ATLRetro

by Melanie Crew
Managing Editor

Retro Atlanta is the Kat’s meow this week, kicking off the year with a whole lotta shakin’ shenanigans! Take a gander at all the Retro cinema! Come see what the Kat drug in and live la vida Retro!

Monday, January 4

Start the week off right and spend the day with the “Duke” at the Alpharetta Branch Library during their screening of Henry Hathaway’s TRUE GRIT (1969) at 10:30am! Skye Paige, “Queen of Slide Guitar” rocks out at the Little Vinyl Lounge! Get folksy with Jamie Laval at Steve’s Live Music in Sandy Springs! 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! Boogie on down to the Northside Tavern and spend an evening with Lola at her famous Monday Night Northside Jam! Blast-Off Burlesque starts your week off right with a night of adults-only trivia at the Euclid Avenue Yacht Club at 8:30pm! Truett Lollis delivers a night of blues and soul at Darwin’s Burgers & Blues in Marietta! And Fat Matt’s Rib Shack dishes out a night of BBQ with a side of The Pork Bellys!

Tuesday, January 5

Get your time travel fix at the Northlake Festival Movie Tavern’s screening of Robert Zemeckis’ BACK TO THE FUTURE III (1990), during their “Classic Films on the Big Screen” series at 7:30! The Star Bar delivers a night of retro shenanigans with their Retro-Soul, Funk ‘80s & ‘90s Dance Party! Blues it up with JT Speed at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack! Jam it up with Joe Gransden and his jazz jam session at Venkman’s every Tuesday! And as always, The Entertainment Crackers get bluesy with their folksy Americana at the Northside Tavern!

Wednesday, January 6

Eddie’s Attic delivers a night of garage rock revival with Parker Gispert, lead singer of The Whigs! Rock out folk, punk ‘n’ roots style with Possessed by Paul James at Smith’s Olde Bar! It’s Chicken Picken’ Wednesday at Venkman’s, so come on out for a night with Curtis Jones & Primal Roots! 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! Jazz it up with The Gordon Vernick Quartet at the Red Light Café! It’s your last chance to time travel to the Northlake Festival Movie Tavern for their screening of Robert Zemeckis’ BACK TO THE FUTURE III (1990), during their “Classic Films on the Big Screen” series at 7:30! Stomp on down to The Star Bar for their Cowboy Karaoke event, featuring live-band old-time country and western tunes with Dry Gulch! 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! Get some rhythm and soul and rock ‘n’ roll with The Hollidays at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack! 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, January 7

Celebrate “The King” as he invades Atlanta via screenings of Denis Sanders’ documentary ELVIS: THAT’S THE WAY IT IS (1970) at The Plaza Theater at 7:15pm/9:15pm and the Studio Movie Grill (Alpharetta/Duluth) at 7:30pm! Stomp on down to the Red Light Café for their Bluegrass Pickin’ Party! Get jazzy with Pamela “The Saxtress” Williams at Suite Food Lounge! Yacht Rock Revue dishes out a night of rockin’ retro tunes at Venkman’s! Hula on down to Trader Vic’s for a night of cool island tunes and a couple Mai Tais! 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! The Northside Tavern gets rockin’ with a little Chicago/Delta blues of The Breeze Kings! Get your boogie on at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack, as Chickenshack featuring Eddie Tigner, delivers some honky-tonk blues! Darwin’s Burgers & Blues gets down and dirty at their Blues Jam hosted by The Cazanovas! And as always, boogie down at Mary’s, as the East Atlanta venue gets funky with their weekly Disco in the Village.

Friday, January 8

Make your way to The Earl Smith Strand Theatre for a good belly laugh as they screen Charles Lamont’s ABBOTT AND COSTELLO MEET THE KEYSTONE KOPS (1955) at 8pm! Or catch the sequel that’s sweeping the underground, SAMURAI COP 2: DEADLY VENGEANCE (2015) at The Plaza Theater with a Q&A featuring actor Mark Frazer, moderated by local actor/filmmaker and Kool Kat Mike Malloy, screening through Jan. 14! Yacht Rock Schooner plays Steely Dan at Terminal West! Honkytonk it up at The Earl with Lee Bains III & the Glory Fires, Midnight Larks and A Drug Called Tradition! Eighties it up at the Suburban Tap (Marietta) with Kool Kat Becky Cormier Finch and Denim Arcade! SteamPunk on down to Famous Pub for RITUAL’s SteamPunk/Victorian Party! Get jazzy with the Kerry Hill Band at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack! Rock on down to the Variety Playhouse for a night with Deerhunter! Get folksy with Steve Forbert at the Red Light Café! Make your way to Steve’s Live Music for a night with Almost Billy Joel and the Allentown Band! Get your zydeco/funk fix with Zydefunk at the Northside Tavern! Get funky under the dinosaurs at the Fernbank Museum of Natural History’s Martinis and IMAX event! Blues it up with J.J. Thames at Darwin’s Burgers & Blues! 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, January 9

The Star Bar dishes out a hootenanny and a half with A Tribute to Buck Owens and Don Rich, featuring Ghost Riders Car Club with Kool Kat Spike Fullerton; Kool Kat Hot Rod Walt & the Psycho-Devilles; Dave Weil (Blacktop Rockets); Willie Heath Neal & Kira Annalise; Mark Kirby; Dry Gulch and more! Surf on down to Kavarna for Kool Kat Chad Shivers’ Southern Surf Stomp! featuring The Original Shake Charmers; Kool Kat Sen. Artie Mondello and Dick Dave & the Scavengers! Eddie’s Attic dishes out a night of gypsy jazz with Kool Kat Amy Pike with The Bonaventure Quartet! Yacht Rock Revue throws down with A Rock Fight between Led Zeppelin and The Who, featuring special guest Peter Stroud at Venkman’s! Blues it up with the AJ Ghent Band and Seth Winters at Smith’s Olde Bar! Get folksy with a tinge of the blues at Grocery on Home with Marshall Ruffin and Julia Haltigan! Pay tribute to the Allman Brothers with Live at the Fillmore at the Variety Playhouse! Folk it up with The Skipperdees, Megan Saunders & The Driftless and The Threadbare Skivvies at the Red Light Café! Get intergalactic and boogie on down to the Euclid Avenue Yacht Club for their Post Holiday Dance Party! Make your way to Steve’s Live Music for a night with Russ Still & the Moonshiners! Blues it up with Frankie’s Blues Mission at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack! 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, January 10

Start the day off right with Venkman’s Bottomless Mimosa Brunch with The Matthew Kaminski Trio! Get some soul and blues it up with Fatback Deluxe at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack! Get your second helping of Marshall Ruffin and Julia Haltigan at Grocery on Home! Get star-crossed at the Fox Theatre as The State Ballet Theatre of Russia presents Shakespeare’s classic, “Romeo and Juliet”! And get sweet and low down blues-style at the Northside Tavern with Uncle Sugar!

Ongoing

Blast-Off Burlesque geeks it up with a night of adults-only trivia at the Euclid Avenue Yacht Club, every Monday at 8:30pm!

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

Ring in the New Year in vintage-style with Retro Atlanta!  Come celebrate what once was in 2015 and welcome with open arms what will be in 2016! Start the New Year off with a bang with all the hoppin’ shindigs we’ve found for you!

1. Hey, Daddy-O! Twist into 2016 at The Basement during Electric Westerns’ Keep on Movin! New Year’s Rock and Soul Dance Party! featuring a night chock full of ‘60s rock-n-roll, soul, doo-wop and more! The DJs will have you hoppin’, so get dressed up to boogie down for $10! Complimentary midnight toast to ring in the New Year and doors at 8pm! Get some soul this New Years Eve with Kool Kat Ruby Velle & the Soulphonics at Venkman’s! Doors at 9:30pm and tickets include a champagne toast at midnight! Or let The Star Bar show you where it’s at during their New Years’ Eve Blowout Party! featuring Sidney Eloise & The Palms, Baby Baby, Cousin Dan and How I Became the Bomb!

