

Hopefully this isn’t too spoilery but the main five characters could have just been stereotypical, they had little touches to them that both defied the usual tropes and enhanced the humor. And you scored a great ensemble with a real chemistry who seemed to be having a great time. Anything you’d like to share about that?

Yeah, I agree. I really value strong characters in films. Even if it’s a straightforward film, you can never go wrong with interesting, bold characters. I was very pleased with the cast. Ken, Dan and Kevin Jiggetts all have worked together many times before so it was dynamic when they worked against Kara Luiz who plays the journalist and Max Wilbur, the young rookie. I challenged them and they challenged each other and had a great time with it.

Again without giving too much away, the film is full of fun scenes. What was the most fun to actually film and why?

There were a few scenes I remember just laughing out loud and not being able to stop laughing. It was mainly when the actors just started riffing off each other, adlibbing, etc, The entire crew would be in stitches from laughing. Well, you can really laugh out loud during a take, so you would look around and people’s faces would be buried in their jackets or whatever they had in their hands so they wouldn’t ruin the scene. That was always fun. I personally ruined a scene or two from not being able to stop laughing but it comes with the territory I guess.

(L to R) Kevin Jiggetts, Dan DeLuca, Kara Luiz, Max Gray Wilbur, Ken Arnold. Photo credit: Robert Neal Marshall.

Did you face any challenges while making the movie?

A film is a challenge from beginning to end. It is exhausting work! But for this particular set, the most challenging thing I faced was I got sick. We shot in Maryland and it was their worst winter in 76 years. I never have been sick on set but I guess the cold got me this time. But as a director on set you don’t really get sick days, so I had to push through. It was brutal. I was very thankful for an amazing crew that helped pick up the slack those few days.

OK, being a big THE WARRIORS  fan, gotta ask James Remar shared any anecdotes on the set?

I’m a huge fan of THE WARRIORS as well, so yes it was very cool to have him on set. I mean he was Ajax! He would tell great stories about different films, and how the sets were, or working with different people. We all got a good kick out that.

What’s next for you?

I’m attached to a couple projects right now that I can’t really talk about, but I also did five feature films in a row, one a year basically, so I’m also enjoying taking a little time off, traveling and just plain relaxing!!

 And finally, your favorite flavor of cannoli? 

Question should be which flavor don’t I like. Thank you for the interview. I appreciate it.

The 2016 Buried Alive Film Festival is bigger than ever, expanding to five days (November 16-20) with 10 features and 75 short new independent horror films from the around the globe at 7 Stages Theatre in Little Five Points.

“Everything about this year takes Buried Alive to a new level–the same high-quality horror movies but more of them, and our move to 7 Stages means a whole new level of entertainment, dining and bars for attendees and filmmakers alike,” says Blake Myers, Buried Alive’s festival director and ATLRetro Kool Kat. “We’re excited also that Atlanta Pro AV will be supplying the most pristine image quality of any projectors on the market today.”

The 11th annual festival features nine brand new movies, including two hit films from SXSW, Bobby Miller’s THE MASTER CLEANSE (starring Johnny Galecki and Anjelica Huston) and ANOTHER EVIL directed by Carson D. Mell (screenwriter, EAST BOUND AND DOWN and SILICONE VALLEY). The opening night feature is the U.S. premiere of vampire-clown-’80s-cult-homage (ATLRetro got a sneak and we loved it!) THE NIGHT WATCHMEN from director Mitchell Altieri (THE HAMILTONS) featuring James Remar (THE WARRIORS), Matt Sevitto (THE SOPRANOS) and Tiffany Shepis (TROMEO AND JULIET). (Read an exclusive ATLRetro interview with Mitchell here). Other feature films include HERE ALONE, a survivor’s story of a quiet and bleak existence in a decimated future directed by Rod Blackhurst (AMANDA KNOX Netflix Series), and FOUND FOOTAGE 3D, which provides a great new twist on the found footage genre from director Steven DeGennaro and producer Ken Henkel (TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE, EATEN ALIVE).

This year BAFF features will go beyond the usual horror narratives and also include a documentary and an animated sci-fi movie. SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL: THE TRUE STORY OF THE PROCESS CHURCH OF THE FINAL JUDGEMENT  is a documentary about “one of the most dangerous satanic cults in America” from director Neil Edwards, featuring interviews with John Waters, George Clinton and original cult members. NOVA SEED is a fully 2D hand drawn science fiction  adventure directed and animated by Nick DiLiberto.

Buried Alive also continues to show its love for the Georgia horror scene. This year’s festival also has more local films than ever with six shorts and two features James Bickert’s 35mm Grindhouse epic FRANKENSTEIN CREATED BIKERS and Tim Reis’s amphibious werewolf BAD BLOOD: THE MOVIE which will be our closing night feature on Sunday.

New to this year’s festival will be the BAFF Sinema Challenge, a challenge for local filmmakers to make a horror film in 13 days. Production starts on November 1 and the films will screen on the festival’s opening night, Wed. Nov. 16, at 8 p.m. We’re super excited to have Mindy De Chiciro, co-creator and exclusive programmer for Turner Classic Movies (TCM) weekly late-night cult movie showcase TCM Underground, as our Kool Kat of the Week. Read our exclusive interview here.

