ATLRetro

by Melanie Crew
Managing Editor/Contributing Writer

‘This Week’ in Retro Atlanta is chock full of goodies! We’ve got rockabilly! We’ve got blues, jazz and all the honk- tonkin’ bluegrass you’ve been craving! So, If you need a rockin’ good time, come on out and live la vida Retro!

Monday, January 26

It’s a punk rock cabaret at The Earl with The World/Inferno Friendship Society, along with The Everymen and I Want Whisky! Get your hillbilly punk fix at 529 with Joseph Lazzari (Walk From the Gallows) and Steve Gilbert! Leon Russell gets down to the nitty gritty for night one at Terminal West with Dave Griffin! Truett Lollis delivers a night of blues and soul at Darwin’s Burgers & Blues in Marietta! 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!’ Or boogie on down to the Northside Tavern and spend an evening with Lola at her famous Monday Night Northside Jam! Get folksy with Jamie Laval at Steve’s Live Music in Sandy Springs! And blues on down to Fat Matt’s Rib Shack for a taste of the Pork Belly’s and a plate full ‘o finger lickin’ BBQ!

Tuesday, January 27

Geek it up and create your ideal gal at the Northlake Festival Movie Tavern with their screening of John Hughes’, WEIRD SCIENCE (1985), during their “Classic Films on the Big Screen” series at 7:30! Get your second helping of Leon Russell and Dave Griffin at Terminal West! Get the blues with Kristin’s Blues Station at Blind Willie’s! The Star Bar delivers a night of retro shenanigans with Kool Kat Jeff Clark and Stomp & Stammer’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Trivia at 8pm, followed by ‘80s Dance Night! Get bluesy with JT Speed at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack! Jam it up with Joe Gransden and his jazz jam session at Twain’s in Decatur every Tuesday at 9 pm! Or boogie on down to Darwin’s Burgers & Blues in Marietta for a taste of Bill Sheffield’s acoustic roots and blues! And as always, The Entertainment Crackers get bluesy with their folksy Americana at the Northside Tavern!

Wednesday, January 28

SCENE MISSING Magazine presents Whedon Need No Education at the Highland Inn Ballroom delivering a night of writing, comedy and other performances based on Joss Whedon works, at 9pm! It’s your last chance to geek it up at the Northlake Festival Movie Tavern with their screening of John Hughes’, WEIRD SCIENCE (1985), during their “Classic Films on the Big Screen” series at 7:30! Emory Cinematheque screens Monte Hellman’s COCKFIGHTER (1974) during their “Movies Made in Georgia” series at 7:30pm! Roots rock ‘n’ blues it up at Eddie’s Attic with their “American B-Sides” show featuring Joe McGuinness, Marshall Ruffin, Andrew Black, Aaron Trubic, Alex Gordon and more! Kool Kat Scott Glazer’s Mojo Dojo delivers a night of blues, jazz and soul at Blind Willie’s! It’s a hootenanny and a half at The Star Bar as they get smokin’ during their Slim Chicken Honky-tonk Extravaganza, featuring live-band old-time country and western tunes, with special guest Wayne “The Train” Hancock delivering a set of his juke joint swing! Get some rhythm, 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! 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 29

It’s Mai Tai Thursday at Trader Vic’s, so hula on down and get your ‘50s and ‘60s surf and rock ‘n’ roll fix with Kool Kat Joshua Longino with Andrew & the Disapyramids! Rock out at the Masquerade for a night of old-school metal with Napalm Death, Voivod, Iron Reagan, Exhumed and the Black Crown Initiate! Get old-timey and bluegrass it up at Red Light Café with Caleb Warren & the Perfect Gentlemen, the Hothouse Peaches and the Hunger Valley String Band! Or get jazzy with Kool Kat Scott Glazer’s Mojo Dojo and Kayla Taylor at Zeal A Modern Eatery! Punk out at 529 with Rotten Stitches, the Moreland Wrecks, Drop Dead Nasty, Squadron and The Aggravated! Honky-tonk it up at the Elliott Street Pub with Crying Wolf! Or stomp down to the Crimson Moon Café for a night with Carly Gibson, BJ Wilbanks and Hannah Zale! Get your boogie shoes on because it’s Swing Night at Callanwolde Fine Arts Center! Get geeky at Union EAV at their Blood Drunk Arcade night with retro games and rockin’ tunes! Get funky with Cooper Tisdale at Steve’s Live Music in Sandy Springs! Yarn dishes a night of rockin’ Americana at Eddie’s Attic! 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! Sandra Hall & the Shadows get the blues at Blind Willie’s! 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, get your boogie on at Mary’s, as the East Atlanta venue gets funky with their weekly Disco in the Village.

Friday, January 30

Rock out at The Star Bar with a night the nitty gritty rock ‘n’ roll with Bigfoot, Catfight, Lust, Red Rocket Deluxe and Lost Otaku! The Stacktone Slims dish out some bluesy garage rock at Smith’s Olde Bar with Navajo Joe! Jazz it up with Diane Schuuer at the Ferst Arts Center! Or get jazzy with Frank Barham at the Elliott Street Pub! Get old-school at the Cobb Performing Arts Center for a night with the Australian Bee Gees Show! It’s a night of horror punk and rock ‘n’ roll at The Highlander with Kool Kats The Casket Creatures, Black Cat Attack, Antagonizers ATL and The Independents! Stomp down to the Red Light Café for a night with Brock’s Folly, Our Great Lifeboat and Jonathan Peyton! Rock down to the Variety Playhouse for a night with ZOSO, delivering selected works from Led Zeppelin! It’s a night of traditional folk at Eddie’s Attic with John McCutcheon! Boogie on down into Disco Hell at The Family Dog as DJ Quasi Mandisco delivers a night of classic funk, soul and disco the last Friday of every month! ‘80s it up at the Sportstime Bar & Grille in Duluth with Kool Kat Becky Cormier Finch and Denim Arcade! Fat Matt’s Rib Shack delivers a night of outlaw blues and classic rock with Blue Roads! Get folksy at Steve’s Live Music in Sandy Springs with Danielle Howle and Carsie Blanton! Boogie down under the dinosaurs at the Fernbank Museum of Natural History’s Martinis and IMAX with Lethal Rhythms! Fire up the blues with Danny ‘Mudcat’ Dudeck at the Northside Tavern! House Rocker Johnson & the Shadows get down and dirty at Blind Willie’s! The Texas KGB dishes out some rockin’ Americana 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 31

Get your low-down, nitty gritty sleaze surf fix at The Star Bar with Tiger! Tiger!, The Delusionaires (see our Kool Kat feature soon!) and special guests, Bad Friend! Moonbase dishes out some surf and prog rock with Gnomonaut’s space rock at The Basement! Viva Las Vegas! Elvis Lives!, the ultimate Elvis tribute invades the Fox Theatre! The Highlander delivers a night of rockin’ punk with Cadillac Junkies, Forsaken Profits and Random Conflict! Rock out horror punk-style at The Pointe in Conyers with Kool Kats The Casket Creatures, Gunpowder Gray and Bishop Lake! Get geeky and make your way to The Hair of the Dragon IV costuming photo studio party, produced by Markster Con at Studio Space Atlanta! ZOSO delivers their second night of Led Zeppelin tunes at the Variety Playhouse! Swing on by Emory University for the Emory Swing Club’s January Dance at 8pm! Steve’s Live Music in Sandy Springs delivers a night of vintage art and rockin’ tunes as Studio Pins presents their Screen Stories Art opening, fusing classic Hollywood films and pop art along with rockin’ tunes by the Cigar Store Indians! Get revved up at Shawn O’Brian’s Roadhouse in Jackson with Kool Kat Hot Rod Walt & the Psycho-Devilles! Get to rockin’ at The Earl with The Rocket Boys, Cute Boots and Black Linen! Kristy Lee gets some soul at Eddie’s Attic! Folk icon, Arlo Guthrie honors the 50th Anniversary of blues classic, “Alice’s Restaurant Massacree” at the Ferst Center! Get funky and folksy in the Music Room at Smith’s Olde Bar with Moontower, Sazerac, Sailing to Denver and City Mouse! Or bluegrass it up in the Atlanta Room with Lion & Company, The Vineyard and Rick Brantley! Fire up the blues with Danny ‘Mudcat’ Dudeck at the Northside Tavern! Get your ‘80s fix at Wild Wing Café in Suwannee with Kool Kat Becky Cormier Finch and Denim Arcade! Fat Matt’s Rib Shack delivers a night of ‘50s, ‘60s and ‘70s hits with the Way Back Band! Blues it up with Bob Margolin at Blind Willie’s! Spend the night with blues hall of famer, Bobby Messano at Darwin’s Burgers & 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, February 1

Kool Kats Spirits & the Melchizedek Children dish out a night of ‘70s-style psychedelia with Must Be the Holy Ghost at 97 Estoria! Bluegrass it up at Smith’s Olde Bar’s Bluegrass Brunch with the Georgia Mountain Stringband in the Bar Room! Get sweet and low down blues-style at the Northside Tavern with Uncle Sugar! Blues it up with Fatback Deluxe at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack! And rock on down to the Crimson Moon Café for their Boomers Gone Wild event, delivering a night of ‘60s and ‘70s covers!