2. Deep Roots & Old-Time Pandemonium. Ponder 2015 by getting to the root of it all! For a New Year’s Eve filled with foot stompin’ Americana, blues and rock ‘n’ roll, make your way to Eddie’s Attic for two hoppin’ helpings of the sultry Michelle Malone & Friends and her New Year’s Eve show! First show at 7:30pm! Second show starts at 10:30pm! Or get toasty in an old-timey way, while getting down and dirty at the seedy land of debauchery, the Clermont Lounge, as they bring you a rockin’ hootenanny this NYE with Urban Pioneers, Coldheart Canyon and The Entertainment Crackers! Doors at 9pm with a free champagne toast at midnight!

3. That’s Why They Call it the Blues. For some classic blues and jazz, shimmy on down to Blind Willie’s for their New Year’s Eve Party with “The Empress of the Blues” Sandra Hall & The Shadows! Doors at 7pm and $50 gets you guaranteed seating, party favors and a champagne toast at midnight! Fire up the blues at the Northside Tavern with Mudcat’s Rockin’ Blues New Year’s Eve Party featuring Danny ‘Mudcat’ Dudeck, Eddie Tigner, Lola, Albert White, the Atlanta Horns and more! $20 cover includes party favors and champagne with doors at 9pm! Fat Matt’s Rib Shack dishes out the low-down dirty blues with the hard-stompin’ Beverly “Guitar” Watkins this New Year’s Eve! And blues on down to Darwin’s Burgers & Blues for their New Year’s Eve Blues Bash with the Larry Griffith Band! $10 gets you appetizers, desserts and a champagne toast at midnight! Doors at 9:30pm!

4. Smooth Operator. Get ‘70s toasty and smooth in 2016 with Yacht Rock Revue at Park Tavern! And you won’t want to miss special guests Yacht Rock Schooner bringin’ in the funk! So, rock on down and set sail into 2016 with Yacht Rock Revue’s NYE party, with doors at 9pm and all-inclusive food and drinks!

5. Life’s A Beach! Hula your way into 2016 at Trader Vic’s New Years Eve in Paradise featuring Kool Kat Joshua Longino and The Disapyramids dishing out the sounds of surfer girls, beach blanket bingo, hot rods and twist contests, with a midnight champagne toast, all for $10! Doors at 9pm! Surf into the New Year with Surfer Blood, Kool Kats Gringo Star and Shantih Shantih at Aisle 5!

6. Play that Funky Music! Get funky and ring in the New Year with a little old school funk ‘n’ soul! Toast the New Year at the Variety Playhouse with The Motet and The Main Squeeze, funkin’ it up for $30 in advance or $35 at the door! Doors at 8pm!

7. The Cure for Bananarama. New-Wave is the epitome of 80’s pop culture, so celebrate 2015 while toasting 2016 by continuing The Shelter’s NYE tradition at the Famous Pub with Kool Kat VJ Anthony at their 7th Annual New Wave New Year’s Eve Party! Dress New-Wave, win prizes! The festivities begin at 10pm and $10 gets you party favors, a champagne toast at midnight, a ton of super rare New-Wave music videos and a bunch more surprises, so come on out and party like it’s 1989! Or get really ‘80s New Year’s Eve style at Bone Lick BBQ at their NYE in 3-D ‘80s-themed 3-D bash! Ring in the New Year with free retro arcade games, 3-D movies, complimentary champagne and more! Tickets are $5 in advance and $45 at the door and event begins at 9pm! You won’t want to miss Kool Kat Becky Cormier Finch with Denim Arcade dishing out their ‘80s tributes at Wild Wing Café in Suwannee! Doors at 9:30pm! And the Fox Theatre’s Official NYE After-Party burns down the house with Heart Byrne, paying tribute to The Talking Heads at 1:30am!

8. Hey! Ho! Let’s Go! Get rebellious and rock into the New Year with some old school punk, revved up rockabilly and plain ol’ retro-inspired rock-n-roll! The Earl delivers a rockin’ NYE Bash punkin’ you into the New Year with The Coathangers, Black Linen, Bad Spell, and Kool Kat Rod Hamdallah’s new gig, The Gartrells at 9pm! Grease it up at Mule Camp Tavern’s New Years Eve Rumble featuring Kool Kat Hot Rod Walt and the Psycho-DeVilles revvin’ you into 2016! Rock out in the Music Room at Smith’s Olde Bar for a New Years Eve Tribute Bash with Smithsonian and Clashinista for $15 in advance or $20 at the door. Doors at 8pm! Or ring in the New Year with a Brit Invasion in the Atlanta Room with The Backyard Birds! $10 cover and doors at 8pm! Rock across the pond to the The Earl Smith Strand Theatre for A Stone’s New Year’s Eve with Stephen Skipper & His Rolling Stones Tribute Band with The Dirty Doors, from 8:30-11:45pm! Ring in the New Year with some old-school blues rock with Gregg Allman at Atlanta Symphony Hall at 9pm! And jam into the New Year with a night of Widespread Panic at the Fox Theatre!

9. We’re Stayin’ Alive! In Retro Atlanta that is! Boogie on down to Mary’s in East Atlanta for their annual Attack of the New Year’s Eve Party Monster event, featuring DJ 5 HR Boner spinning your favorite disco, indie, house and rock! There’s no cover and a complimentary champagne toast at midnight! Celebration begins at 9 pm!

10. Retro Geek-A-Rama! Corndog it up at Pallookaville this New Years! You’re guaranteed a funky time that includes a kid’s corndog drop followed by the grown-folks’ celebration! The celebration is free and starts at 8:30pm! Or take a fantastical demented trip to 2016 through Dante’s Labyrinth at the Masquerade this New Years! Masks and/or face paint is required to get down with the gnomes, trolls, maidens and devils, so come on out and get demented! Hey all you super-mutants and post-apocalyptic heroes, why not ring in the New Year with Kool Kat Rev. Andy as he DJs it up at Battle and Brew’s New Years Eve Vault Party! Doors at 8pm!

by Melanie Crew
Managing Editor

It’s a new dawn. It’s a new day, and 2016 finally arrives this week! So start the year off right and let Retro Atlanta show you what to do! We’ve got all the rockin’ swell events you won’t want to miss! Get dolled up, get your dancin’ shoes on and live la vida Retro! Come see what we have in store for you this week!

Monday, December 28

Get down and dirty with a night of ‘70s dive bar rock at The Earl with the Barreracudas, Thelma & The Sleaze and An English Place! Get witchy at Battle & Brew in Sandy Springs with 10 courses of brews and tasty treats during their Hogwarts Christmas Feast! Make your way to the Alpharetta Branch Library for their screening of Hugh Hudson’s CHARIOTS OF FIRE (1981) at 10:30am! Skye Paige, “Queen of Slide Guitar” rocks out at the Little Vinyl Lounge! The Plaza Theater has retro fantastic gifts to give with their screenings of Victor Fleming’s THE WIZARD OF OZ (1939); Stanley Kubrick’s THE SHINING (1980) and Jerry Zucker’s GHOST (1990), all screening through Dec. 31! Get some soul 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!’ Boogie on down to the Northside Tavern and spend an evening with Lola at her famous Monday Night Northside Jam! Blast-Off Burlesque starts your week off right with a night of adults-only trivia at the Euclid Avenue Yacht Club at 8:30pm! Truett Lollis delivers a night of blues and soul at Darwin’s Burgers & Blues in Marietta! And Fat Matt’s Rib Shack dishes out a night of BBQ with a side of Dry White Toast!

Tuesday, December 29

Yacht Rock Revue dishes out a night of acoustic Beatles at Venkman’s! Catch a screening of Henry Koster’s classic, HARVEY (1950) at the Charles D. Switzer Public Library at 12pm! Blues it up with Andrew Black at Blind Willie’s! The Star Bar delivers a night of retro shenanigans with their Retro-Soul, Funk ‘80s & ‘90s Dance Party! Jam it up with Joe Gransden and his jazz jam session at Twain’s in Decatur every Tuesday at 9 pm! And as always, The Entertainment Crackers get bluesy with their folksy Americana at the Northside Tavern!