One of the real strengths, and our favorite part, of Buried Alive Film Fest is the shorts program. This year brings seven shorts sets presenting 75 new films that will enlighten and disgust you to the fullest extent. A few highlights from the selections include Calvin Reeder’s THE BULB about two strangers experiencing an alien phenomenon through the public access in a motel room, the American premiere of Finnish animator Tomi Malakias’ VOODOO RIGHTS and the award-winning THE STYLIST by director Jill Gevargizian making its Atlanta premiere. The festival also includes a few animated shorts such as the stop motion masterpiece, UNDER THE APPLE TREE, by Erik van Schaaik, and the amazing strangeness of James Siewert’s THE PAST INSIDE THE PRESENT.

Finally, no respectable horror film festival would be complete without screening a classic, and ATLRetro loves the one they picked. On Saturday night at 10 p.m.,  BAFF will be showing the 40th anniversary digitally remastered bluray of Brian DePalma’s CARRIE, the 1976 classic adaptation from Stephen King’s novel starring Sissy Spacek, William Katt and P.J. Soles. The screening will be hosted by Atlanta’s award-winning Blast Off Burlesque, who will stage one of their signature TabooLaLa events including a performance inspired by the film before the screening. With a ´70s photo-op and costume contest…let’s just say, there will be blood.

The 7 Stages Theatre is located at 1105 Euclid Ave NE, Atlanta, GA 30307. Individual program tickets are $12, and five-day festival passes are just $120.

For more information and the complete Buried Alive Film Festival schedule, visit www.buriedalivefilmfest.com. View the official BAFF bumper here.

by Melanie Crew
Managing Editor

Millie De Chirico, co-creator and exclusive Programmer for Turner Classic Movies’ (TCM) weekly late-night cult movie showcase, “TCM Underground,” returns to Buried Alive Film Festival’s (BAFF) bloody ranks as a hand-picked and well-sought after  juror for BAFF’s Sinema Challenge, a horrorific and spooktacular extra added to this year’s festival! Competitors’ films for the 13-day filmmaking competition will screen Nov. 16 at 7 Stages (7 p.m./ 9 p.m.), kicking off the 11th Annual Buried Alive Film Festival (Thursday, November 17, 7:00 p.m. – 10:30 p.m.; Friday, November 18, 6:00 p.m. – 2:05 a.m.; Saturday, November 19, 12:00 p.m. – 12:00 a.m.; Sunday, November 20, 12:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.;  7 Stages; Tickets $12 per screening block / $120 all access pass [includes film blocks and special events]; Schedule for each screening block here; Tickets here)!

De Chirico, a Georgia State University (GSU) film major and cult-classic connoisseur has been a member of TCM’s Programming Department for over a decade. While TCM Underground is her cult-film love-child, she’s also spearheaded several successful TCM initiatives, including TCM’s Summer of Darkness featuring films of the noir persuasion; Condemned, “A festival of films Condemned by the Catholic Legion of Decency”; and the TCM Imports Showcase. De Chirico is no fledgling when it comes to independent film, as she’s sat on juries for Austin’s Fantastic Fest and Buried Alive. Recently, she held a week-long programming residency at the Alamo Drafthouse in Austin. And in 2016, De Chirico was given an enviable opportunity to be involved with programming content for TCM/Criterion Collection’s new streaming service, FilmStruck!

ATLRetro caught up with Millie De Chirico for a quick interview about her cult cinema obsession, especially obscure films showcasing girl gangs and basically ladies who kick ass; being a part of the Buried Alive Film Festival family; and exposing rare and bizarre films to the masses via “TCM Underground”!

ATLRetro: “Queen of the TCM Underground”! What a killer title! Can you tell our readers how you earned such a moniker and how you helped create TCM’s late-night cult movie franchise, “TCM Underground” in 2006, originally hosted by Rob Zombie?

Millie De Chirico: Well, becoming the “Queen” was incredibly easy because I’m the only person who works on it! There was another person involved in the very first year, a guy named Eric Weber who no longer works at TCM. We worked on it together at first. After he moved to another department at Turner, I was the only one left to do it, and that’s how it’s been for the past 10 years.

Stanley Kubrick was sort of your gateway drug into the land of cult film at the tender age of nine, with his 1971 classic, A CLOCKWORK ORANGE. Besides Kubrick, who influenced you the most in your love of cult cinema? And why?

Russ Meyer‘s FASTER PUSSYCAT! KILL! KILL!  was probably the biggest influence on me. It totally blew my mind when I first saw it. I can’t tell you how amazed I was to see Tura Satana, a half-Asian woman just like me, being such a dynamic badass. I’d never seen anything like that before. After that I really fell into the rabbit hole. John Waters and Herschell Gordon Lewis movies were also my early cult cinema education. They are canon at this point, but will always be influential to me.

Your job is a dream come true for cinephiles the world over. As a kid, did you ever imagine you’d get the opportunity to educate the masses on the wonders of the most obscure films? What’s a day in the life of Millie De Chirico like?