Ongoing

The Alliance Theatre presents the musical adaptation of Natalie Babbitt’s “Tuck Everlasting”, running through Feb. 22!

The Marietta Museum of History gets Victorian as they present their “Peeling Back the Layers: Victorian Wedding Ensembles” exhibit through May 2, 2015!

William Bremen Jewish Heritage Museum’s, “Where the Wild Things Are: Maurice Sendek in His Own Words and Pictures” getting wild through July 5!

HepCat’s Hop gets swingin’ every second Wednesday of the month at the 57th Fighter Group Restaurant!

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

ICON 80s: Music Video Dance Night rocks out at the Famous Pub every Friday night with a different 80’s theme!

The Star Bar delivers Stomp & Stammer’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Trivia at 8pm, followed by ‘80s Dance Night at 10pm, every Tuesday!

Boogie on down into Disco Hell at The Family Dog as DJ Quasi Mandisco delivers a night of classic funk, soul and disco the last Friday of every 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/Contributing Writer

Retro Atlanta is the bee’s knees this week! Let us rock you into submission with a week chock full of Kool Kats and hootenannies galore! We have everything you need to make your daily grind a long lost memory! Live la vida Retro with the rest of ‘em!

Monday, January 19

If the Monday blues have got you down, let Retro Atlanta show you some real rockin’ blues! Truett Lollis delivers a night of blues and soul at Darwin’s Burgers & Blues in Marietta! 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 boogie on down to the Northside Tavern and spend an evening with Lola at her famous Monday Night Northside Jam! Get folksy with Jamie Laval at Steve’s Live Music in Sandy Springs! Greg Hester delivers a night of funky soul at Blind Willie’s! And blues on down to Fat Matt’s Rib Shack for a taste of the Pork Belly’s and a plate full ‘o finger lickin’ BBQ!

Tuesday, January 20

John Belushi and his rowdy frat brothers invade the Northlake Festival Movie Tavern with their screening of John Landis’ comedy classic, ANIMAL HOUSE (1977), during their “Classic Films on the Big Screen” series at 7:30! Or catch the film adaptation of Carson McCullers’, THE HEART IS A LONELY HUNTER (1968) dir. by Robert Ellis Miller at the Decatur Library’s screening at 2pm! Get really retro at the Fox Theatre for their presentation of the Broadway musical, “Newsies”, inspired by the Newsboys Strike of 1899, running through Jan. 25! Paul Vogler delivers an evening of island tunes at Steve’s Live Music in Sandy Springs! Get some rhythm, soul and rock ‘n’ roll with The Hollidays at Blind Willie’s! Sweet Georgia’s Juke Joint gets the blues with the Bob Page Trio! Get glamorous at Petite Auberge for Capitol City Opera Company’s “Dinner & a Diva” series, featuring tasty food and arias from “Madama Butterfly,” “Carmen” and more! The Star Bar delivers a night of retro shenanigans with Kool Kat Jeff Clark and Stomp & Stammer’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Trivia at 8pm, followed by ‘80s Dance Night! Get bluesy with JT Speed at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack! Jam it up with Joe Gransden and his jazz jam session at Twain’s in Decatur every Tuesday at 9 pm! Or boogie on down to Darwin’s Burgers & Blues in Marietta for a taste of Bill Sheffield’s acoustic roots and blues! And as always, The Entertainment Crackers get bluesy with their folksy Americana at the Northside Tavern!

Wednesday, January 21

Get your psychobilly and horror rock fix at the Masquerade with Wednesday 13, Eyes Set to Kill, Die So Fluid, Remnants of Hope and Crypt 24! The Earl delivers a night of ‘70s desert rock with Karma to Burn (K2B), Sierra and Volume IV! It’s your last chance to catch the John Landis’ ‘70s raunchy comedy classic, ANIMAL HOUSE (1977) at the Northlake Festival Movie Tavern during their “Classic Films on the Big Screen” series at 7:30! Get to truckin’ during Emory Cinematheque’s presentation of Hal Needham’s SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT (1977) during their “Movies Made in Georgia” series at 7:30pm! And go treasure hunting with Richard Donner’s THE GOONIES (1985) at Studio Movie Grill in Alpharetta and Duluth at 7pm! Eddie’s Attic delivers a night of soulful Americana with Toby Lightman and Sara Rachele! It’s a hootenanny and a half at The Star Bar as they get smokin’ during their Slim Chicken Honky-tonk Extravaganza, featuring live-band old-time country and western tunes! Catch the world premiere of the musical adaptation of Natalie Babbitt’s “Tuck Everlasting” at the Alliance Theatre, running through Feb. 22! Get jazzy with Sal Gentile at the Elliott Street Pub! The Electromatics dish out some Chicago and West Coast blues at Blind Willie’s! Get some rhythm, 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! 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 22

Billy Idol invades the Tabernacle with a night of rockin’ ‘80s punk! Or get your surfer punk rock fix at 529 with the Night Birds, Dinos Boys, GHB and Wymyns Prysyn! Rock out at The Star Bar with a night of psyche-punk and rockin’ blues with The Marrows, Momcat, Man Up, Yancey and Woven In! It’s a night of rockin’ reggae and soulful blues at The Basement with Beauregard & the Down Right, Pasadena, Crave, Alchemy and Threadbare Skivvies! Dyn-O-Mite funks it up at Steve’s Live Music in Sandy Springs! Get “Lost in the ‘80s” with a Blue Light costume party in the Atlanta Room at Smith’s Olde Bar! Or rock out ‘70s roots-style in the Music Room with Freelance Ruckus, the Kris Youmans Band and Rye Baby! Get folksy with Book Club’s record release with special guest Cicada Rhythm at Eddie’s Attic! Jazz it up with Marcus Johnson and Tom Browne at Suite Food Lounge! 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 jazzy with The Slatterys at Blind Willie’s! 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, get your boogie on at Mary’s, as the East Atlanta venue gets funky with their weekly Disco in the Village.

Friday, January 23

The Basement delivers a night of ‘70s psychedelia with Kool Kats Spirits & the Melchizedek Children, HALMOS, The Dirty Magazines and Dead Register! Shimmy on down to the Red Light Café for DJ Doctor Q’s Speakeasy Electroswing Atlanta event with sultry performances by Carmen Corazon of Minette Magnifique, Benjamin Elizabeth, Nikki Nuke’m and more! Get adventurous with Buttercup and Wesley at The Strand Theatre with their screening of Rob Reiner’s classic, THE PRINCESS BRIDE (1987) at 8pm! Rock out with Kool Kats, The Joy Kills, Surrogates and Nones at Union EAV! It’s a night of old-school blues ‘n’ soul at Eddie’s Attic with Rudy Currence! Rock out folk-style at Smith’s Olde Bar with Ryan Montbleau, Mike Dillon and Shane Piasecki! Get to stompin’ with Merle Haggard as he delivers a night of old-time country at Atlanta Symphony Hall! Get rootsy with Amelia White, Phil Madeira and Tommy Womack at the Red Clay Theatre! Bluegrass it up with Town Mountain, Kate & Corey and Hunter Callahan at Terminal West! Get the blues with Men in Blues at Hottie Hawgs BBQ! The Rockaholics deliver a night of rockin’ blues and soul at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack! Folk it up with Threadbare Skivvies, Cheer and Honeywood at Steve’s Live Music in Sandy Springs! Get your toes tappin’ under the dinosaurs with The HoBoHemians and their jazzy ‘20s/’30s tunes at the Fernbank Museum of Natural History’s Martinis and IMAX! Boogie down at Famous Pub with Kool Kat VJ Anthony and his “80s Music Video Dance Night” at 10pm! Sandra Hall & the Shadows get down and dirty at Blind Willie’s! Blues it up with Stoney Brooks at Northside Tavern! Darwin’s Burgers & Blues delivers a night with the Howlin’ Ebous and The Hollidays! 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 24

Get revived old-school style at the Masquerade with The Masquerade Writer Rock Revival featuring Kool Kat Caroline & the Ramblers, The Backyard Birds, The Mystery Men? and the The Lizardmen! Or get your revved up rockabilly fix at Bonz Bar & Grill in Douglasville with Kool Kat Hot Rod Walt & the Psycho-Devilles! Get some soul with Kool Kat Ruby Velle & the Soulphonics at The Music Room! Put on those dancin’ shoes and get ready for a night of retro rock, Motown, funk, Big Band and more at The Basement for Electric Western’s Keep on Movin’ Rock and Soul Dance Party! For a night of nostalgic rock ‘n’ roll, make your way to The Earl for the Clear Plastic Masks! Get to the root of it all with Dangermuffin at Eddie’s Attic! Rock out blues-style with Scarlett Mistress and Jackwagon at The Highlander! Hog Eyed Man with Dana Lyn & Kyle Sanna deliver a night of old-time folk and Appalachian tunes at the Crimson Moon Café! Get the ragtime blues at Kavarna with Caleb Warren & the Perfect Gentlemen, Gibson Wilbanks and Mr. Blue Sky! Get some true Americana at the Red Clay Theatre with Jonathan Byrd & the Pickup Cowboys and Stacey Earl & Mark Stuart! Bluegrass it up with the Todd Prusin Experience and Circus Dog in the Atlanta Room at Smith’s Olde Bar. Or make your way to the Music Room for a night with Migrant Worker and The Tarlatans! PARADOCS deliver a night of classic rock at The Strand Theatre! Stomp over to the Red Light Café for a night with Cedar Hill, 3 Way Street and Anne Buckle! ‘80s it up at Wild Wing Café in Gainesville with Kool Kat Becky Cormier Finch and Denim Arcade! Here kitty, kitty! BLACKOUT Presents: Cats Hair Ball at Famous Pub featuring a goth and industrial dance night! Folk it up at Steve’s Live Music in Sandy Spring with a Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young tribute band during their “Winter Classic R&R” series! Or rock out at the Variety Playhouse with the Allman Brother tribute, Live at the Fillmore! Darwin’s Burgers & Blues delivers a night of jazzy rockin’ blues with Wavetree and Marty Manous! Get the blues with Big Bill Morganfield at Blind Willie’s! Get your roots rock fix with the Adam Ezra Group at The Family Dog! 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 25