Wednesday, December 30

Get funky with Funk You and Heavy Chevy at Terminal West! Or funk it up with Dyn-O-Mite at Smith’s Olde Bar! Kool Kat Scott Glazer’s Mojo Dojo dishes out a night of blues, jazz ‘n’ southern soul at Blind Willie’s! Rock out blues-style with Gregg Allman at Atlanta Symphony Hall! It’s Chicken Picken’ Wednesday at Venkman’s, so come on out for a night with The Mars Hill Porch Pickers! Jam it up with Widespread Panic at the Fox Theatre! Absynthe Makes the Art Garfunkel rocks out to the tunes of Art Garfunkel at the Red Light Café! The Star Bar with their Cowboy Karaoke event, featuring live-band old-time country and western tunes with Dry Gulch! Get funky and rock on down to Fat Matt’s Rib Shack for a night with The Georgia Flood! 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 31

It’s New Year’s Eve, folks! Out with the old and in with the new! Although, we here at ATLRetro prefer the old, so we’ve put together a swell Throwback to the 20^th Century New Year’s Eve Guide, that will lead the way as you boogie on down to your final destination in 2015 (keep your eyes peeled)! Ring in the New Year in style and toast 2016 in Retro Atlanta! We wish you a very vintage and rockin’ Happy New Year!

Friday, January 1

Stomp on down to The Earl for a night of old-time mischief and mayhem with Blood on the Harp, Reverend Hylton and 16 Coaches! Bluegrass it up with The Gibson Brothers, followed by the vintage rock of Tony Levitas at Eddie’s Attic! 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, January 2

Clown around and get two heaping helpings of Puddles Pity Party at Smith’s Olde Bar in the Music Room! Or rock on down to the Atlanta Room for tribute night with Built For Speed (Motorhead); Pretty Vacant (Sex Pistols); and The Cherry Bomb (Joan Jett)! Make your way to Atlanta Symphony Hall for their screening of Chris Columbus’ holiday classic, HOME ALONE (1990) backed by ASO’s presentation of John Williams’ score played live at 8pm! Too Slim & the Tail Draggers get the rockin’ blues at Darwin’s Burgers & Blues! Get your roots rock fix with Delta Moon at Eddie’s Attic, followed by a folksy twist with Caroline Aiken! Blues it up with Beverly “Guitar” Watkins 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, January 3

The Indigo Girls folk rock it up for a cause, benefiting Save the Libraries at Terminal West! It’s your last chance to make your way to Atlanta Symphony Hall for their screening of Chris Columbus’ holiday classic, HOME ALONE (1990) backed by ASO’s presentation of John Williams’ score played live at 3pm! And get sweet and low down blues-style at the Northside Tavern with Uncle Sugar!

Ongoing

Blast-Off Burlesque geeks it up with a night of adults-only trivia at the Euclid Avenue Yacht Club, every Monday at 8:30pm!

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.

Michael Madsen. Photo credit: Isaac Alvarez. Weinstein Co. Used with permission.

By Gregory Nicoll
Contributing Writer

“I don’t always play bad guys,” observes Michael Madsen, his voice as raspy and powerful as a Harley-Davidson’s exhaust pipe, “but for some reason when I do, it gets more attention than when I play somebody who doesn’t have a gun.”

Even without a firearm in his hand, the burly 6’ 2” actor radiates an onscreen menace so palpable it inspires nightmares. His breakthrough role was playing Mister Blonde in Quentin Tarantino’s RESERVOIR DOGS (1992), for which he tortured a policeman with a razor and gasoline in one of the most disturbing sequences of ’90s cinema. But despite equally convincing performances in high-profile good-guy parts – such as the loving dad in FREE WILLY (1993), the action hero in SPECIES (1995), and a stoic lawman in WYATT EARP (1994) – Madsen still finds himself cast more often on the dark side, with unforgettable bad-guy turns in KILL BILL (2003/2004), HELL RIDE (2008), DONNIE BRASCO (1997) and THE GETAWAY (1994) His latest movie is Tarantino’s much-anticipated new western, THE HATEFUL EIGHT, which opens on Christmas day in an extended limited-release 70mm Ultra-Panavision “Roadshow” presentation with a overture and an intermission (Regal Atlantic Station 18), with a wide release starting Dec. 30 (Landmark Midtown Art Cinema, etc.).

We spoke with Michael Madsen by phone from his seaside California home.

ATLRetro: Let’s hear about THE HATEFUL EIGHT. Sure hope you’re not weary of talking about it.

Michael Madsen: Not really! It’s hard to get weary of Tarantino, who’s such a force to be reckoned with. This is the third time he’s reached out to me with, “Let’s get on the bus.” Only in this case it’s, “Let’s get on the horses!”

So, this is a western about characters who all get stranded together after their stagecoach is re-routed?

It’s pretty hard to put a lid on what it is, but it’s about a bunch of eight people who’ve got an agenda, an agenda that’s pretty complicated. The script was one of the most fascinating things I’ve ever read. I guess it’s somewhere between THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN (1960) and THE DIRTY DOZEN (1967). 

Is there any previous classic western movie to which it could easily be compared?

Well, maybe ONE-EYED JACKS (1967), which is probably the greatest western I’ve ever seen. It’s the only picture Marlon Brando ever directed, taking over from Stanley Kubrick. I just love it. ONE-EYED JACKS is about everything. There’s nothing that it isn’t about. There are so many themes in there, it’s mind-boggling. It’s one of Marlon’s finest. Him and Karl Malden are so wonderful together, it’s just unbelievable.

Karl Malden was fabulous in just about everything, from A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE (1951) to NEVADA SMITH (1966).

That was with Steve McQueen. What a power he was on the screen!  [Quoting NEVADA SMITH] “You haven’t got the guts!” Yeah, he’s shot in the kneecaps and it’s pretty horrendous, but, wow…

When I first moved to Malibu, I lived right next door to Steve McQueen. Steve was one of those guys who came along at time when the movie industry – when Sam Peckinpah and John Sturges and Norman Jewison were making films. Those kind of directors, they don’t really exist anymore. They were as much responsible for Steve’s success as he was himself, the combination of him, a personality like that, put together with those kinda directors. Steve was one of a kind and he made some – well, I like THE GETAWAY (1972). To me, that’s the quintessential Steve McQueen movie. I got to be in the remake of it, which was great, but I would have preferred to play Doc McCoy [McQueen’s role]. Alec [Baldwin] did a good job, but I think I coulda pulled that off.

The character of Doc in the original Jim Thompson novel THE GETAWAY has much more of an edge to him than in the films.

Well, I teased Alec constantly during the making of that thing. Every single time we were on the set and he was doing something, I’d go, “You remember the way Steve was standing?” or, “You remember the way Steve was holding the gun?” or “When you look around the corner, you remember how Steve did it?” and he’d go [imitating Baldwin’s voice], “Madsen! Shut up, Madsen! You’re driving me crazy.” It was really funny. I teased him quite a bit, but he had a good sense of humor about it. At the end of the film he actually bought and gave me the Smith & Wesson handgun that I used in the movie.

Speaking of firearms, will we be seeing much of the trademark Tarantino gunplay violence in HATEFUL EIGHT?

Oh, sure. Of course. Wouldn’t be the same without it.

Michael Madsen in HATEFUL EIGHT. Weinstein Co. Used with permission.

Last year Tarantino was furious when his HATEFUL EIGHT script got leaked online, and you were one of the few insiders who’d been given a copy.

People actually thought it was me! I was in Italy at the time. My buddy and I were on an elevator, this was about 2 :00 in the morning and we’d just got back to the hotel, and he was looking at his phone, and all of sudden he goes, “Oh my god!” And I go, “What is it?” And he goes, “Oh, Michael, oh my god, somebody leaked out Quentin’s script and he’s all pissed off, and he says he only gave it to three people, and it wasn’t Tim [Roth].” And I was, like, “Holy shit, man, it sounds like I’m a suspect!” So I called him the next day and I said, “Quentin, man, say something to somebody, because obviously it wasn’t me.” And he started laughing actually. He thought it was funny that this had so quickly been heard about as far away as Italy, that the very next day it was worldwide news.

Not much later you participated in a staged public reading of the HATEFUL EIGHT script. Was Tarantino directing you live on stage?

Oh, he sure was, he had on a black cowboy hat and was coming over to the actors and giving them direction, right in front of everybody. Quentin read all the stage directions aloud. He had a coffee pot for a prop, and I had a bandana for my prop. It was a fascinating night. I’ve never done anything like that.

Did you rehearse for this?

Yeah, we rehearsed for three days before the show, and once in the afternoon right before the show. It was a lot of hustling around to get everybody together, but to have the whole cast together in one room and start reading through this thing, and putting it up on its feet, and to know now that we’re actually gonna go and film it later, it was a great, great, great kind of boost for me.