As a kid I had no idea you could even have a job doing something like this. When I was a kid, jobs were like firefighters and whatever you learned in elementary school, and women were always secretaries. Every day I go into work and get to talk about and think about movies, so I’m very fortunate. I see what I do less about educating and more just about sharing movies with people. Anyone that gets paid to share what they love with others is a very lucky person.

Do viewers get to request films to be screened for “TCM Underground”? If so, what is the most bizarre request for programming you’ve received?

I love to hear ideas from viewers. I think everyone in the Programming Department at TCM does. I don’t know if I’ve gotten a single bizarre film request; it’s more that the people making the requests are the interesting thing. For example, I learned recently that TCM Underground has a pretty big following among prisoners. They’ve sent a lot of letters and I have to say, the requests are really interesting and a lot of times actually underground, like DEEP stuff. Also, I sat down with John Carpenter once a few years ago and he mentioned he’d seen Underground, and then rattled off a bunch of movies he wanted to see. My brain pretty much exploded after that.

How exciting to be a part of TCM/Criterion Collection’s new streaming service, FILMSTRUCK. Can you tell us a little about the service what it means to you to have opportunity to help with the programming and content?

I think I’m most glad I get the opportunity to flex a different programming muscle with FilmStruck. A lot of people assume I just like cult movies and that’s it. I’m actually a fan of lots of different types of films. I still program for the network and love classic Hollywood movies. With FilmStruck I get to program foreign, art house, and indie, which are all genres I greatly enjoy. Plus I get to work really closely with the folks at Criterion Collection, a company that I’ve had a crush on since I was in college when they were only making laserdiscs — it’s basically a dream come true.

You’ve been a juror for several film festivals across the country, including Fantastic Fest in Austin, TX and Atlanta’s own home-grown horror film festival, Buried Alive Film Fest (BAFF). I’m going to assume it’s nerve-wracking, but what’s it like getting to judge the creative harvest of filmmakers across the world?

It’s pretty thrilling to get to see really new movies, by people who’ve never made one before a lot of the time. You’re kind of there at the creative gun blast, which is very cool! The year I did Fantastic Fest I was on a jury that got to watch IT FOLLOWS and SPRING and a bunch of other movies that were unknown, but ended up being big hits.

What is your favorite American cult film? Foreign cult film? Favorite cult film genre?

You should know better than to ask film people about a single favorite movie! Admittedly I have about fifty and they change daily. But if I must choose, my favorite American cult film would be the aforementioned FASTER PUSSYCAT! KILL! KILL! (NIGHT OF THE HUNTER is a very close second); foreign cult film would be THE ROAD WARRIOR. Favorite cult genre would be anything involving girl gangs, like SWITCHBLADE SISTERS or DARKTOWN STRUTTERS. What can I say; I love ladies who kick ass.

Can you tell us how you got involved with Buried Alive Film Festival and the killer Kool Kats running the show?

I went to film school at GSU with Blake, one of the founders, and I’m friends with most of the people who run it. Atlanta’s film community is fairly tight knit and I’m always happy when we get to work together in any way.

As one of the judges for BAFF’s Sinema Challenge, how does the competition look? Anything horrific and exciting you can tell us at this time without giving anything important away before the BAFF opening screenings on Nov. 16?

I actually haven’t seen them yet. I have no idea what to expect but I know I’m super excited!

What are you looking forward to most at BAFF 2016? Anything fangtastic we should know about?

I think everyone should see the shorts. They are always a blast and the BAFF folks always put together really great shorts programming. I’m also really looking forward to seeing SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL, the documentary about the Process Church of the Final Judgment (I will basically watch any documentary about cults or religion). And they’re doing a screening of CARRIE, an all-time favorite of mine, which I’m sure will be super fun.

What exciting and cinematically cultish things do you have planned in the near future?

I’d really love to do screenings in Atlanta. I’m always jealous when I go to cities like L.A. or Austin that have really cool, interesting cult or repertory film scenes, partially due to the fact that they have so many theaters that will do them. I’ve been talking to folks in town about this for a long time, so maybe something will finally happen…

What obscure piece of cult cinematic history can our readers look forward to in upcoming “TCM Underground” programming?

I’m really excited to be playing TERMINAL ISLAND by the great Stephanie Rothman, one of the only women who directed cult films and worked for Roger Corman for many years. I got the chance to meet and hang out with her last year and she is unbelievably nice with amazing stories to tell.

And last but not least, what question do you wish somebody would ask you and what’s the answer?

Question: Who my favorite cult actor or actress? My very quick answer is: Elizabeth Taylor in the 1960s and 1970s. She made some really bizarre movies during this period and I’m kind of on a quest to get everyone I know to watch them.

Photos courtesy of Millie De Chirico and used with permission.

by Melanie Crew
Managing Editor

Forget the horrorific daily grind and take a peek at what we have in store for you kiddies! Let ATLRetro fill you with a week’s worth of swingin’ good times;  from vintage, fuzzed out rock ‘n’ roll to bloody fangtastic films to steamy burlesque to classic cinema galore! It’ll be a bloody good time, so get out and get retro!