Get ghoulish and horror-fied at Sons of Celluloid’s Big Ass Horror Bash/Days of the Dead Atlanta Pre-Party at the American Tavern in Loganville at 3pm! You won’t want to miss the haunting hearse show, beastly bands, including Kool Kats, The Casket Creatures, a screening of Atlanta’s own DEAR GOD, NO! (2011), dir. by James A. Bickert, featuring Kool Kat Madeline Brumby and Kool Kat Jett Bryant, classic horror screenings and more! For something a little less sinister, shimmy on down to the Red Light Café for a night of Flamenco presented by Berdole Flamenco featuring Lakshmi Basile and Cristian Puig! Kool Kat Amy Pike with Bonaventure Quartet delivers a night of gypsy jazz during the Marcus Jewish Community Center’s (MJCC) “Jazz at the JCC” event! It’s “Sultry Sunday” at Steve’s Live Music in Sandy Springs with Phillip Jazzdad Thomas! Bluegrass it up at Smith’s Olde Bar’s Bluegrass Brunch with Old Salt Union in the Bar Room! Get sweet and low down blues-style at the Northside Tavern with Uncle Sugar! Blues it up with Fatback Deluxe at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack! The Honeycutters dish out a rockin’ night of Appalachian honky-tonk at the Crimson Moon Café! And it’s your last chance to get adventurous with Richard Donner’s THE GOONIES (1985) at Studio Movie Grill in Alpharetta and Duluth at 2pm!

Ongoing

The Alliance Theatre presents the musical adaptation of Natalie Babbitt’s “Tuck Everlasting”, running through Feb. 22!

The Marietta Museum of History gets Victorian as they present their “Peeling Back the Layers: Victorian Wedding Ensembles” exhibit through May 2, 2015!

William Bremen Jewish Heritage Museum’s, “Where the Wild Things Are: Maurice Sendek in His Own Words and Pictures” getting wild through July 5!

HepCat’s Hop gets swingin’ every second Wednesday of the month at the 57th Fighter Group Restaurant!

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

ICON 80s: Music Video Dance Night rocks out at the Famous Pub every Friday night with a different 80’s theme!

The Star Bar delivers Stomp & Stammer’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Trivia at 8pm, followed by ‘80s Dance Night at 10pm, every Tuesday!

Boogie on down into Disco Hell at The Family Dog as DJ Quasi Mandisco delivers a night of classic funk, soul and disco the last Friday of every 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/Contributing Writer

Retro Atlanta delivers a week of rockin’ shenanigans and a cornucopia of Kool Kats galore! Get off the couch, boogie down, shake a tail feather and see what we’ve found for you this week!

Monday, January 12

If the Monday blues have got you down, let Retro Atlanta show you some real rockin’ blues! Truett Lollis delivers a night of blues and soul at Darwin’s Burgers & Blues in Marietta! 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!’ Or boogie on down to the Northside Tavern and spend an evening with Lola at her famous Monday Night Northside Jam! Get folksy with Jamie Laval at Steve’s Live Music in Sandy Springs! Get to the root of it all with Brandon Reeves at Blind Willie’s! And blues on down to Fat Matt’s Rib Shack for a taste of the Pork Belly’s and a plate full ‘o finger lickin’ BBQ!

Tuesday, January 13

It’s a burly-Q birthday bash with Kool Kat Katherine Lashe and Syrens of the South, getting sultry at the Red Light Café with their Tease Tuesday: Burlesque Anniversary Show with pipin’ hot performances by Kool Kat Roula Roulette, Nikki Nuke’m, Mary Strawberry, Ada Manzhart, magic man and Clark Gable look-alike, Chad Sanborn and more! Sit back and chill with “The Dude” at the Northlake Festival Movie Tavern during their screening of the Coen Brothers’, THE BIG LEBOWSKI (1998) during their “Classic Films on the Big Screen” series at 7:30! Or get really retro at the Wesley Chapel-William C. Brown Library in Decatur with their screening of Vincente Minnelli’s THE CLOCK (1945) at 11am! Sweet Georgia’s Juke Joint gets rockin’ with a little Chicago/Delta blues of The Breeze Kings! Curtis Jones & Primal Roots deliver a bluegrass ruckus at Steve’s Live Music in Sandy Springs! The Star Bar delivers a night of retro shenanigans with Kool Kat Jeff Clark and Stomp & Stammer’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Trivia at 8pm, followed by ‘80s Dance Night! Get bluesy with JT Speed at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack! Jam it up with Joe Gransden and his jazz jam session at Twain’s in Decatur every Tuesday at 9 pm! Danny ‘Mudcat’ Dudeck fires it up with his rockin’ blues at Blind Willie’s! Or boogie on down to Darwin’s Burgers & Blues in Marietta for a taste of Bill Sheffield’s acoustic roots and blues! And as always, The Entertainment Crackers get bluesy with their folksy Americana at the Northside Tavern!

Wednesday, January 14

Get your boogie shoes on and get to swingin’ at the January HepCat’s Hop, “swing ‘n’ soul ‘n’ rock ‘n’ roll” dance party at the 57th Fighter Group Restaurant, every second Wed. of the month! Emory Cinematheque is back in full swing with their “Movies Made in Georgia” series, featuring Bruce Beresford’s DRIVING MISS DAISY (1989) at 7:30pm! Or get swept away at the Studio Movie Grill in Alpharetta with their screening of James Cameron’s, TITANIC (1997) at 7:30pm! Take a trip with Dorothy and her pals down the yellow brick road as TCM presents Victor Fleming’s classic, THE WIZARD OF OZ (1939) at several local theatres, including UA Perimeter Pointe 10, AMC Avalon Forsyth 12 (Cumming), AMC Barrett Commons 24 (Kennesaw), AMC Southlake 24 (Morrow), AMC Sugarloaf Mills 18 (Lawrenceville), Cinemark Tinseltown 17 (Fayetteville), Regal Cinemas Avalon 12 (Alpharetta) and Regal Hollywood Stadium 24 (Chamblee) at 2pm/7pm! It’s your last chance to catch the Coen Brothers’ ‘90s classic, THE BIG LEBOWSKI (1998) at the Northlake Festival Movie Tavern during their “Classic Films on the Big Screen” series at 7:30! Blues it up with Andrew Black at Blind Willie’s! Sweet Georgia’s Juke Joint gets down and dirty blues-style with Lola! Get some rhythm, 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! 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 15

Get glam and punk it up at The Star Bar with the Night Terrors, The Unsatisfied and Cadillac Junkies! The Earl delivers a night of baroque folk and Americana with River Whyless, Fire Mountain and City Mouse! Get some southern-fried soul with Secondhand Swagger and Alanna Royale at Vinyl! The Mar-Tans get funky with their NOLA funk and R&B at Sweet Georgia’s Juke Joint! The Karp Foley Band delivers a night of blues, Americana and roots rock at Steve’s Live Music in Sandy Springs! Stomp on down to the Red Light Café for Bluegrass Thursday with Dismal Creek! 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! Sweet Betty & the Shadows get bluesy at Blind Willie’s! 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, get your boogie on at Mary’s, as the East Atlanta venue gets funky with their weekly Disco in the Village.