How did it feel to have that immediate feedback from the audience? People must have been laughing, reacting in various ways…

Well, everybody was very, very respectful. That’s what I remember. I’d seen everybody coming in, because I was in the back as the theater started to fill up, and I’d been looking out the windows in the front of the building, and everybody was all dressed up! It was really kind of an evening with all the girls all dolled up and guys dressed up. Nobody was allowed to bring their phone inside or have any kind of recording devices.

I heard that you don’t carry a cell phone. Is that still true?

I don’t like them, put it that way. I didn’t even get an iPad till about six months ago. I just really didn’t get the point of it. I would see people on their phones in the car, on their phone constantly, and when I had one myself it seemed like I became so dependent on it. I started wondering why does everyone need it so badly when no-one ever had it before, and back then everyone got along fine. Was it really that important to talk to somebody if you can call ‘em an hour later? But I have five kids, and I gotta have a phone,  but I frequently don’t charge it up and “accidentally” leave it somewhere, and I try really hard not to become obsessed with it.  I heard that Christopher Walken doesn’t have a cell phone, and he’s my hero; and if he honestly doesn’t – or if he’s just saying that to sound cool – I don’t know, but I’m hoping he really doesn’t have one.

Michael Madsen. Photo credit: Isaac Alvarez. Weinstein Co. Used with permission.

Speaking of contemporary actors, you recently worked with Danny Trejo on a film called HOPE LOST. What was that like?

I’m not real fond of that title but, uh, it was shot in Rome and it’s basically about girls sold into the sex trade. The movie is a little rough, not for everyone. When you’re working on lower budget things, sometimes you have a bit more control over dialogue and scenes. In the original script I did some terrible things and got killed, but I didn’t end up doing that. My character lives, and I actually walk away from a bad situation at the end. Danny’s such a great actor and wonderful presence on screen. You walk the streets of Rome with Danny, and people come out of the restaurants shouting, “Machete! Machete!” Pretty funny. He’s Machete, no doubt about it. He’s got that mug!

I always wanted to see you cast as James Bond’s CIA counterpart, Felix Leiter, in the 007 series. That unfortunately didn’t happen, but you did get that nice supporting bit in DIE ANOTHER DAY (2002).

I loved working on that! Pierce Brosnan was a friend of mine and he lived right down the street from me, and that’s how that kinda happened. I went and I met [007 film producer] Barbara Broccoli, and they wanted to find a spot for me, and I did that one. I would have come back, I would have loved to. Judi Dench was such a great pleasure to work with. Having a Bond film as a credit is pretty cool. I’d like to do a few more.

You did an episode of HAWAII FIVE-O in 2014 which was notable because you were a bad guy who turned out to be a good guy.

What happened was, I’d heard there was some interest in having me on the show, and I was a huge, huge fan of the old show [the original HAWAII FIVE-O series which ran from 1968 to 1980]. That music, that opening title sequence is so bitchin’ and I remember watching that show most of my life, and just thought it was super cool. You can’t touch that thing. When they were interested in me, it was like a boyhood dream to be on HAWAII FIVE-O, but when they started calling me to do it, I said, “You know what, man, I’m not gonna come on the damn thing if you’re gonna kill me. There has to be something else. I’m gonna come in and get thrown down the steps by Scott Caan and then at the end get killed in a shoot-out. Please, please come up with something better for me.” And so, it really wasn’t until six months later after that conversation that they actually called me to do the show, and obviously when I read the script, the ending was the wonderful thing about it. You realize that this guy wasn’t such a bad person, and there’s this huge redemption, and that’s why I did it.  I’ve never seen the episode; I was out of the country when it aired. I got a lot of compliments from my family about it.

You were crammed into the tiny backseat of that Chevy Camaro for much of the time.

Being trapped in a car with Alex O’Loughlin and Scott Caan is an interesting experience. Both of those guys are good actors and I had fun with them, but if they’re not complaining about being stuck in Hawaii, all they do is talk about cigars all day.

They complain about being in Hawaii?

These two guys, you gotta understand, were in their fourth season, and after that many episodes I would imagine that sooner or later it might start to get to you. I saw Scotty in the parking lot in the early, early morning on my first day, and I said,”Hey man, where’s a good place to eat?” And he goes, “L.A.!” [laughs]

Hey, you know who directed that episode? Peter Weller, ROBOCOP (1987)! Peter’s a really intelligent guy, and I really enjoyed working with him. He really gave me a wide berth, let me come in and do my thing. He understands the actor’s dilemma, and he’s very, very methodical in his direction of exactly how he wants certain things. I was lucky to have him there because I wanted that thing to matter, I wanted that to be a good episode, I was thrilled to be on it, and to have him direct it made it just that much better.

I’m betting that you personally own some cars that are cooler than Danno’s Camaro.

Well, over the years I certainly have had some interesting vehicles. I entertained my boyhood fantasies after I started making some money as an actor. I got a ’57 Chevy small block and put dual quads on the damn thing. I had a Stingray with a big block four-speed. I went through a couple of Plymouth Roadrunners and even a Superbird. The thing is, you get these cars that you’ve always dreamed about having, and you end up with flat tires and dead batteries. You can’t really drive them that much, and you have to keep them somewhere, and it ends up being an expense that doesn’t make sense, especially if you have children. A lot of my toys are gone. I let most of them go. The last one I had was a ’67 GTO; that was really pretty cool. I bought it from the original owner. I got a couple motorcycles and I still have my Jaguar, but I’ve recently – funny you should say – I’ve recently started to get that feeling again. Wouldn’t be nice to have a nice 427 Chevelle downstairs? Nice fuckin’ four-speed convertible. I was even thinkin’ of getting something for my son, something we can build together.

Are you a liquor guy or a beer guy?

I’m not any one thing.  I think drinking is one of those things that requires moderation.  I like to have some wine with dinner, but I’m not like a big drinker. If I’m flying on a plane, I’ll have a Jack and Coke. If I’m out with my wife and I don’t have to drive anywhere, I’ll have a martini. If I’m with my sons watching a game, I’ll drink a beer. But I’m not…

You’re not Charles Bukowski or anything.

Jesus, no!

Or Lee Marvin.

[Laughs] You know, I’m very fond of Lee Marvin. That fuckin’ guy, he had such a – you look at CAT BALLOU (1965) or POINT BLANK (1967) – he really, really had a tremendous screen presence, and whenever you read a little bio of him, they have to throw in that last little line about him being a heavy drinker. You kinda wonder, is it really necessary to highlight that particular part of his personality? Most of the guys from that era were drinkers. Look at Dean Martin in the Matt Helm movies – he was hammered, and you can tell when you watch the movie! All of those guys were drinkers back then, and nobody thought there was anything wrong with it.

You have over a hundred screen credits. If you could pick three that you feel were unjustifiably overlooked, and get them re-appraised, which movies would they be?

I did a boxing picture called STRENGTH AND HONOUR (2010), playing an Irish-American prizefighter, probably one of the better pictures I’ve ever done, and it never got a proper release. It was actually finished at the same time as Mickey Rourke’s huge comeback, THE WRESTLER (2008).  I spoke to the director and he told me about trying to get it a second life, and how some investors convinced him he should re-release it in 3D. I was speechless! I hung up on him.

In addition, I did a cop picture called VICE (2008) which was shot by Andrzej Sekula, who was the director of photography on RESERVOIR DOGS and PULP FICTION (1994). I rewrote the beginning and the ending, and then I got Darryl Hannah into it and had a lot to do with the whole production. It’s a slow, quiet film but it’s about redemption, and I dedicated it to Chris Penn [Madsen’s RESERVOIR DOGS co-star] because he had passed away when I was making it.

And HELL RIDE! That came out on DVD, and people didn’t really know what it was. Now it’s become kind of a cult thing. The plot doesn’t make any sense, but it’s fun to watch. Those are three of them, right off the top of my head.

I know that you own your character’s motorcycle from HELL RIDE. Did you keep anything else? Do you have, say, the Zippo lighter from RESERVOIR DOGS?

As a matter of fact, Quentin has that. He has the razor, too. It’s the exact same razor that Uma Thurman uses in KILL BILL, when she’s buried alive. Mister Blonde’s razor! Quentin’s real good about keeping stuff. I’ve got a lot of clothes. I have Mister Blonde’s suit.