Monday, November 14

Eric Burdon (The Animals) rocks out at City Winery! Or get mischievous with Band of Heathens at Eddie’s Attic! Go straight to Hell with a hillbilly ruckus with The Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band, Supersuckers and Jesse Dayton at the Masquerade! Make your way to Atlanta Symphony Hall for a night with the Pet Shop Boys! Catch a screening of Melvin Frank’s THE COURT JESTER (1956) at the Alpharetta Branch Library at 10:30am! Get to the root of it all with Brandon Reeves at Blind Willie’s! Get funky and groove on down to Café 290 every second and fourth Monday of the month for a taste of Bumpin the Mango, ‘The groove that makes you want to move!” Skye Paige, “Queen of Slide Guitar” rocks out at the Little Vinyl Lounge! Boogie on down to the Northside Tavern and spend an evening with Lola at her famous Monday Night Northside Jam! And blues on down to Fat Matt’s Rib Shack for a side of Dry White Toast and a plate full ‘o finger lickin’ BBQ!

Tuesday, November 15

Catch the Landmark Midtown Art Cinema’s Classics Series screening of Alan J. Pakula’s ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN (1976) at 7pm! Rock out with Sloan at The Earl! Stomp on down to Eddie’s Attic for a night with The Wolcotts and RIVVRS! Rock out with Peter Hook & The Light at Terminal West! Bluegrass it up with the Matt Flinner Trio and Control Burn at the Red Light Café! Make a trek to the Island of Misfit Toys a.k.a. the Center for Puppetry Arts as they present Jon Ludwig’s adaptation of RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER, directed by Tim Sweeney, running through Dec. 31! Jam it up with Joe Gransden and his jazz jam session at Venkman’s every Tuesday! Blind Willie’s dishes out a night of the blues with Bob Page! The Star Bar delivers a night of retro shenanigans with their Downtown Tuesday Night Dance Party featuring retro-soul, funk, ‘80s, ‘90s and more! And as always, groove on down with Swami Gone Bananas at the Northside Tavern!

Wednesday, November 16

Kick off the wickedly weird and bone-chilling adventure that is the 11th Annual Buried Alive Film Festival (BAFF), Atlanta’s premiere independent horror film festival presented by Kool Kats Blake Myers and Luke Godfrey and more, with screenings at 7pm and 9pm of the 2016 Sinema Challenge, a thirteen day filmmaking competition, judged by our soon-to-be Kool Kat of the Week, Millie De Chirico, at BAFF’s 2016 location, 7 Stages! Get mischievous at 529 with Gunpowder Gray, Timmy & The Blue Flames, The El Caminos and Night Terrors! Take a trip down the yellow brick road to the Studio Movie Grill (Alpharetta/Duluth) for a screening of Victor Fleming’s classic, THE WIZARD OF OZ (1939) at 7pm! Get funky with Consider the Source at Aisle 5! Make your way to City Winery for a night with Michelle Malone and Michael Tolcher! Blues it up with Jonny Lang at the Variety Playhouse! Spend the night with Minos the Saint at Venkman’s! Stomp on down to Blind Willie’s for a night with The BooHoo Ramblers! Secret agents and 007s invade the Park Tavern during their James Bond Masquerade Gala Fundraiser! Celebrate 20 years of Joe Pytka’s SPACE JAM (1996) at theatres across Atlanta, screening at 2pm/7pm [Avalon Stadium 12 (Alpharetta); Regal Atlantic Station 18; Perimeter Pointe 10; AMC Buckhead Backlot 6; Hollywood Stadium 24 (Chamblee); AMC Avenue Forsyth 12 (Cumming); AMC Barrett Commons 24 (Kennesaw); AMC Colonial 18 (Lawrenceville); and AMC Sugarloaf Mills 18 (Lawrenceville)]! Frankie’s Blues Mission gets down and dirty at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack! Jazz it up at the Red Light Café with The Gordon Vernick Quartet! Darwin’s Burgers & Blues gets down and dirty at their Blues Jam hosted by The Cazanovas! The Star Bar gets down with their Okie Dokie Karaoke, every Wednesday at 9pm! Or rock on downstairs to the Little Vinyl Lounge for a night of retro shenanigans with Kool Kat Jeff Clark and Stomp & Stammer’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Trivia at 8pm! Or make your way to the Northside Tavern as Danny ‘Mudcat’ Dudeck fires it up with his rockin’ blues! St. James Live! delivers their Hump Days Blues night, getting classic blues-style every Wednesday! And as always, it’s Ladies Night at Johnny’s Hideaway which plays hits from Sinatra to Madonna for a generally mature crowd.