Friday, January 16

Kool Kat Rev. Andy Hawley begs you to “Rock Until You Drop” at Diesel Filling Station as he dishes up a night of rockabilly, psychobilly, old-school punk, ‘80s metal and swing! Shimmy down to the Red Light Café for Sadie Hawkins’ improv burly-Q game show, Last Pasties Standing: Showtunes Showdown, with tempting tunes from your favorite musicals at 9pm! It’s a hootenanny and a half at the Dixie Tavern as they get smokin’ during their Slim Chicken Honky-tonk Extravaganza, featuring live-band old-time country and western tunes! Yacht Rock Revue performs “Dark Side of the Moon” and a set of Beatles’ classics at the Variety Playhouse! It’s a night of gritty rock ‘n’ roll, garage and glam at The Earl with the Subsonics, Del Venicci, Landline and Sen Artie Mondello (The Delusionaires). Rock out with Black Leather Jet, the Jeff Shepherd Band and Liz Brasher at Smith’s Olde Bar in the Atlanta Room. Or get old-school blues-style in the Music Room with Escape Vehicle and the Glen Prigden Band! The Cumberland Collective delivers a night of rockin’ Americana and soul with Norman Frank at Eddie’s Attic! Film Love presents The New England Home Movie Tour, Atlanta Edition at Eyedrum, featuring handmade 16mm films, including films and slides of Whitney Biennial artist and experimental filmmaker, Luther Price at 8pm! Get mischievous at Vinyl with Them Wagoneers, Chamomile & Whiskey and Tin Man! The High Museum’s Friday Night Music Remix features a little Balkan brass street music with the Black Sheep Ensemble! Bluegrass it up with the Judge Talford Band at the Red Clay Theatre! Small Potatoes delivers a night of acoustic folk at Steve’s Live Music in Sandy Springs followed by SLM’s “Winter Classic Rock ‘n’ Roll” series featuring The Buggs’ Beatles tribute! 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! Blues it up with House Rocker Johnson & the Shadows at Blind Willie’s! Tullamore Road delivers their rockin’ boogie blues at Northside Tavern! The Mick Hayes Band delivers a night of rockin’ blues at Darwin’s Burgers & Blues! Get your Kansas City/West Coast blues fix at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack with Atlanta Boogie! 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 17

Kool Kat “Big Mike” Geier is a hunk of burnin’ love at the Variety Playhouse with his Elvis Royale event featuring the Kingsized orchestra and Dames Aflame! Or get your French chamber pop fix at The Star Bar with Kool Kat Jeffrey Butzer & the Bicycle Eaters, Love Letter and Andi! SCADShow delivers a French new-wave experience with their screening of Jean-Luc Godard’s BREATHLESS (1960) with their 50^th Anniversary restoration! The Dirty Doors deliver tunes by the Doors at Steve’s Live Music during their “Winter Classic Rock ‘n’ Roll” series! Or get your Allman Brothers fix at The 120 Tavern & Music Hall with Tribute! Denim Arcade with Kool Kat Becky Cormier Finch dishes out some rockin’ ‘80s music at the North River Tavern in Sandy Springs! Kool Kat Hot Rod Walt & the Psycho-Devilles rock out circus freak-style at Dixie Tavern with special guests Captain & Maybelle! Stomp down to The Earl for Sons of Bill, The Skylarks and Kool Kat Drew Beskin (District Attorneys)! 529 delivers a rockin’ ruckus with Ben Trickey, Mishka Shubaly and Star Anna followed by a rockin’ tribute to the Clash, Clashinista! Boogie down to The Basement for their ‘90s D.A.N.C.E Party! Honky-tonk it up with Roxie Watson at the Crimson Moon Café! Kavarna delivers a hoppin’ hootenanny with the Shawn Wilcox Band! Get the blues with Delta Moon at Eddie’s Attic! Get folksy and stomp on down to the Red Light Café for Kristina Murray and Sailing to Denver! Blues it up with a CD celebration of the late Sean Costello’s “In the Magic Shop” at the Northside Tavern! Get down and dirty with Little G Weevil at Darwin’s Burgers & Blues! Get sweet and low down with Sandra Hall & the Shadows at Blind Willie’s! Or head over to the Charles D. Switzer Library in Marietta for their screening of David Michener’s animated classic, THE GREAT MOUSE DETECTIVE (1986) at 3pm! Blues it up with The Tone Prophets 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, January 18

The Cody Matlock Band hosts this month’s Atlanta Blues Society Meeting & Jam at the Red Light Café! Get your Precious fix at The Marlay House in Decatur during the Atlanta Tolkien Fans January Meeting at 1pm! It’s a night of old-school punk at the Masquerade with Pennywise, Anti-Flag, A Wilhelm Scream and Burns Like Fire! Bluegrass it up at Smith’s Olde Bar’s Bluegrass Brunch with The Porch Bottom Boys in the Bar Room! Get sweet and low down blues-style at the Northside Tavern with Uncle Sugar! Blues it up with Fatback Deluxe at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack! And rock on down to the Crimson Moon Café for their Boomers Gone Wild event, delivering a night of ‘60s and ‘70s covers!

Ongoing

The Marietta Museum of History gets Victorian as they present their “Peeling Back the Layers: Victorian Wedding Ensembles” exhibit through May 2, 2015!

William Bremen Jewish Heritage Museum’s, “Where the Wild Things Are: Maurice Sendek in His Own Words and Pictures” getting wild through July 5!

HepCat’s Hop gets swingin’ every second Wednesday of the month at the 57th Fighter Group Restaurant!

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

ICON 80s: Music Video Dance Night rocks out at the Famous Pub every Friday night with a different 80’s theme!

The Star Bar delivers Stomp & Stammer’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Trivia at 8pm, followed by ‘80s Dance Night at 10pm, every Tuesday!

Boogie on down into Disco Hell at The Family Dog as DJ Quasi Mandisco delivers a night of classic funk, soul and disco the last Friday of every 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

Johnette Napolitano and her horse Star. Photo credit: Amber Rogers

By Rose Riot
Contributing Writer

Johnette Napolitano, fiery solo artist and former lead singer of  Concrete Blonde, will be performing  an acoustic/spoken word show at Eddie’s Attic on Sun. Jan. 11. Johnette has been a musician and artist for most of her 57 years of life and worked with some of the greats such as Leon Russell, Danny Carry and members of Talking Heads, Wall of Voodoo and Cheap Trick to name just a few. Her music can be heard as part of the soundtrack for many movies and TV shows, too. And she’s also a flamenco dancer, writer, tattoo artist, seamstress and sculptress.

Johnette’s latest project is ROUGH MIX, a short book collecting sketches and stories about some of the songs that she has written over the last three decades.  For her longtime fans who have always wondered where she got the inspiration to lyrics of some of their favorite cuts, ROUGH MIX will satisfy their curiosity.

When I spoke to Johnette over the phone, I expressed to her my thought that fans of her music are generally people who like to read, given the strong narrative and characters in many of her lyrics. Her songs could easily be strung together into a novel. When I asked if she would ever write a novel, she quickly responded, “No” and claimed not to have the attention span for a long work. That is easy enough to believe given her wide range of interests.  She told me that when she was 12, her father (whom she tributes in the beginning of ROUGH MIX) gave her a guitar, and back then she would sit on her bed and write. Then as she laughingly put it, she “got caught up in all the rock and roll bullshit.” Yet first and foremost, she still considers herself a writer rather than a musician.

Johnette attended UCLA on a scholarship for art classes. There, she was able to try many different mediums of art. I asked her if there was any other art form she wanted to try and hadn’t. She took some time to answer this question and said, “I like to sew. I’d like to do more of that. I just don’t have enough time to do that. I’ve got my horse and my goat. I spend a lot of time with them. I tour one week out of the month. I don’t have a whole lot of goals left. I don’t know if that’s good thing or a bad thing.”

“I put work before relationships always before in my life,” Johnette added. “Now I think I want to focus on those. I want a satisfied personal life. I had a blast with a friend of mine yesterday at the Joshua Tree Saloon drinking coffee and Patron. I want to do more of that.” 

Johnette Napolitano. Photo credit: Amber Rogers

A common theme in Johnette’s work is the desert. She calls Joshua Tree, California home. She lives there with her dogs, rescue goat and horse also known as her  “f”anima’ly.”  I asked her what she thought about the desert, given the peril that exists in such a place,  made it seem so safe and powerful. “You don’t have a lot of crap around you and you can hear God,” she said. “You can hear your self think.”

Johnette then went on to tell me a story about a time that she was sitting on her front porch and wrote the song “Rosalie.” “I literally caught the song out of the wind,” she said. “That wouldn’t happen in the city.” She also told about having to wrangle a rattlesnake with a mic stand that came into her home (under her chair at her desk) and how she sort of had a dialogue with it about sticking to his own turf and not hers. She apologized profusely to the snake, but given the danger of it being in her home near her dogs and her own feet, it had to go.

Johnette Napolitano. Photo credit: Amber Rogers

I got the feeling talking to Johnette that she has found a certain peace that many artists struggle to find. She has managed to straddle not only the world of being painfully passionate but also with laughing and loving. Certainly her music provokes deep feelings in her fans. At times, many feel as if she is singing directly to each of them, a kind of soul listening. I told her about the time when I saw her do a small intimate performance at a record store in Nashville and how not only were my eyes filled with tears but so were those of the shop owner. I wondered how this type of response made her feel. She told me that she doesn’t pay attention. That what her fans feel isn’t really her business. At first, this seemed cold and not the answer I expected. But she went on to explain her process of performing in a way that almost seemed trancelike and made perfect sense in order to achieve her goal.  “I don’t look. I never look down,” she said. “There is a light above my head and I focus on that. What they do, isn’t my business. I am there to do my art. I can’t worry about what other people are doing.”

In other words, music for Johnette is like breathing. You don’t choose to breathe. You just breathe so that you can keep living.

Eddie’s Attic is a very small, personal venue. I imagine her huge charisma will fill every square inch of space in the room. To see such a powerful woman sing and read from her heart in such an intimate setting will be an experience to be treasured.

All photos are used with permission.

by Melanie Crew
Managing Editor/Contributing Writer

Retro Atlanta starts the year off with a whole lotta shakin’ shenanigans! Get your revved up rockabilly fix! Take a gander at all the Retro cinema! Come see what the kat drug in and live la vida Retro!