Tarantino must have been a big fan of John Dahl’s KILL ME AGAIN (1989), an earlier film where you tie somebody up and get rough with them.

There’s a strange story. Originally I remembered him telling me that that’s where he got the idea for me to be Mister Blonde, but I did a cable talk show many years ago and said that, and later when I ran into him he told me that was not why he’d cast me as Mister Blonde. KILL ME AGAIN was a good movie, but nobody saw it. John Dahl, man, John Dahl in his glory. Whatever happened to John Dahl? He’s vanished. I was supposed to do RED ROCK WEST (1993) with him, and then he opted for Nick Cage, and that’s where my relationship with John went south!

There was once talk of you and John Travolta reprising your roles from RESERVOIR DOGS and PULP FICTION in a prequel, in which your characters were brothers.

The Vega brothers! Well, you know John and I are not kids any more. I was at the Cannes Film Festival recently, hanging around with Quentin, when I finally met John. Now that the two of us have been standing together in the same room with Quentin, I think the idea became a little more interesting, more timely. I don’t think it would necessarily be a prequel, but I do think him and me together in some capacity, in a reminder of the other two pictures, is a lot more possible now. It would be nice, wouldn’t it? But you’ll have to ask Quentin about that.

One final question: Have you thought about doing any directing?

You know what? I just finished a Roger Corman picture called COBRAGATOR (2015). I love Roger! His movies are sci-fi pictures, and there is something about a Roger Corman film that’s different from the rest of that genre. Working for him is a pleasure, and I did get to do some directing in it, and I got a great deal of pleasure out of it. I realized that I’ve been wanting to direct forever, but nobody’s ever asked me to do it. The hard thing about it is you need that breakout, you need someone to actually say, “Okay, you get to direct this movie,” but if you haven’t ever done it before, there’s always that doubt. Can he really do it? Can he actually direct? Which, obviously, I could. I’d love to do that. I hope it’s in my future. I would like to do that a lot.    

by Melanie Crew
Managing Editor

Hey all you retro-lovin’ kiddies! It’s that time of year again! The big jolly fella may be spying to see if you’re naughty or nice, so show ‘em how good (or bad, we don’t mind!) you are by gettin’ out and seeing what Retro Atlanta has in store for you! It’s a week of holiday cheer, retro-style, so whether you’re hankerin’ for a good classic flick or are needing to get your retro rockin’ fix, come see what we’ve found for you!

Monday, December 21

Get your holiday fix, retro-style at The Earl Smith Strand Theatre with their holiday movie marathon featuring Frank Capra’s classic, IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE (1946), with screenings at 12pm; 3pm; 6pm and 9pm, with a holiday pre-show and sing-along! ATL Collective gets funky with their presentation of James Brown’s “Funky Christmas” at Terminal West! Skye Paige, “Queen of Slide Guitar” rocks out at the Little Vinyl Lounge! 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! Or make your way to the Fox Theatre for Keith & Kristyn Getty’s “An Irish Christmas”! Boogie on down to the Northside Tavern and spend an evening with Lola at her famous Monday Night Northside Jam! Blast-Off Burlesque starts your week off right with a night of adults-only trivia, “Toyland” edition, at the Euclid Avenue Yacht Club at 8:30pm! Truett Lollis delivers a night of blues and soul at Darwin’s Burgers & Blues in Marietta! And Fat Matt’s Rib Shack dishes out a night of BBQ with a side of Dry White Toast!

Tuesday, December 22

The Northlake Festival Movie Tavern delivers your retro holiday fix with a screening of Frank Capra’s holiday classic, , IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE (1946) during their “Classic Films on the Big Screen” series at 7:30! The Star Bar delivers a night of retro shenanigans with their Retro-Soul, Funk ‘80s & ‘90s Dance Party! Jam it up with Joe Gransden and his jazz jam session at Twain’s in Decatur every Tuesday at 9 pm! And as always, The Entertainment Crackers get bluesy with their folksy Americana at the Northside Tavern!

Wednesday, December 23

TCM presents George Seaton’s holiday classic, MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET (1947) in theatres across the Atlanta area at 2pm/7pm [Hollywood Stadium 24 in Chamblee, Perimeter Pointe 10; AMC Sugarloaf Mills 18 in Lawrenceville; AMC Avenue Forsyth 12 in Cumming; AMC Barrett Commons 24 in Kennesaw; AMC Southlake 24 in Morrow; GTC Merchant’s Walk Stadium 12 in Marietta; Regal McDonough Stadium 16; and Georgian Stadium in Newnan]! Make your way to the Northlake Festival Movie Tavern for their screening of Frank Capra’s holiday classic, , IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE (1946) during their “Classic Films on the Big Screen” series at 7:30! Jazz it up with The Gordon Vernick Quartet at the Red Light Café! The Star Bar with their Cowboy Karaoke event, featuring live-band old-time country and western tunes with Dry Gulch! Get funky and rock on down to Fat Matt’s Rib Shack for a night with The Georgia Flood! 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 24

It’s your last chance to catch Frank Capra’s holiday classic, , IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE (1946) at the Northlake Festival Movie Tavern during their special Christmas Eve presentation of their “Classic Films on the Big Screen” series at 7:30! It’s Mai Tai Thursday, so surf on down to Trader Vic’s for a helluva beach party and a couple cocktails! 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! The Northside Tavern gets rockin’ with a little Chicago/Delta blues of The Breeze Kings! Get your boogie on at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack, as Chickenshack featuring Eddie Tigner, delivers some honky-tonk blues! Darwin’s Burgers & Blues gets down and dirty at their Blues Jam hosted by The Cazanovas! And as always, boogie down at Mary’s, as the East Atlanta venue gets funky with their weekly Disco in the Village.

Friday, December 25

It’s a retro Christmas, folks! For those of you wondering, Retro Atlanta is alive and hopping today, so come on out and see what the jolly old fella has up his big red sleeve! The Plaza Theater has retro fantastic gifts to give with their screenings of Victor Fleming’s THE WIZARD OF OZ (1939); Stanley Kubrick’s THE SHINING (1980) and Jerry Zucker’s GHOST (1990), all screening through Dec. 31! Rock out and get your fill of cosmic sludge with Motherfucker and MTN ISL at The Earl! 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 26

Get kinky and shimmy ‘n’ shake on down to The Star Bar and celebrate all the kids on the naughty list during Roxie Roz’ Holiday Kink Burlesque Show featuring performances by Kitty Capone, Kool Kat Katherine Lashe, Mary Strawberry, and music by Kool Kat Joshua Longino and The Disapyramids! Brother Hawk and Stonerider rock out at The Earl! Get folksy with Jamie Laval at the Red Clay Theatre! Glam it up and rock out with The Swinging Richards and Pinups at Smith’s Olde Bar! You’re your way to Steve’s Live Music for a night with Glenn Phillips! 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 27

Bluegrass it up with the Dave Rawlings Machine at the Variety Playhouse! Blues it up with Snake Legs at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack! And get sweet and low down blues-style at the Northside Tavern with Uncle Sugar!

Ongoing

The Shakespeare Tavern presents Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” through Dec. 23! (LAST CHANCE)

The Alliance Theatre presents Charles Dickens’ holiday classic, “A Christmas Carol”, running through Dec. 24! (LAST CHANCE)

Center for Puppetry Arts presents their annual puppet adaptation of Larry Roemer’s holiday classic RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER (1964), sleighing through Dec. 27! (LAST CHANCE)

Atlanta Ballet presents THE NUTCRACKER at the Fox Theatre, running through Dec. 27! (LAST CHANCE)

Blast-Off Burlesque geeks it up with a night of adults-only trivia at the Euclid Avenue Yacht Club, every Monday at 8:30pm!

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.

Claire Stallman and Jonah Hooper. Photo by C. McCullers. Courtesy of Atlanta Ballet.

THE NUTCRACKER by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky; Atlanta Ballet. Fox Theatre, Dec. 11-27, Tickets here.

By Claudia Dafrico
Contributing Writer

One of the sad truths of 2015 is the fact that it has become more and more difficult to find Atlanta traditions that have been around for longer than 20 or so years. For a city with so many beloved institutions, a good number of them have shut their doors or faded into obscurity in recent years. This is certainly not the case for the Atlanta Ballet’s annual production of THE NUTCRACKER, which is entering its 56th year of performances. One may be likely to think that the many years behind this Christmas mainstay would lead it to be stale and outdated, but the opposite could not be more true. The Atlanta Ballet’s NUTCRACKER is just as fresh and exciting as it was 56 years ago, and is a performance that should not be missed by anyone who considers themselves a true Atlantan.