Thursday, November 17

The 11th Annual Buried Alive Film Festival officially begins tonight, horrifying through Nov. 20, begins at 7pm tonight and features Mitchell Altieri’s THE NIGHT WATCHMEN (2016) (see our Retro Review soon)! Rock out with Napalm Death at the Masquerade! Honkytonk on down to the Clermont Lounge as Dry Gulch presents Cowboy Karaoke! Get the rockin’ blues with Marc Ford & The Neptune Blues Club and Rod Picott at Eddie’s Attic! Make your way to Venkman’s for a night with The Ormewoods! Folk it up with Patty Griffith and Joan Shelly at City Winery! Make your way to the Red Light Café for a night with Minos the Saint and Josh Erwin and Troy Harris of The Packway Handle Band! It’s Mai Tai Thursday, so hula on down to Trader Vic’s for a night of island tunes and tasty cocktails! Get down with Heather Luttrell at Blind Willie’s! The Northside Tavern gets rockin’ with a little Chicago/Delta blues of The Breeze Kings! The Cody Matlock Band delivers a night of blues at Darwin’s Burgers & Blues in Marietta! Stagger on over to Noni’s Bar & Deli for their Bitter Heroes event featuring DJ Brian Parris as he gets charmingly morose with a little New-Wave, The Smiths and The Cure! Get your boogie on at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack, as Chickenshack featuring Eddie Tigner, delivers some honky-tonk blues! And as always, boogie down at Mary’s, as the East Atlanta venue gets funky with their weekly Disco in the Village.

Friday, November 18

Get your terrified tail to night two of the 11th Annual Buried Alive Film Festival for a helluva lot of monstrous goodness, including a midnight screening of Kool Kat James Bickert’s FRANKENSTEIN CREATED BIKERS, featuring Kool Kat Jett Bryant, Kool Kat Madeline Brumby, Kool Kat Shane Morton and more! Get your fill of mischief at The Earl with Kool Kat Mark Sultan with The King Khan & BBQ Show, Paint Fumes and The Gartrells! Spend an evening with David Crosby & Friends at Atlanta Symphony Hall! Groove on down to Dixie Tavern for a night with Yacht Rock Schooner! Get funky and rock out with TAUK, Voodoo Visionary and the Orange Constant at the Variety Playhouse! Make your way to Venkman’s for a night with The Pussywillows, the Charles Walker Band and the Wasted Potential Brass Band! Get your fill of classic rock with the Barbaric Gentlemen at The Vista Room ATL! Rock out with the Space Giants, Blackfox and Jackwagon at Avondale Towne Cinema! Get some soul with St. Paul & The Broken Bones at the Fox Theatre! Get your ‘90s metal fix with Helmet and Local H at the Masquerade! Eighties it up with Kool Kat Becky Cormier Finch and Denim Arcade at The Alamo in Newnan! Bewitch it up at the Potter Pub Crawl #2, beginning at Diesel Filling Station! Swing on down to the Red Light Café for DJ Doctor Q’s Atlanta Speakeasy Electroswing! Goth it up with Kool Kat VJ Anthony at Club Famous’ Coffin Classics! Get a folksy encore with Patty Griffith and Joan Shelly at City Winery! Blues it up and get jazzy with Marshall Ruffin at the High Museum! Folk it up with Faye Webster and Sonia Leigh at Park Tavern! Eighties it up with Electric Avenue at Smith’s Olde Bar! Get some heavy soul with the Rebirth Brass Band at Terminal West! George Hughley & The Shadows bring down the house at Blind Willie’s! Get down and dirty with Stoney Brooks at the Northside Tavern! Get the blues with The Kerry Hill Band at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack! It’s Salsa Dance Night at the Fernbank Museum of Natural History’s Martinis and IMAX event, so cha-cha under the dinosaurs with the Salsambo Dance Studio while sippin’ a few cocktails! And as always, time-warp it up and get naughty with some uber musically-inclined transsexual aliens at The Plaza Theater as they continue their tradition of screening THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW (1975) every Friday night, featuring the live cast of Lips Down on Dixie at midnight!

Saturday, November 19

Blast-Off Burlesque brings back their popular film series TABOOLALA for night three of the 11th Annual Buried Alive Film Festival, which features a live pre-show performance, homage to the film followed by a 40th anniversary 4K restoration screening of Brian DePalma‘s 1976 classic CARRIE! In addition to the show, there will be a free senior prom circa 1976 photo booth in the lobby, and a senior prom costume contest for prizes! Dress up in your prom best, and you may just be part of the show. “Bloody Carrie” cocktails available at Java Lords, next door to 7 Stages! Spook it up with Kool Kat Shane Morton, a.k.a. ghost host with the most and his go-go ghouls with a maniacal Silver Scream Spook Show matinee at Avondale Towne Cinema with a screening of William Castle’s classic HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL (1959) at 1pm! Take it to the limit with the BadAsh Allstar Team at Avondale Towne Cinema with The Eagles Jam at 7:30pm! Celebrate the Music and Life of Leonard Cohen and his life with Kool Kat Jeffrey Butzer at The Star Bar! Shimmy on down to the Red Light Café as Sadie Hawkins brings you Cheap Thrills! Burlesque on a Budget, featuring Candi LeCouer, Kool Kat Vivien Laye and so much more! Rock out with the Spectremen, Kool Kats the Casket Creatures, Elzig and Demon Elvis at The Highlander! Rev it up with Kool Kat Hot Rod Walt & the Psycho-Devilles at Dixie Tavern! Get intergalactic at The Drunken Unicorn with Nik Turner’s Hawkwind, Hedersleben and Gnomonaut! Hula on down to Trader Vic’s for a night of Tiki Trivia! It’s a night of old-time country and western with Slim Chance & The Convicts’ 30 year celebration at Kavarna featuring a special performance of the 1993 cassette-only album LETTERS TO MAMA with Jenny B! Get your magical fix at the 3rd Annual Atlanta Wizard’s Ball at Underground Atlanta! Get your noir folk fix with Gemma Ray, Ben Trickey and Spurs at 529! Make your way to the Tabernacle for a night with Drive By Truckers! Get old-timey with Cold Heart Canyon and The Elegant Bachelors at Venkman’s! Geek it up at My Parent’s Basement for Local Comic Shop Day! Geek it up at Heroes & Villains Atlanta, running through Nov. 20 at the Georgia World Congress Center! Grab some vintage goodies at the Pop-Up Vintage Valhalla Sale in Decatur at 10am! Blues it up at Blind Willie’s with Joe Louis Walker! Get funky Cajun-style with Zydefunk at the Northside Tavern! St. James Live! delivers their Tribute to the Legends night every Saturday night! Blues it up with Mr. Chapman’s Quarterly Revue at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack! And as always, DJ Romeo Cologne transforms the sensationally seedy Clermont Lounge into a ’70s disco/funk inferno late into the wee hours of the night.