Monday, January 5

Rock out at 529 with Ganges Phalanges, Wicked Pretty, Nuka Waves, Get Damned and Broken Factory Windows! Truett Lollis delivers a night of blues and soul at Darwin’s Burgers & Blues in Marietta! 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 boogie on down to the Northside Tavern and spend an evening with Lola at her famous Monday Night Northside Jam! Get folksy with Jamie Laval at Steve’s Live Music in Sandy Springs! It’s a night of acoustic roots ‘n’ blues at Blind Willie’s with Bill Sheffield! And blues on down to Fat Matt’s Rib Shack for a taste of the Pork Belly’s and a plate full ‘o finger lickin’ BBQ!

Tuesday, January 6

It’s a Brat Pack invasion at the Northlake Festival Movie Tavern with their screening of John Hughes’s ‘80s classic, THE BREAKFAST CLUB (1985) during their “Classic Films on the Big Screen” series at 7:30! Spend an evening of networking and socializing with pop artists galore at the Hodgepodge Coffee House & Gallery at the Comic & Animation Artist Meet-Up happening every first Tuesday of the month from 7pm to 9pm! The Star Bar delivers a night of retro shenanigans with Kool Kat Jeff Clark and Stomp & Stammer’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Trivia at 8pm, followed by ‘80s Dance Night! Get bluesy with JT Speed at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack! Jam it up with Joe Gransden and his jazz jam session at Twain’s in Decatur every Tuesday at 9 pm! It’s a night of rockin’ roots and Americana at Blind Willie’s with Joe McGuinness! Or boogie on down to Darwin’s Burgers & Blues in Marietta for a taste of Bill Sheffield’s acoustic roots and blues! And as always, The Entertainment Crackers get bluesy with their folksy Americana at the Northside Tavern!

Wednesday, January 7

Get funky at the Village Theatre with Song Missing Presents: The Atlantans Formerly Known as Prince event featuring writing, comedy and performances based on Prince songs. Event begins at 9pm and features music by Noel Stephen & the Darlings! It’s a hootenanny and a half at The Star Bar as they get smokin’ during their Slim Chicken Honky-tonk Extravaganza, featuring live-band old-time country and western tunes! Join in on the hi-jinks at The Plaza Theater as their Cineprov group riff’s Herbert Ross’ ‘80s classic, FOOTLOOSE (1984) at 7:30! It’s your last chance to catch John Hughes’ THE BREAKFAST CLUB (1985) at the Northlake Festival Movie Tavern during their “Classic Films on the Big Screen” series at 7:30! The Cazanovas get down and dirty at Blind Willie’s! Sean McConnell delivers a night of folk and Americana at Eddie’s Attic, with special guest Scotty Cram! Get some rhythm, 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! 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 8

The Po’ Ramblin’ Boys and Gators in the Sawgrass deliver a night of foot stompin’ bluegrass at the Red Light Café! 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 the blues, Americana-style with Heather Luttrell at Blind Willie’s! 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, get your boogie on at Mary’s, as the East Atlanta venue gets funky with their weekly Disco in the Village.

Friday, January 9

Get revved with a rockabilly ruckus at Smith’s Olde Bar with Kool Kat Caroline & the Ramblers, Cigar Store Indians and Motel Ice Machine! Caleb Warren & the Perfect Gentlemen deliver a night of old ragtime blues and jazz with Blood on the Harp and Rye Baby at The Earl! Jazz it up gypsy-style at Eddie’s Attic with Kool Kat Amy Pike and The Bonaventure Quartet! Shimmy down to Center Stage and get your burly-Q fix with Clubesque: A Modern Cabaret! Red Light Café delivers a night of stompin’ Americana with Hannah Aldridge, Lilly Hiatt, Sara Rachele and Liz Brasher! Sip a few cocktails and boogie down because it’s a night of French chamber pop under the dinosaurs with Kool Kat Jeffrey Butzer & the Bicycle Eaters at the Fernbank Museum of Natural History’s Martinis and IMAX event! Beverly “Guitar” Watkins gets down and dirty at Blind Willie’s! Get shakin’ and take it back to the ‘80s at Steve’s Live Music in Sandy Springs with Jendayi Bellydance and the World Bellydance Alliance’s ‘80s dance event! Rock out at Terminal West with Smithsonian dishin’ out their Smiths tribute along with Fauxgerty’s CCR tribute! Albert White gets down and dirty at Northside Tavern! Blues it up at Darwin’s Burgers & Blues at their IBC Sendoff Party featuring JP Blues, Blind Cadillac and GHP! Or get bluesy at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack with The Unusual Suspects! Stomp on down to the Crimson Moon Café for a night of modern string band tunes with some old time roots with Ugly Cousin! Cajun it up at the Red Clay Theatre with Donna the Buffalo! Make your way to Toco Hill-Avis G. Williams Library in Decatur for their screening of Gus Van Sant’s GOOD WILL HUNTING (1997) at 1:30pm! 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 10

Surf on down to Kavarna for the Southern Surf Stomp featuring a night of sleazy, gritty surf rock with The Delusionaires, The Cherry Bomb, High Tide and more! Get retro jazzy at the Red Light Café with the Moonlighters Jazz Band! Rock out at the OHMPark Music Fest 2015 being held at The Earl and 529! The Earl rocks out with Twin Tigers, the Breathers, Warehouse, Semicircle and 100 Watt Horse. Or rock out at 529 with Kool Kats Spirits & the Melchezidek Children, This Piano Plays Itself, Slowriter and Highlander! Departure pays tribute to Journey at The Strand Theatre! The Star Bar delivers a night of blue-eyed soul and blues rock with James Hall, The Locksmyth and The Boy Jones! Get magical in a land of enchanting beings and fantasy at the Center for Puppetry Arts with their screening of Wolfgang Peterson’s ‘80s classic, THE NEVERENDING STORY (1984) at 7pm! Get geeky at Famous Pub during Markster Con and Dragon Fire Events’ Level Up Videogame Dance Party at 10pm! Or head over to the Charles D. Switzer Library in Marietta for their screening of Chris Buck/Kevin Lima’s TARZAN (1999) at 3pm! Stomp on down to Smith’s Olde Bar for a night with Rye Baby in the Atlanta Room! Or bluegrass it up in the Music Room with The Wind & The Wave, Honeywood and Old Salt Union! Get your ‘80s fix with Kool Kat Becky Cormier Finch with Denim Arcade at the Dallas Public House in Dallas! The Variety Playhouse delivers their 3rd Good Gracious Variety Show, featuring Little Country Giant, Lilac Wine, comedy by Dad’s Garage Theatre Co. and more! Get folksy at Steve’s Live Music with the Randall Bramblett Band and Heidi Pollyea! Blues it up with Frankie’s Blues Mission at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack! John Nemeth gets down and dirty at Blind Willie’s! Or get the blues at Darwin’s Burgers & Blues with Cody Matlock and Barry Richman! The Barrow Boys deliver a night of Americana and surf at Java Monkey! Rock out with the Allman Brothers Tribute Band at Northside Tavern! 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 11

Get classically retro at the Fox Theatre with The State Ballet Theatre of Russia’s presentation of “Swan Lake” at 3pm! Rock out with Concrete Blonde’s Johnette Napolitano at Eddie’s Attic! Bluegrass it up at Smith’s Olde Bar’s Bluegrass Brunch with Cedar Hill in the Bar Room! Or shake it down to the Music Room for The Candybox Revue’s “Sugar & Spice & Everything Nice” burlesque and musical theatre revue featuring performances by Freya West, Kool Kat Ursula Undress, Kool Kat Talloolah Love, Candi LeCoeur, Kool Kat Roula Roulette, Ada Manzart and more! Get folksy at the Red Clay Theatre with Glen Phillips and Natalia Zukerman! Get sweet and low down blues-style at the Northside Tavern with Uncle Sugar! And blues it up with Fatback Deluxe at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack!

Ongoing

The Marietta Museum of History gets Victorian as they present their “Peeling Back the Layers: Victorian Wedding Ensembles” exhibit through May 2, 2015!

William Bremen Jewish Heritage Museum’s, “Where the Wild Things Are: Maurice Sendek in His Own Words and Pictures” getting wild through July 5!

HepCat’s Hop gets swingin’ every first Wednesday of the month at the 57th Fighter Group Restaurant!

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

ICON 80s: Music Video Dance Night rocks out at the Famous Pub every Friday night with a different 80’s theme!

The Star Bar delivers Stomp & Stammer’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Trivia at 8pm, followed by ‘80s Dance Night at 10pm, every Tuesday!

Boogie on down into Disco Hell at The Family Dog as DJ Quasi Mandisco delivers a night of classic funk, soul and disco the last Friday of every 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/Contributing Writer

Ring in the New Year in vintage-style with Retro Atlanta!  Come celebrate what once was in 2014 and welcome with open arms what will be in 2015! Start your new year off with a bang with all the hoppin’ shindigs we’ve found for you!

1. And All That Jazz. Ring in the New Year NOLA-style with the 4th Ward Afro-Klezmer Orchestra at Pallookaville! You’re guaranteed a funky time that includes a kid’s corndog drop followed by the grown-folks’ celebration! Corndogs, 2 Line Strut and Klezmer, oh my! The celebration is free and starts at 8:30pm! Or jazz it up Broadway-style and take a trip to Serenbe Playhouse’s “A Cabaret Celebrating Judy Garland” with award-winning actress Natasha Drena at 10:30pm! And stick around to boogie down at their NYE dance party, all taking place in the Farmhouse Restaurant in Serenbe!