Photo by C. McCullers. Courtesy of Atlanta Ballet.

Opening night was nothing short of packed, with attendees ranging from toddlers to grandparents out in their finest Christmas garb. Simply sitting in the audience prior to showtime was an experience in and of itself: the painted backdrop hanging onstage is breathtaking in its intricacy, and the warm, intricate design of the Fox only adds to the serene atmosphere. The audience, buzzing with anticipation, began to cheer and whisper as Drosselmeyer took the stage.

Russian composer Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s original score is brought to life with help from the Atlanta Ballet orchestra, and the story of a young girl and her enchanted nutcracker doll is given a slight update to help the familiar tale remain fresh and engaging. Artistic director John McFall made the choice to age up the protagonist from a pre-teen girl to a young woman, and she subsequently plays a more active role in the action surrounding her. (Many readers will recall how her defeat of the Rat King usually involves her throwing a slipper at his head. In 2015, she

Photo by C. McCullers. Courtesy of Atlanta Ballet.

wields a sword instead). The setting of this production, which is typically a generic European Christmas of centuries past, is now set firmly in 1850s Russia, and the beautiful, elaborate costumes of the party guests in the first act show how much time and research the set designers and costumers took in bringing McFall’s vision to life. As the story progresses, the stage is transformed into a Winter Wonderland, complete with snow for the audience, and only becomes more charming from that point on.

The performances of the dancers itself are so breathtaking that it is almost hard to put into words. Each performer, no matter how large or small the role, gives it their all, and there was not a weak link to be seen. Old favorites, such as the Trepak dancers and the Mother Matrushka, make appearances, much to the audience’s delight. The dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy, as performed by Rachel Van Buskirk and Christian Clark, might just be the greatest ballet performance this writer has ever witnessed in her life. Buying tickets for THE NUTCRACKER is worth it just to see this number alone. It is seriously that good.

Photo by C. McCullers. Courtesy of Atlanta Ballet.

An astounding cast, intricately beautiful sets and costumes, and a unique take on a classic tale all come together perfectly in Atlanta Ballet’s 2015 production of THE NUTCRACKER. If you’re looking to experience both a piece of Atlanta history and a ballet production unlike any other, be sure to get your tickets to THE NUTCRACKER sooner than later.

By Geoff Slade
Contributing Writer

For those of you with Christmas shopping left to do, CD Warehouse in Duluth has something for all but the Scroogiest Retro media fan on anyone’s list. And Scrooge himself didn’t even get any gifts until he lightened up. Besides, who doesn’t like either music, movies or video games? No one reading this, I’m sure. They also have tons of TV series box sets, new and old.

David Kirk and business partner Dennis Harrington opened the flagship store on April 24, 1994 (a location in Roswell and one in Kennesaw came later), when MP3s were still science fiction and vinyl records were relics.

And consider the state of popular music in April of 1994. THE DIVISION BELL by Pink Floyd was the bestselling album in the country the week CD Warehouse first opened. It was also the same month Kurt Cobain died and Frank Sinatra performed for the last time publicly. Jerry Garcia, Tupac Shakur and Selena were still alive. And future used-bin staples Hootie & the Blowfish, Korn and Bush had yet to release their debuts.

Dave took a few minutes recently to chat with AtlRetro about the store and how CD Warehouse has survived an unpredictable era in the music industry.

ATLRetro: Do you remember the first CD sold from the store?

Dave Kirk: Our first customers were three guys from Ohio.  They were driving to Atlanta for Freak-Nik and were in need of the Biz Markie CD.

How did you get into the retail music business in the first place? Is it something you always wanted to do?

Dennis and I were both working for large corporations and couldn’t see ourselves doing the same thing for another 30 years.  So, we cashed in our 401ks and opened the first store.  We both had a love of music and would spend our lunches hanging out in record stores.

Why Duluth?

The CD business was replacing the album and cassette as the main sales force. There were some used CD stores inside the perimeter but not many outside, so that is where we concentrated our efforts.

How close to reality is HIGH FIDELITY?

It’s probably the movie that gets closest to the actual happenings in a record store. The constant conversations of which album is the best. What group was the more influential? Top 10 lists. “Have you heard the song from this new group from England?” Those are the kind of things we hear all day. And then of course we head out to the local venues to check out the shows.

Most ATLRetro readers are no doubt familiar with secondhand music stores, but could you describe the process of buying and selling items at CD Warehouse? How has the business evolved in 20 years?

We started out as a used CD store that also sold posters.  As the technology has changed, we have adapted to buying and selling DVDs, Blu-Rays, games and vinyl.  Our selection of new releases is limited to the top sellers, but we will gladly make a special order if you cannot find what you need in the store.

While album sales in every other medium, including digital downloads, have fallen significantly over the past 15 years (seriously, check this out), vinyl sales continue to rise, with fans of all ages and tastes. Why is it so popular?

We are an independent store and have the privilege to participate in Record Store Day. The bands produce some very unique and collectable merchandise that creates a lot of buzz among our customers. The excitement for this event continues to grow every year.

by Melanie Crew
Managing Editor

Retro Atlanta is the Kat’s meow this ho-ho holiday season! We’ve got cult holiday flicks to Halloween in December to a whole ‘lotta of honky-tonk, blues and rock n roll! If you’re lookin’ for a thrill and the weather’s got you down, get off that couch, put on your dancin’ shoes and get Retro!

Monday, December 14

Celebrate 100 years of “Ol’ Blue Eyes” at the Lefont Theatre as they screen Lewis Milestone’s OCEAN’S 11 (1960) at 7pm! Skye Paige, “Queen of Slide Guitar” rocks out at the Little Vinyl Lounge! 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!’ Get folksy with Jamie Laval at Steve’s Live Music in Sandy Springs! Make your way to Atlanta Symphony Hall for a night with Michael McDonald! Boogie on down to the Northside Tavern and spend an evening with Lola at her famous Monday Night Northside Jam! Blast-Off Burlesque starts your week off right with a night of adults-only trivia, at the Euclid Avenue Yacht Club at 8:30pm! Truett Lollis delivers a night of blues and soul at Darwin’s Burgers & Blues in Marietta! And Fat Matt’s Rib Shack dishes out a night of BBQ with a side of Dry White Toast!

Tuesday, December 15

The Earl Smith Strand Theatre delivers an Atlanta holiday tradition with Kool Kat Jeffrey Butzer’s tribute to Vince Guaradli and “A Charlie Brown Christmas”! Jingle on down with show openers Jeffrey Butzer & the Bicycle Eaters, followed by Kool Kat Chad Shivers and the Silent Knights performing their Beach Boys Christmas tribute! Geek it up at Diesel Filling Station with Star Wars Nerd-Core Trivia night! Get in the spirit retro-style at Northlake Festival Movie Tavern’s screening of Michael Curtiz’ holiday classic, WHITE CHRISTMAS (1954), during their “Classic Films on the Big Screen” series at 7:30! Get weird this holiday season with RiffTrax Live 2015’s presentation of Barry Mahon’s SANTA & THE ICE CREAM BUNNY (1972) at theatres across Atlanta [Avalon Stadium 12 in Alpharetta; Perimeter Pointe 10; Hollywood Stadium 24 in Chamblee; Cinemark Tinseltown 17 in Fayetteville; AMC Barrett Commons 24 in Kennesaw; AMC Sugarloaf Mills 18 in Lawrenceville; GTC Merchant’s Walk Stadium 12 in Marietta; Regal McDonough Stadium 16; and Georgian Stadium in Newnan]! The Star Bar delivers a night of retro shenanigans with their Retro-Soul, Funk ‘80s & ‘90s Dance Party! Jam it up with Joe Gransden and his jazz jam session at Twain’s in Decatur every Tuesday at 9 pm! And as always, The Entertainment Crackers get bluesy with their folksy Americana at the Northside Tavern!