Sunday, November 20

It’s your last chance to gore it up at the 11th Annual Buried Alive Film Festival, so come on out for some fangtastic films, including a screening of Sam Suchmann and Mattie Zufelt’s SPRING BREAK ZOMBIE MASSACRE (2016), featuring Kool Kat Madeline Brumby, our ghoulish gal pal Allison Maier and more! Gypsy jazz it up with Kool Kat Amy Pike and Bonaventure Quartet at Venkman’s! Take a trip down the yellow brick road to the Studio Movie Grill (Alpharetta/Duluth) for a matinee screening of Victor Fleming’s classic, THE WIZARD OF OZ (1939) at 2pm! Get countrified with Blue Rodeo and the Devin Cuddy Band at City Winery! Make your way to the Crimson Moon Café for a night with Kevn Kinney! Get funky with Mother’s Finest at Terminal West! Stephen the Blues Dude delivers a night of blues at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack! Get sweet and low down blues-style at the Northside Tavern with Uncle Sugar!

Ongoing

The Michael C. Carlos Museum presents their “Doorway to an Enlightened World” exhibit, running through Nov. 27!

Make a trek to the Island of Misfit Toys a.k.a. the Center for Puppetry Arts as they present Jon Ludwig’s adaptation of RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER, directed by Tim Sweeney, running through Dec. 31!

Dad’s Garage’s Big Boozy Nerdy Game Night brings out the kid in you, every first Monday of the month at 7pm!

Union EAV rocks out with their Punk Rock Karaoke ATL, and every last Tuesday of the month!

Geek it up at My Parents’ Basement with their weekly Tuesday night Nerd Trivia at 8pm!

Nerd Film Mafia screenings at the Diesel Filling Station following NerdCore Trivia, every last Tuesday of the month!

The Plaza Theater Time-Warps it up as they screen, THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW (1975) every Friday night, featuring the live cast of Lips Down on Dixie at midnight!

Every first and third Mondays are Big Band Nights at Café 290, featuring Joe Gransden and his amazing 16-piece orchestra playing jazz and swing standards in the tradition of The Glen Miller Orchestra and other legendary groups.  Second and fourth Mondays are Bumpin the Mango, ‘The groove that makes you want to move!’

Every first Wednesday is the Graveyard Tavern’s Graveyard Swing Night, featuring the swingin’ jazz and boogie-woogie sounds of the Savoy Kings!

If you have a suggestion for a future event that should be included in This Week in Retro Atlanta or see something we missed, please email us at atlretro@gmail.com.

by Melanie Crew
Managing Editor

Why not elect to shake a tail feather in ATLRetro this week?! Come see what shakin’ shenanigans we’ve dug up just for you!

Monday, November 7

The Masquerade delivers a night of surf-punk ‘n’ dirty doo wop with The Frights and FIDLAR! Rock out with Dweezil Zappa at the Variety Playhouse! Make your way to the Red Light Café for Vinyl Night! Glam it up at The Plaza Theater for their screening of Stephen Kijak’s documentary, WE ARE X (2016), through Nov. 10! Blues it up with Bill Sheffield at Blind Willie’s! Swing on by Big Band Night featuring Joe Gransden and his amazing 16-member orchestra at Café 290 every first and third Monday of the month! Skye Paige, “Queen of Slide Guitar” rocks out at the Little Vinyl Lounge! Boogie on down to the Northside Tavern and spend an evening with Lola at her famous Monday Night Northside Jam! And blues on down to Fat Matt’s Rib Shack for a side of Dry White Toast and a plate full ‘o finger lickin’ BBQ!