2. Hey, Daddy-O! Twist into 2015 at The Basement during Electric Westerns’ Keep on Movin! New Year’s 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! Complimentary midnight toast to ring in the New Year and doors at 8pm! Or let The Star Bar show you where it’s at during their New Years’ Eve Bash & ‘50s and ‘60s Dance Party! Kool Kats Gringo Star will be delivering a whole set of ‘50s tunes while Kool Kat Joshua Longino and Andrew & the Disapyramids will be blastin’ out the sounds of the ‘60s! And that’s not all folks! Black Linen, Zoners will be rockin’ you into 2015! Rock out for $10 bucks and a free champagne toast at midnight! Doors at 8pm.

3. Deep Roots. Ponder 2014 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 and her New Year’s Eve show! First show at 7pm! Second show includes special guest Hannah Thomas and starts at 9:45pm! Or get toasty bluegrass-style with BlueBilly Grit at the Crimson Moon Café at 8pm! And get down and dirty at Clermont Lounge, the seedy land of debauchery, as they bring you a rockin’ hootenanny this NYE with Reverend Hylton & the Devil’s Hands, Caleb Warren & the Perfect Gentlemen and Coldheart Canyon! Doors at 9pm with a free champagne toast at midnight!

 4. That’s Why They Call it the Blues. For some classic blues and jazz, shimmy on down to Blind Willie’s for their Bluesy New Year’s Eve with the powerhouse vocals of Francine Reed! Doors at 7pm and $50 gets you guaranteed seating, party favors and a champagne toast at midnight! Or 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! Doors at 8pm! And blues on down to Darwin’s Burgers & Blues for their “Kickin’ it LIVE into One-Five” New Year’s Eve Party with Truett Lollis and his Dixie-fried blues and blue-eyed soul! $10 gets you appetizers, desserts and a champagne toast at midnight! Doors at 9:30pm!

5. Smooth Operator. Get ‘70s toasty and smooth in 2015 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 2015 with Yacht Rock Revue’s NYE party, featuring an open bar, s’mores, a Mixtape Atlanta photo booth and more! Doors at 9pm!

6. Rock Across the Pond. Kick off 2015 with Atlanta’s favorite Rolling Stones’ tribute band, The Jagged Stones with special guests The Big Chicken Beatles Band, paying homage to the Beatles, live at The Strand Theater! Doors at 9pm! Or ring in the New Year with a Brit Invasion at Smith’s Olde Bar in the Atlanta Room with The Backyard Birds’ New Year’s Eve Bash! $10 cover and doors at 8pm!

7. Groovin’ Up Slowly. Get funky and ring in the New Year with a little old school funk ‘n’ soul! Toast the New Year at Philips Arena with their NYE Affordable Old School Music Fest, featuring The Isley Brothers, Morris Day, Mint Condition and more! Doors at 7pm! Or get your NOLA funk rock fix at The Family Dog with their “A NOLA NYE with Gravy Live & Abita Brewing” event! You won’t want to miss the funktastic grooves of Gravy and special tasty treats! $10 cover and doors at 8pm! And cook it up at Cook Hall this New Year’s Eve with Moontower, funkin’ you all night long at their funk-filled holiday fiesta! No cover, doors at 10pm!

8. 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 DJs 5 HR Boner & Sam Rothstein spinning your favorite disco, indie, house and rock! There’s no cover and a complimentary champagne toast at midnight! Celebration begins at 9 pm! Hula into the New Year boogie-style during the Trader Vic’s Soul Tiki Disco Dance Party featuring Bogey & the Viceroy and Mai Tais galore! $10 in advance/$15 at the door. Band goes on at 9pm!

9. The Cure for Bananarama. New-Wave is the epitome of 80’s pop culture, so celebrate 2014 while toasting 2015 by continuing The Shelter’s NYE tradition at the Famous Pub with Kool Kat VJ Anthony at their 6th 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! 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 10pm! And you won’t want to miss Kool Kat Becky Cormier Finch with Denim Arcade partying like it’s 1989 dishing out their ‘80s tributes at Wild Wing Café in Suwannee at 10pm!

10. Hey! Ho! Let’s Go! Get rebellious and rock into the New Year with some old school punk and plain ol’ retro-inspired rock-n-roll and metal! The Earl delivers a rockin’ NYE Bash punkin’ you into the New Year with The Biters, Dinos Boys, Ravagers, MammaBear and more! $10 cover, doors at 9pm! Or get mischievous and sinful at Hottie Hawgs BBQ during their Boss Hawgs’ New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Sin City Atlanta, delivering a rockin’ AC/DC tribute! Celebration starts at 7pm and stick around for a taste of “wild beast” and a special light show! Ring in the New Year with some old-school blues rock with Gregg Allman at Atlanta Symphony Hall at 9pm! And toast 2015 at Smith’s Olde Bar’s Music Room with a NYE Bash with The Swinging Richards and Buck O Five! $10 cover in advance, $15 day of show. Doors at 8pm!

by Melanie Crew
Managing Editor/Contributing Writer

Kool Kats and Kittens! 2015 is finally here! 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! So, 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 29

Get adventurous this manic Monday with Bruce Willis at The Plaza Theater as they screen John McTiernan’s, DIE HARD (1988) through Jan. 1! Or jazz it up at the Lefont Theatre with their screening of Alan Hicks’ KEEP ON KEEPIN’ ON (2014), documenting the life of legendary jazz musician, Clark Terry at 7pm! The haunted holiday season’s not over kiddies! Spook on down to the Stonecrest Library in Lithonia for their screening of Henry Selick’s THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS (1993) at 1pm! Bluegrass it up with a rockin’ Americana three night stand at the Variety Playhouse with Railroad Earth! Stomp on down to Darwin’s Burgers & Blues in Marietta for a night with the Melanie Denard Band! 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! It’s a night of rockin’ blues at Blind Willie’s with Frank & Blues! And blues it up at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack with a side of Dry White Toast and a plate full ‘o finger lickin’ BBQ!

Tuesday, December 30

Get funky with Zack Deputy and Dapper Slap at Smith’s Olde Bar! 529 delivers a night of Steely Dan-esque dream pop and ‘70s psychedelia with Misery Loves Chachi, Teach Me Equals and Kool Kats, Spirits & the Melchizadek Children! Lounge it up at the Red Light Café with “Esotronik”, delivering a night of UK garage, house and groovy tunes! The Star Bar delivers a night of retro shenanigans with Kool Kat Jeff Clark and Stomp & Stammer’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Trivia at 8pm, followed by ‘80s Dance Night! Jam it up with Joe Gransden and his jazz jam session at Twain’s in Decatur every Tuesday at 9 pm! Or boogie on down to Darwin’s Burgers & Blues in Marietta for a taste of Bill Sheffield’s acoustic roots and blues with Dan Sheffield! Sweet Georgia’s Juke Joint gets rockin’ with a little Chicago/Delta blues of The Breeze Kings! Danny ‘Mudcat’ Dudeck fires it up with his rockin’ blues at Blind Willie’s! Get your second helping of Railroad Earth at the Variety Playhouse! And The Entertainment Crackers get bluesy with their folksy Americana at the Northside Tavern!

Wednesday, 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 2014! Ring in the New Year in style and toast 2015 in Retro Atlanta! We at ATLRetro wish you a very vintage and rockin’ Happy New Year!

Thursday, January 1

Get funky at Terminal West this New Year with Funk You and Dank Sinatra! Make a wave at Studio Movie Grill in Alpharetta with James Cameron’s epic tale, TITANIC (1997) at 7:30pm! 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! Danny ‘Mudcat’ Dudeck and Bill Sheffield deliver some rockin’ blues at the Northside Tavern ! 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 2

The Clibber Jones Ensemble, reminiscent of Frank Zappa rocks out at The Star Bar with Rad Giraffe and Mice in Cars! Get weird with an evening of “outertainment” at the Red Light Café with Dom Jalapeno, Will Dollinger (wWAYLOn), Carlton Heston and Kimlee Davis! Get some southern-fried soul and funk out at Smith’s Olde Bar with Tony Levitas and Deep Blue Sun in the Music Room. Or rock out with The Kinky Aphrodisiacs in the Atlanta Room! Rock out with a little garage and psychedelic rockabilly at the Drunken Unicorn with Outrageous Fun and Diamond Thief! Get really retro and classy at the Red Clay Theatre with Matthew Kaminski and Gwen Hughes as they present, “An Evening with Johnny Mercer”! Get experimental and avant-garde at Eyedrum with To Live & Shave in L.A. featuring composer/producer Tom Smith (Peach of Immortality/Pussy Galore) and Frank “Rat Bastard” Falestra! Friend Without A Face revs you up with a night of rockabilly metal, bluegrass and psychobilly surf at 529! Get the boogie and funk it up at Mary’s with their Disco Hangover Party! Rock on down to Steve’s Live Music in Sandy Spring for their “Winter Classic Rock ‘n’ Roll” series with a Bob Dylan Tribute Band! Danny ‘Mudcat’ Dudeck fires it up with his rockin’ blues at Darwin’s Burgers & Blues! The Crimson Moon Café delivers an intimate evening of folk rock with Shaun Mullins! Experience traditional Chinese culture at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Center with Shen Yun, delivering 5000 years of Chinese civilization with classic dance, a live orchestra and beautiful costumes! Get romantically comedic at the Toco Hill-Avis G. Williams Library in Decatur with their screening of Roger Mitchell’s NOTTING HILL (1999) at 1:30pm! 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 3