Wednesday, December 16

Join the old-timey pandemonium at The Earl with Kool Kat Caleb & the Gents, Avi Jacob and Poison Coats! STAR WARS it up at the Highland Inn Ballroom Lounge as SCENE MISSING Presents: The Force Atlantans, featuring music, comedy and all around shenanigans based on STAR WARS films at 9pm! Rock on down to the Masquerade for a night with Mothership! It’s your last chance to get in the spirit retro-style at Northlake Festival Movie Tavern’s screening of Michael Curtiz’ holiday classic, WHITE CHRISTMAS (1954), during their “Classic Films on the Big Screen” series at 7:30! Or make your way to the Studio Movie Grill (Alpharetta/Duluth) for a screening of Chris Columbus’ HOME ALONE (1990) at 7pm! Jazz it up with The Gordon Vernick Quartet at the Red Light Café! The Star Bar with their Cowboy Karaoke event, featuring live-band old-time country and western tunes with Dry Gulch! Get funky and rock on down to Fat Matt’s Rib Shack for a night with The Georgia Flood! 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 17

Celebrate the hellidays at The Star Bar’s Rock and Roll Christmas Pageant with Dusty Booze & the Baby Haters, Night Terrors, Metal McDonald and more! It’s Mai Tai Thursday, so surf on down to Trader Vic’s for a helluva beach party and a couple cocktails! 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! The Northside Tavern gets rockin’ with a little Chicago/Delta blues of The Breeze Kings! Get your boogie on at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack, as Chickenshack featuring Eddie Tigner, delivers some honky-tonk blues! Darwin’s Burgers & Blues gets down and dirty at their Blues Jam hosted by The Cazanovas! And as always, boogie down at Mary’s, as the East Atlanta venue gets funky with their weekly Disco in the Village.

Friday, December 18

Rock out with The Whigs at Aisle 5! Catch a screening of Amy Berg’s documentary, JANIS: LITTLE GIRL BLUE (2015) at The Plaza Theater, running through Dec. 24! The Earl delivers night one of an Atlanta holiday tradition with Kool Kat Jeffrey Butzer’s tribute to Vince Guaradli and “A Charlie Brown Christmas” with Book of Colors and Jeffrey Butzer & the Bicycle Eaters! Kool Kat Hot Rod Walt & the Psycho-Devilles fire it up at Motorheads in McDonough! Geek it up at the Highland Inn Ballroom Lounge as Highwire Comedy Company presents “The Farce Awakens”! 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, December 19

Rock out for a cause at The Star Bar during their Rock ‘n’ Roll Toys for Tots event featuring Dry Gulch, McPherson Struts, Bad Friend, Kool Kat Spike Fullerton with Ghost Riders Car Club, The Downer Brothers, Bully and The Trash Hats! The Earl delivers night one of an Atlanta holiday tradition with Kool Kat Jeffrey Butzer’s tribute to Vince Guaradli and “A Charlie Brown Christmas” with Book of Colors and Jeffrey Butzer & the Bicycle Eaters! Kool Kat VJ Anthony delivers a night of Goth, dark ‘80s and industrial during his Coffin Classics event at Famous Pub! We know you’ve been naughty, so make your way to the Village Theatre for The Holiday Puckin’ Fuppet Show! Get a second rockin’ helping of Kool Kat Hot Rod Walt & the Psycho-Devilles as they fire it up at the Dixie Tavern! Rock on down to Terminal West for a night with Drivin’ ‘n Cryin’ and Kool Kat Blackfoot Gypsies! 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 20

Get sinister with Santa with Chambers of Horror during their Slaytanic XXXmas event featuring Fiend Without a Face, Degradations, Harvester and more! TCM presents George Seaton’s holiday classic, MIRACLE ON 34TH STREET (1947) in theatres across the Atlanta area at 2pm/7pm [Hollywood Stadium 24 in Chamblee, Perimeter Pointe 10; AMC Sugarloaf Mills 18 in Lawrenceville; AMC Avenue Forsyth 12 in Cumming; AMC Barrett Commons 24 in Kennesaw; AMC Southlake 24 in Morrow; GTC Merchant’s Walk Stadium 12 in Marietta; Regal McDonough Stadium 16; and Georgian Stadium in Newnan]! Swing on by Eddie’s Attic for Joe Gransden and his 16-piece orchestra’s Christmas Special! Rock on down to Terminal West for a night with Drivin’ ‘n Cryin’ and Kool Kat Blackfoot Gypsies! Geek it up shop till you drop for those last-minute gifts at My Parents’ Basement during their December Bizarre Bazaar, from 1-6pm!! And get sweet and low down blues-style at the Northside Tavern with Uncle Sugar!

Ongoing

The Shakespeare Tavern presents Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” through Dec. 23!

The Alliance Theatre presents Charles Dickens’ holiday classic, “A Christmas Carol”, running through Dec. 24!

Center for Puppetry Arts presents their annual puppet adaptation of Larry Roemer’s holiday classic RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER (1964), sleighing through Dec. 27!

Atlanta Ballet presents THE NUTCRACKER at the Fox Theatre, running through Dec. 27!

Blast-Off Burlesque geeks it up with a night of adults-only trivia at the Euclid Avenue Yacht Club, every Monday at 8:30pm!

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.

HITCHCOCK/TRUFFAUT (2015); Dir. Kent Jones; Starring Alfred Hitchcock, François Truffaut, Martin Scorsese, David Fincher, Wes Anderson and Peter Bogdanovich. Starts Friday, December 11; Landmark Midtown Art Cinema; Tickets and showtimes here; Trailer here.

By Aleck Bennett
Contributing Writer

Landmark Midtown Art Cinema continues to spur discussion of great movies by presenting a great movie about a great book which discusses great movies. That’s a lot of “great,” but it’s hard not to go overboard in the superlatives when you’re talking about Kent Jones’ HITCHCOCK/TRUFFAUT.

In 1962, one of the founders of the French New Wave of cinema turned to his favorite director, one of the old guard, for a week-long series of conversations undertaken to establish the older filmmaker’s legacy as an artist. The resulting book (published in 1966) was one of the most influential documents ever published about filmmaking: HITCHCOCK/TRUFFAUT. The book worked as intended, as François Truffaut’s examination of Alfred Hitchcock’s ouvre to that point was possibly the first attempt to present the director’s work as a cohesive body of personal expression instead of a simple series of mindless thrillers.

It’s hard to imagine a time in which Alfred Hitchcock wasn’t taken seriously as a filmmaker. But even such a celebrated figure as Hitch was hardly unassailable during his time. Contemporary critics cited unbelievable plots or seeming lapses in logic in Hitchcock’s movies as detriments. He had, during the 1950s, become something of a comic figure. His gag-filled appearances as the host of ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS, as well as the plethora of products (magazines, books, record albums and board games) bearing his name, led to him becoming a beloved pop culture icon, rather than known as a true artist worthy of serious examination.

François Truffaut was no stranger to the serious examination of classic movies, having been one of the leading critics at CAHIERS DU CINÉMA, the celebrated French film magazine. It was there that he coined the “auteur theory”—the idea that some directors utilize the industrial trappings of filmmaking and the collaborative nature of the process the way a writer uses a pen or a typewriter, or the way a painter uses a brush. And, like a writer or painter, that these directors used the medium to explore their own idiosyncratic visions and psyches, and that much of these filmmakers’ projects contain similar themes, images and other elements that form an interconnected body of work. These directors were the true authors (or, in French, auteurs) of their work, rather than the screenwriters or producers behind the films, overriding the raw materials given to them and transforming their movies into personal testaments. It was this theory that fueled many of the magazine’s own critics (Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard and Éric Rohmer among them) to film their own movies, thus launching the French New Wave.

When the book was published, Hitchcock’s reputation was in need of rehabilitation, and Truffaut was riding a wave of acclaim. Truffaut was in a perfect position to draw attention to the solid artistic merit of Hitch’s films, and thankfully had both the writing talent to describe that merit and the intelligence to ask Hitch the right questions. HITCHCOCK/TRUFFAUT arrived at just the right time, and landed in the hands of a generation of aspiring directors who had grown up loving Hitchcock’s cinema and, like Truffaut, believed it to be worthy of serious consideration. This is where Kent Jones’ loving tribute comes in.