Tuesday, November 8

Let Kool Kat Katherine Lashe and the burly-Q gals of Syrens of the South spice up your evening with their Tease Tuesday Burlesque: Stripsgiving edition, shakin’ it up at the Red Light Café! Make your way to the Northlake Festival Movie Tavern for a screening of Wolfgang Petersen’s AIR FORCE ONE (1997) at 7:30pm! It’s a night of old-time scofflaw folk, so rock on down to Smith’s Olde Bar for a night with The Muckers, Tail Light Rebellion and The Soundbites! Rock on down to Avondale Towne Cinema for their Election Night Rage Against the Machine tribute! Jam it up with Joe Gransden and his jazz jam session at Venkman’s every Tuesday! Blind Willie’s dishes out a night of the blues with the Nick Johnson Trio! The Star Bar delivers a night of retro shenanigans with their Downtown Tuesday Night Dance Party featuring retro-soul, funk, ‘80s, ‘90s and more! And as always, groove on down with Swami Gone Bananas at the Northside Tavern!

Wednesday, November 9

Get bloody fangtastic with a 20th Anniversary screening of Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino’s FROM DUSK TILL DAWN (1996) at theatres across Atlanta at 2pm/7pm [Hollywood Stadium 24 (Chamblee); AMC Barrett Commons 24 (Kennesaw); and AMC Sugarloaf Mills 18 (Lawrenceville)]! Make your way to the Variety Playhouse for a night with Guided by Voices and Surfer Blood! Rock out with The Boxer Rebellion and Hey, Anna at Terminal West!  Psyche pop it up with Shana Falana at 529! Kool Kat Ruby Velle & Scott Clayton dish out a night of soul at Venkman’s! Stomp on down to Blind Willie’s for a night with Joe McGuinness! Discover the saucy secret at Studio Movie Grill (Alpharetta) with their screening of John Avnet’s FRIED GREEN TOMATOES (1991) at 7:30pm! Or catch a screening of Warren Miller’s BEYOND THE EDGE (1986) at 7pm, screening at Studio Movie Grill (Alpharetta/Duluth)! Make your way to the Northlake Festival Movie Tavern for an encore screening of Wolfgang Petersen’s AIR FORCE ONE (1997) at 7:30pm! Frankie’s Blues Mission gets down and dirty at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack! Jazz it up at the Red Light Café with The Gordon Vernick Quartet! Darwin’s Burgers & Blues gets down and dirty at their Blues Jam hosted by The Cazanovas! The Star Bar gets down with their Okie Dokie Karaoke, every Wednesday at 9pm! Or rock on downstairs to the Little Vinyl Lounge for a night of retro shenanigans with Kool Kat Jeff Clark and Stomp & Stammer’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Trivia at 8pm! Or make your way to the Northside Tavern as Danny ‘Mudcat’ Dudeck fires it up with his rockin’ blues! St. James Live! delivers their Hump Days Blues night, getting classic blues-style every Wednesday! And as always, it’s Ladies Night at Johnny’s Hideaway which plays hits from Sinatra to Madonna for a generally mature crowd.

Thursday, November 10

Get your swamp tech fix with Kool Kat Quintron and Miss Pussycat at The Earl! Rock on down to The Star Bar for Jabroni Fest (Nov. 10-12) featuring the Burners, Spray Tan, New Junk City, Karbomb, Shehehe, Kool Kats The Joy Kills, Destroy Orbison, Ganges Phalanges, Jaws the Musical and so much more! Honkytonk on down to the Clermont Lounge every other Thursday for a night with Kool Kat Spike Fullerton and Ghost Riders Car Club! Get your dark folk fix with John the Revelator, Sans Abri and Kate Coleman at the Red Light Café! Bluegrass it up with the Georgia Mountain String Band at Eddie’s Attic! Psyche folk and jangle pop it up with Robyn Hitchcock at City Winery! Check out Pink Talking Fish’s fusion of Pink Floyd, Talking Heads and Phish tunes at Smith’s Olde Bar! Get funky with The Soul Rebels and Chelsea Shag at Vinyl! Get a taste of Bumpin the Mango at Venkman’s! It’s Mai Tai Thursday, so hula on down to Trader Vic’s for a night with Kool Kat Joshua Longino and The Disapyramids! Get down with Kristen & The Honey Badgers at Blind Willie’s! The Northside Tavern gets rockin’ with a little Chicago/Delta blues of The Breeze Kings! The Cody Matlock Band delivers a night of blues at Darwin’s Burgers & Blues in Marietta! Stagger on over to Noni’s Bar & Deli for their Bitter Heroes event featuring DJ Brian Parris as he gets charmingly morose with a little New-Wave, The Smiths and The Cure! Get your boogie on at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack, as Chickenshack featuring Eddie Tigner, delivers some honky-tonk blues! And as always, boogie down at Mary’s, as the East Atlanta venue gets funky with their weekly Disco in the Village.