Rock out in the new year with an evening of new-wave and post-apocalyptic power pop with The Swimming Pool Qs and Blasting Cap at Smith’s Olde Bar! Or get your classic garage fix with Five Eight, Metroscene and Time Before the War at The Star Bar! The Glands and Tenement Halls (Chris Lopez) deliver a rockin’ night at The Earl! Boogie on down to Kavarna for their Vinyl Soul Night! Jazz it up at the Red Clay Theatre with The Elgin Wells Group New Year’s reunion! It’s an evening of folk rock at Terminal West with the Indigo Girls! Get funky with Maze and Frankie Beverly at the Fox Theatre! Get traditional folk-style at the Red Light Café with “A Didgeridoo New Year” featuring Martin & Scott and Emma Salahuddin! Rick Booher & the Soul Machine deliver their funk and soul at Steve’s Live Music in Sandy Springs followed by the ‘60s and ‘70s rock n roll of The Rainmen! Blues it up with Andy Makely and Atlanta Boogie at Darwin’s Burgers & Blues! And make your way to the Charles D. Switzer Library in Marietta for their screening of Simon Wells’ BALTO (1995) at 3pm! 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 4

Bluegrass it up at Smith’s Olde Bar’s Bluegrass Brunch with The Cohen Brothers Band! The Crimson Moon Café delivers a second helping of Shaun Mullins’ folk rock! Get sweet and low down blues-style at the Northside Tavern with Uncle Sugar! And it’s your last chance to get fabulous and vintage at the Museum of Design Atlanta (MODA) with their exhibit, 50 Years of Ebony Fashion Fair!

Ongoing

Museum of Design Atlanta (MODA) exhibits 50 Years of Ebony Fashion Fair through Jan. 4! (LAST CHANCE!)

The Marietta Museum of History gets Victorian as they present their “Peeling Back the Layers: Victorian Wedding Ensembles” exhibit through May 2, 2015!

William Bremen Jewish Heritage Museum’s, “Where the Wild Things Are: Maurice Sendek in His Own Words and Pictures” getting wild through July 5!

HepCat’s Hop gets swingin’ every first Wednesday of the month at the 57th Fighter Group Restaurant!

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

ICON 80s: Music Video Dance Night rocks out at the Famous Pub every Friday night with a different 80’s theme!

The Star Bar delivers Stomp & Stammer’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Trivia at 8pm, followed by ‘80s Dance Night at 10pm, every Tuesday!

Boogie on down into Disco Hell at The Family Dog as DJ Quasi Mandisco delivers a night of classic funk, soul and disco the last Friday of every 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/Contributing Writer

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 holiday hootenanny you won’t want to miss! 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 22

Naughty or nice, y0u’ll want to make your way to The Strand Theatre for their holiday movie marathon of Frank Capra’s classic, IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE (1946), with a pre-show and sing-a-long with the Mighty Allen Theatre Organ (Showtime: 12pm, 3pm, 6pm and 9pm)! Or get some holiday hi-jinks at the Fox Theatre with their “Mighty Mo & More” annual holiday concert and sing-a-long, featuring Larry Douglas Embury and a screening of Chris Columbus’ HOME ALONE (1990) at 7:30pm! Cinemark Movies 10 in Fayetteville gets paranormal holiday-style with their screening of Richard Donner’s SCROOGED (1988) through Dec. 24! Get swingin’ at the Red Clay Theatre with Joe Gransden’s Big Band Holiday Show with special guest, Francine Reed! For a night of neo-pychedelia and garage rock, make your way to 529 for Novus, Mad Libre and Hot Wives! 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! It’s a night of rockin’ blues at Blind Willie’s with Barrelhouse Bob Page! 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, December 23

Retro Atlanta has all the holiday flicks of yore! See how naughty Bruce Willis gets at Diesel Filling Station during Nerd Film Mafia’s screening of John McTiernan’s, DIE HARD (1988) at 10 pm following NerdCore Trivia every last Tuesday of the month! Or catch Frank Capra’s holiday classic, IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE (1946) at Northlake Festival Movie Tavern’s “Home for the Holidays” screening at 7:30! Or if you prefer, you can catch this classic at the Sandy Plains Village in Roswell and in Suwannee, the Horizon Village Movie Taverns! Muppet mayhem ensues at the Studio Movie Grill (Alpharetta/Duluth) with their screening of Brian Henson’s holiday classic, THE MUPPET CHRISTMAS CAROL (1992) at 5pm!

Get jazzy Russian gypsy-style at Steve’s Live Music in Sandy Springs with Longhorn and Debauche! Funk it up at Eddie’s Attic with Moontower and The Amazing Mongooses!! Blues it up with Fatback Deluxe at Blind Willie’s! The Star Bar delivers a night of retro shenanigans with Kool Kat Jeff Clark and Stomp & Stammer’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Trivia at 8pm, followed by ‘80s Dance Night! Jam it up with Joe Gransden and his jazz jam session at Twain’s in Decatur every Tuesday at 9 pm! Or boogie on down to Darwin’s Burgers & Blues in Marietta for a taste of Bill Sheffield’s acoustic roots and blues! Sweet Georgia’s Juke Joint gets rockin’ with a little Chicago/Delta blues of The Breeze Kings! It’s your last chance to Scrooge it up at the Shakespeare Tavern’s Atlanta Shakespeare Company presentation of Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol”! And The Entertainment Crackers get bluesy with their folksy Americana at the Northside Tavern!

Wednesday, December 24

Christmas Eve has finally arrived! And there’s plenty of time to get down and dirty before the big fat man comes a’ knockin’! Get the retro holiday spirit at Tony Levitas & Friends’ classic rock ‘n’ roll holiday show at Steve’s Live Music in Sandy Spring! Or make your way to the Northside Tavern as Danny ‘Mudcat’ Dudeck fires it up with his rockin’ blues! Or catch Frank Capra’s holiday classic, IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE (1946) at Northlake Festival Movie Tavern’s “Home for the Holidays” screening at 7:30 and at the Studio Movie Grill (Alpharetta/Duluth) at 5pm! And it’s your last chance to spend the evening with ghosts of the past at the Alliance Theatre’s Dickens-style presentation of “A Christmas Carol”! Get classic at the Fox Theatre with Atlanta Ballet’s presentation of their holiday tradition of “The Nutcracker”, running through Dec. 28! Get the retro holiday spirit at the Center for Puppetry Arts as they present their adaptation of the 1964 stop-motion animated classic, ‘Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,’ live on stage through Dec. 28! 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 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! 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! Danny ‘Mudcat’ Dudeck and Bill Sheffield deliver some rockin’ blues at the Northside Tavern ! 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 26

Get intergalactic this holiday season at The Plaza Theater with their screening of Nicholas Webster’s SANTA CLAUS CONQUERS THE MARTIANS (1964), running through Dec. 28! It’s a night of rockin’ stompin’ blues at The Star Bar with the Pretend Sweethearts, Chickens & Pigs and Richard Bicknell! Rock out folk-style at The Earl with the Roadkill Ghost Choir, The Quaildogs and Pete De Lorenzo (Lucis Flux)! Tribute delivers a night of Allman Brothers tunes with Russ Still & the Moonshiners at Smith’s Olde Bar! It’s a night of Scottish folk at the Red Clay Theatre with Jamie Laval’s Scottish Solstice Celebration! Or make your way to the Northside Tavern as Danny ‘Mudcat’ Dudeck fires it up with his rockin’ blues! Steve’s Live Music in Sandy Spring delivers their Winter Rock ‘n’ Roll Classics series with Absynthe Makes the Art Garfunkel! Kool Kat VJ Anthony delivers a night of glitter in the gutter with his GLAM vs. BRIT POP dance party at Famous Pub! It’s a mad world at the Toco Hill-Avis G. Williams Library in Decatur with their screening of Stanley Kramer’s IT’S A MAD, MAD, MAD, MAD WORLD (1963) at 1:30pm! Blues it up with Houserocker Johnson & the Shadows at Blind Willie’s! Midnight Revival delivers a night of rockin’ roots 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, December 27