Jones not only offers a look inside the creation of this landmark work of film criticism, utilizing audio recordings of the interviews and never-before-seen photographs from the sessions, but also goes to the directors who have been inspired by this work. Wes Anderson probably best sums up its importance in the lives of the filmmakers involved, describing his copy as having been so frequently used that it has been reduced to a stack of loose papers held together with a rubber band. Also on hand are Martin Scorsese, David Fincher, Olivier Assayas, Richard Linklater, Arnaud Desplechin and many others to express just how this book inspired them to look deeper into Hitchcock’s work and his technique. In discussing VERTIGO, for example, the documentary provides a capsule description of how Truffaut’s book led to Hitchcock’s work being reassessed. At the time of the book’s release, VERTIGO was almost impossible to see, having been a critical and commercial failure. Yet the discussion of the movie between the two directors made it one of the most in-demand titles among aspiring filmmakers, who searched out for rare film prints in order to learn from it. As a result, the film’s reputation grew steadily over the years as it began to be more seriously discussed and analyzed.

Jones weaves HITCHCOCK/TRUFFAUT together beautifully, using clips from Hitchcock’s movies to illustrate the comments from the documentary’s participants, and winds up being as much a celebration of the director as it is of the book about him. It will make you want to read (or re-read) the book. It will make you want to revisit Hitch’s filmography. And then it will make you want to revisit Hitch’s filmography with a copy of the book at your side. My only argument with the film is that at 80 minutes, it’s far too short for my liking. But, then, as an avowed cinema nerd, I’d gladly spend hours upon hours listening to the world’s top directors discussing this book and the two men responsible for it. For all you normal human beings out there, it’s the perfect length to get you hungry for more. In short, HITCHCOCK/TRUFFAUT is a delight for anyone even remotely interested in the behind-the-scenes world of movie making.

by Melanie Crew
Managing Editor

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

Monday, December 7

Stomp on down to Eddie’s Attic and start your week with Oxford American Magazine’s annual Southern Music Issue Launch Party featuring Kool Kat Col. Bruce Hampton & the Madrid Express, Robert Lee Coleman and more! Make your way to The Plaza Theater for a screening of Henry Koster’s THE BISHOP’S WIFE (1947), running through Dec. 10! Skye Paige, “Queen of Slide Guitar” rocks out at the Little Vinyl Lounge! 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!’ Blues it up with Bill Sheffield at Blind Willie’s! Get folksy with Jamie Laval at Steve’s Live Music in Sandy Springs! Boogie on down to the Northside Tavern and spend an evening with Lola at her famous Monday Night Northside Jam! Blast-Off Burlesque starts your week off right with a night of adults-only trivia, at the Euclid Avenue Yacht Club at 8:30pm! Truett Lollis delivers a night of blues and soul at Darwin’s Burgers & Blues in Marietta!

Tuesday, December 8

The Landmark Midtown Art Cinema dishes out classic cinema with a screening of Elia Kazan’s classic, A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE (1951), screening in 35mm at 7pm! Shimmy on down to the Red Light Café as Kool Kat Katherine Lashe and Syrens of the South present their Tease Tuesday Burlesque: Naughty or Nice event! Have a slapstick holiday at the Northlake Festival Movie Tavern’s screening of Jeremiah S. Chechik’s NATIONAL LAMPOON’S CHRISTMAS VACATION (1989), during their “Classic Films on the Big Screen” series at 7:30! Catch Frank Capra’s IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE (1946) at the Studio Movie Grill (Alpharetta) at 7pm! The Charles D. Switzer Public Library presents Anthony Mann’s THE NAKED SPUR (1953) at 12pm! The Star Bar delivers a night of retro shenanigans with their Retro-Soul, Funk ‘80s & ‘90s Dance Party! Jam it up with Joe Gransden and his jazz jam session at Twain’s in Decatur every Tuesday at 9 pm! And as always, The Entertainment Crackers get bluesy with their folksy Americana at the Northside Tavern!

Wednesday, December 9

Psychobilly on down to Smith’s Olde Bar for a night with The Living Deads, Southern Ska Syndicate and Cadillac Junkies! Catch a second screening of Jeremiah S. Chechik’s NATIONAL LAMPOON’S CHRISTMAS VACATION (1989) at the Northlake Festival Movie Tavern during their “Classic Films on the Big Screen” series at 7:30! Or make your way to the Hollywood Stadium 24 in Chamblee; AMC Barrett Commons 24 in Kennesaw; and AMC Sugarloaf Mills 18 in Lawrenceville for a 25th Anniversary screening of Chris Cameron’s HOME ALONE (1990) at 7:3opm! Jazz it up with The Gordon Vernick Quartet at the Red Light Café! The Star Bar with their Cowboy Karaoke event, featuring live-band old-time country and western tunes with Dry Gulch! 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 10

It’s Mai Tai Thursday, so surf on down to Trader Vic’s for a helluva beach party with Kool Kat Joshua Longino and The Disapyramids! 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! The Northside Tavern gets rockin’ with a little Chicago/Delta blues of The Breeze Kings! Get your boogie on at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack, as Chickenshack featuring Eddie Tigner, delivers some honky-tonk blues! Darwin’s Burgers & Blues gets down and dirty at their Blues Jam hosted by The Cazanovas! And as always, boogie down at Mary’s, as the East Atlanta venue gets funky with their weekly Disco in the Village.

Friday, December 11

Geek it up at Diesel Filling Station for their 4th Annual Atlanta Bar Wars: The Crawl Awakens event! Shake a tail feather at the Red Light Café for DJ Doctor Q’s Speakeasy Electro Swing Year End Birthday Bash, featuring Kool Kat Talloolah Love and more! Dance on over to the Fox Theatre for the Atlanta Ballet’s opening performance of THE NUTCRACKER, running through Dec. 27! Blues it up with Sandra Hall at Blind Willie’s! Rock on down to Eddie’s Attic for a night with the Atlanta Rhythm Section! Rev out with Kool Kat Hot Rod Walt as he goes solo and acoustic in the Little Vinyl Lounge! Blues it up under the dinosaurs with The Electromatics 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, December 12

Spend the night with The King at the Variety Playhouse as Kool Kat “Big” Mike Geier delivers his annual Kingsized Holiday Jubilee & Toy Drive with Dames Aflame! Or slum it up at the Euclid Avenue Yacht Club for their 9th Annual Gingerbread Trailer Park event! Surf on down, holiday-style, to Kavarna for Kool Kat Chad Shivers’ Southern Surf Stomp holiday event featuring Chad Shivers & the Silent Knights, The One & Only Bill Davis and The Home Alones, dishing out The Ventures and The Beach Boys’ Christmas albums! Get legendary at The Earl as Stax Records legend William Bell gets some soul! Celebrate 100 years of “Ol’ Blue Eyes” at the Lefont Theatre as they screen Lewis Milestone’s OCEAN’S 11 (1960) at 10:30am! Blues it up with Beverly “Guitar” Watkins at the Northside Tavern! Get jazzy with Dee Dee Bridgewater at the Ferst Center! Kool Kat Hot Rod Walt & the Psycho-Devilles fire it up at Deep South Deli & Pub in McDonough! 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 13

Spend the night with the “King of Kink” John Waters, at the Variety Playhouse and get Holier & Dirtier! Sing along holiday-style at Pallookaville with Mr. Puddles, Mr. Bigfoot, Matthew Kaminski and more (7pm/9:30pm)! Catch a screening of Chris Columbus’ holiday classic, HOME ALONE (1990) at Studio Movie Grill (Alpharetta) at 2pm! Get old-timey with Dr. Ralph Stanley at Eddie’s Attic! Make your way to the Euclid Avenue Yacht Club for their annual Lovecrafts: Treasures From the Deep local artists’ sale and more, from 2-6pm! And get sweet and low down blues-style at the Northside Tavern with Uncle Sugar!

Ongoing

The Shakespeare Tavern presents Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” through Dec. 23!

The Alliance Theatre presents Charles Dickens’ holiday classic, “A Christmas Carol”, running through Dec. 24!

Center for Puppetry Arts presents their annual puppet adaptation of Larry Roemer’s holiday classic RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER (1964), sleighing through Dec. 27!

Atlanta Ballet presents THE NUTCRACKER at the Fox Theatre, running through Dec. 27!

Blast-Off Burlesque geeks it up with a night of adults-only trivia at the Euclid Avenue Yacht Club, every Monday at 8:30pm!

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

The Star Bar delivers Stomp & Stammer’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Trivia at 8pm, every Tuesday!

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.