Friday, November 11

Get some soul and funk it up with Kool Kat Ruby Velle & The Soulphonics, Dyn-O-Mite! and Glen Pridgen at The Earl! Rock out at the Variety Playhouse with The Dillinger Escape Plan, Car Bomb, Cult Leader and O’ Brother! Get funky New Orleans-style with New Orleans Suspects at City Winery! Groove on down to Venkman’s for  a night with Yacht Rock Schooner! Rev it up with Kool Kat Hot Rod Walt & the Psycho-Devilles at The Pointe in Conyers! Do the Time-Warp on down to the Earl Smith Strand Theatre for a late-night screening of THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW (1975)! You’re your way to Javavino as Video Video Nasty presents their Zombie Video event featuring live music by Stun Runner! Get old-timey and stomp on down to Nik’s Place for a night with Kool Kat Caleb Warren and Blood on the Harp! House Rocker Johnson & The Shadows bring down the house at Blind Willie’s! Get the blues with Roy Lee Johnson at the Northside Tavern ! Get the Dixie blues with Seminole Jackson at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack! Funk it up under the dinosaurs with The Mar-Tans at the Fernbank Museum of Natural History’s Martinis and IMAX event! And as always, time-warp it up and get naughty with some uber musically-inclined transsexual aliens at The Plaza Theater as they continue their tradition of screening THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW (1975) every Friday night, featuring the live cast of Lips Down on Dixie at midnight!

Saturday, November 12

Surf on down to Kavarna for Kool Kat Chad Shivers’ Southern Surf Stomp featuring The Mystery Men?, The Flying Faders and the Subatomics! The Earl celebrates 2o years of Corndogorama, so rock on down for some killer tunes with Smithsonian, PLS PLS, Subsonics, MammaBear, Sara Rachele, Shadowlands, RRest, Highriders, Blake Rainey & His Demons, Memes, Ben Trickey and more! Get your Roaring Twenties fix with the 3rd Annual Great Gatsby Gala at Spring Hall! Get down with Sheila E at Center Stage! It’s a night of rockin’ psyche blues at the Variety Playhouse with The Chris Robinson Brotherhood! Blues it up at Blind Willie’s with the Blues Stotts Festival featuring Brandon Santini, Markey Blue, The Larry Griffith Band, Jontavious Willis and No Solution! Stomp on down to Northside Tavern for the Home Brew Hootenanny featuring Cool John Ferguson, Essie Mae Brooks and more! It’s a night of New Orleans funk and Ragtime stomp at The Vista Room ATL with Hoodoo Moon and The Jugtime Ragband! The Deljou Art Group gets you ready for the holidays art-style with their annual Grand Holiday Public Sale through Nov. 13! Rev it up with Roxie Watson at Eddie’s Attic! Stomp on down to Venkman’s for a night with Gurufish, Banjolicious and Ryan Zimmerman! St. James Live! delivers their Tribute to the Legends night every Saturday night! Blues it up with Rough Draft at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack! And as always, DJ Romeo Cologne transforms the sensationally seedy Clermont Lounge into a ’70s disco/funk inferno late into the wee hours of the night.

Sunday, November 13

Rev it up with Kool Kat Hot Rod Walt & the Psycho-Devilles and Hillbilly Casino at Smith’s Olde Bar! Get your jazzy folk fix with George Winston at the Variety Playhouse! Celebrate 20 years of Joe Pytka’s SPACE JAM (1996) at theatres across Atlanta, screening at 2pm/7pm [Avalon Stadium 12 (Alpharetta); Regal Atlantic Station 18; Perimeter Pointe 10; AMC Buckhead Backlot 6; Hollywood Stadium 24 (Chamblee); AMC Avenue Forsyth 12 (Cumming); AMC Barrett Commons 24 (Kennesaw); AMC Colonial 18 (Lawrenceville); and AMC Sugarloaf Mills 18 (Lawrenceville)]! Stomp on down to City Winery for a night with Delta Rae! Gypsy jazz it up with Annie Sellick at Crimson Moon Café! The Cody Matlock Band delivers a night of blues at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack! Get sweet and low down blues-style at the Northside Tavern with Uncle Sugar!

Ongoing

The Michael C. Carlos Museum presents their “Doorway to an Enlightened World” exhibit, running through Nov. 27!

Dad’s Garage’s Big Boozy Nerdy Game Night brings out the kid in you, every first Monday of the month at 7pm!

Union EAV rocks out with their Punk Rock Karaoke ATL, and every last Tuesday of the month!

Geek it up at My Parents’ Basement with their weekly Tuesday night Nerd Trivia at 8pm!

Nerd Film Mafia screenings at the Diesel Filling Station following NerdCore Trivia, every last Tuesday of the month!

The Plaza Theater Time-Warps it up as they screen, THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW (1975) every Friday night, featuring the live cast of Lips Down on Dixie at midnight!

Every first and third Mondays are Big Band Nights at Café 290, featuring Joe Gransden and his amazing 16-piece orchestra playing jazz and swing standards in the tradition of The Glen Miller Orchestra and other legendary groups.  Second and fourth Mondays are Bumpin the Mango, ‘The groove that makes you want to move!’

Every first Wednesday is the Graveyard Tavern’s Graveyard Swing Night, featuring the swingin’ jazz and boogie-woogie sounds of the Savoy Kings!

If you have a suggestion for a future event that should be included in This Week in Retro Atlanta or see something we missed, please email us at atlretro@gmail.com.