The holidays aren’t over Daddy-O! Rev on down to The Star Bar for the Rockabilly Christmas Ball featuring The Blacktop Rockets, Rodeo Twister, McPherson Struts, The Sideburners, Atomic Boogie and The Mystery Men? at 7pm! Or get some old-school soul and rock ‘n’ roll at The Earl with Kool Kat Ruby Velle & the Soulphonics with Kingbaby! It’s a night of intergalactic groove and funk at the Red Light Café with The Space Time Travelers, Gialanella, Wiles & Hart, Kristen Englenz and Devon Williams! St. Paul & the Broken Bones deliver a night of high-energy mojo and soul at the Fox Theatre with Sam Burchfield! Funk it up at Smith’s Olde Bar with The Last Waltz Ensemble, Sugarfoot and the Julie Gribble Band! Punk on down to the Masquerade for raucous night with Rotten Stitches, The Riggs, Forsaken Profits, Above Repute, Dernier Combat and Pleasures of the Ultraviolent! The Michelle Malone Banned delivers a night of rockin’ blues and roots at the Crimson Moon Café! Get folksy at the Red Clay Theatre with Hannah Thomas and von Grey! For a night of rhythm, soul and rock ‘n’ roll, make your way to The Family Dog for The Hollidays! Get jazzy at the Lefont Theatre with their screening of Alan Hicks’ KEEP ON KEEPIN’ ON (2014), documenting the life of legendary jazz musician, Clark Terry at 10:30am! Kool Kat VJ Anthony delivers his BLACKOUT: Goth & Industrial Into the Darkness dance party at Famous Pub! Or spend the evening ‘80s-style with Kool Kat Becky Cormier Finch with Denim Arcade at Kuzan’s in Suwannee! Rock out with Glenn Phillips and Cindy Wilson (B-52s) at Steve’s Live Music in Sandy Springs! Kool Kat Hot Rod Walt and the Psycho-DeVilles get revved up at Motorheads in McDonough! Darwin’s Burgers & Blues gets down and dirty with The Cazanovas! It’s Muppet mayhem at the Charles D. Switzer Library in Marietta with their screening of Brian Henson’s THE MUPPET CHRISTMAS CAROL (1992) at 3pm! Or get adventurous at the Powder Springs Public Library during their screening of Ken Annakin’s SWISS FAMILY ROBINSON (1960) at 3pm! Eddie’s Attic delivers a night of indie soul and rock ‘n’ roll with Davin McCoy! Or make your way to the Northside Tavern as Danny ‘Mudcat’ Dudeck fires it up with his rockin’ blues! Sandra Hall & the Shadows get the blues at Blind Willie’s! Blues it up at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack with the Ted Bauman Trio! 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 28

Bluegrass it up at Smith’s Olde Bar’s Bluegrass Brunch with the 570 String Band! And von Grey, Wyatt Espalin and Hannah Thomas deliver a night of alt-folk and rockin’ Americana blues at the Crimson Moon Café! And it’s your last chance to catch the Center for Puppetry Arts’ adaptation of Larry Roemer’s classic, RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER (1964)! And make your way to the Fox Theatre for the Atlanta Ballet’s last performance of “The Nutcracker”!

Ongoing

Shakespeare Tavern’s Atlanta Shakespeare Company presents Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol”, running through Dec. 23! (LAST CHANCE!)

The Alliance Theatre gets retro Dickens-style with their “A Christmas Carol”, getting Scrooge-y through Dec. 24! (LAST CHANCE!)

Center for Puppetry Arts adapts Larry Roemer’s classic, RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER (1964) through Dec. 28! (LAST CHANCE!)

The Fox Theatre and the Atlanta Ballet present their holiday tradition of “The Nutcracker”, running through Dec. 28! (LAST CHANCE!)

Museum of Design Atlanta (MODA) exhibits 50 Years of Ebony Fashion Fair through Jan. 4!

The Marietta Museum of History gets Victorian as they present their “Peeling Back the Layers: Victorian Wedding Ensembles” exhibit through May 2, 2015!

William Bremen Jewish Heritage Museum’s, “Where the Wild Things Are: Maurice Sendek in His Own Words and Pictures” getting wild through July 5!

HepCat’s Hop gets swingin’ every first Wednesday of the month at the 57th Fighter Group Restaurant!

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

ICON 80s: Music Video Dance Night rocks out at the Famous Pub every Friday night with a different 80’s theme!

The Star Bar delivers Stomp & Stammer’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Trivia at 8pm, followed by ‘80s Dance Night at 10pm, every Tuesday!

Boogie on down into Disco Hell at The Family Dog as DJ Quasi Mandisco delivers a night of classic funk, soul and disco the last Friday of every 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 Rex Reverb,
Contributing Writer

Get entertained this Thursday, December 18, at Atlanta’s Jungle Club by our Kool Kat of the Week and one of Atlanta’s new young singers, Josette Pimenta (often just “Josette” or “Josette P”) during her and her co-headliner, Christy Clark’s Sing for Your Life performance at 8 pm! A noted dancer with several local Atlanta dance troupes (including the Dames Aflame), Josette combines cabaret, burlesque and high-energy dance with a powerful voice to create her own unique brand of entertainment. Josette will be doing at least five numbers at her upcoming show, which is part of the Sing for Your Life competition, where she’s a judge this year. Josette‘s shows are always full of surprises, and ATLRetro readers will get the chance to experience her unique rendition of Peggy Lee‘s song, “Black Coffee.” More information about the show can be found here.

For those too young to remember Peggy Lee, she might be best known today as the singing voice for Jessica Rabbit. For those who haven’t seen Josette perform, imagine Jessica Rabbit combined with Cher, along with another classic cartoon character, RED HOT RIDING HOOD from the ‘40s.

Josette’s tale is like something out of a movie. She was told as a child that she didn’t have a good voice and couldn’t sing, causing her to shy away from singing in public for almost a decade, but now suddenly has a singing career. Although Josette is only 23-years old, this diminutive dynamo brings fresh energy and excitement–and more than a touch of burlesque and cabaret–to songs ranging from retro classics to recent hits to her own compositions.

Before diving into Josette‘s story, check out her rendition of Peggy Lee’s “Coffee” here!

Josette wanted to be a performer since she was a small child. She remembers at age five, jumping on her parent’s coffee table in her underwear, putting on a show by singing at the top of her lungs like her idol, Cher. Her parents, grandmother (who’d been a vocalist with a band) and uncles filled the house with music from many eras, and Josette began a passion for retro music that continues to this day. Josette also loved to dance and becoming a singer/dancer became her main goal in life. Her supportive parents helped her begin dance lessons at age 9, but she soon faced her first obstacle.

“Black Coffee”

Josette‘s ballet teacher took the youngster aside after class, and told her while it was clear she loved to dance, “you’re never going to be a dancer.” That was a hard thing for a child to hear, but she managed to get past it, and continue her dance training.

Josette never had voice lessons or vocal training, but when she was around 12, she took a class in musical theater. During one of her first classes, when all of the students were singing, the teacher singled her out, saying “Josette, can you just stop singing? You’re a lot louder than everyone else and you just don’t sound good.”

Such criticism, in front of the whole class, really stung the young Josette. She took it to mean that she didn’t have a good voice and couldn’t sing. It crushed her dream of becoming a singer/dancer like Cher, and for years afterward, she “shied away from singing.” For Josette, there was no chorus, no high school musical, no Glee Club, no singing lessons. She only sang at home with her family or close friends, or in the privacy of her own room. Instead, she focused on her dancing, working hard to pursue her scaled-down dream of becoming a (non-singing) professional dancer.

In high school, Josette experienced mostly success, but also some bullying, on the Dance Team.   She was so focused on her goal of becoming a performer after high school that she really didn’t have a back-up plan. She taught dance for a year, then became a bartender, to have the flexible schedule needed for dance auditions.

She first landed a spot with Davina and the Harlots, the local burlesque group with a flair for comedy, at which Josette also excelled. Josette then auditioned for the Dames Aflame, one of America’s premiere burlesque/cabaret groups, and was thrilled to be accepted. Josette‘s first public performance with the Dames Aflame took place at Trader Vics Atlanta in August, 2011, supporting the great “Big Mike” Geier (See his Kool Kat feature here) and Tongo Hiti. The rookie Josette was joined by long-time Dames Aflame veteran Shockaboom, whose Polynesian dance performances at Trader Vic’s are legendary.

“Married to Medicine”Polynesian dance performances are legendary.

Josette wasn’t content to merely put on a good show, but worked hard to make sure that everyone had a great time. Shockaboom always goes all out for Mike’s finale, and I was surprised to see Josette keeping up with Shockaboom’s Samba-like gyrations, shake-for-shake and shimmy-for-shimmy.

Josette‘s performances with the Dames Aflame, and Davina and the Harlots, averaged only two or three per month (including a few seconds on Bravo’s MARRIED TO MEDICINE, shown in the accompanying photo). So Josette continued to audition for full-time, professional dance roles, in touring Broadway shows, cruise ship shows, and major theme parks. Sometimes, the auditions would go really well, but she would never get a call back–perhaps because Josette was only 5′ 2″, while most Broadway-type dancers are at least 5′ 7″ (the minimum height to even audition for a group like the Rockettes).

Away from those auditions, Josette gradually tried singing in public again. It had been nine years since she’d had her singing aspirations crushed, but once or twice a year she would work a comedy or novelty song into a burlesque skit, usually with a group or another singer.

By the fall of 2012, she’d sung a song in public less than a handful of times. When dared by fellow dancer Sarah Blackman to enter a new singing competition, Sing for your Life, Josette–perhaps helped by the bottle of wine they were sharing–said “sure, why not?” The next day, she realized she had less than 24-hours to pick a song, figure out how to perform it, film it and submit the tape by the contest deadline.

Josette had her mother tape her singing “Half Breed” by Cher, and gave it a comedy/novelty treatment by performing it on a rocking horse. Still plagued by doubt over her singing ability, she almost didn’t submit the tape, but finally entered at the last minute with no expectation of success. To Josette’s surprise, she made it into the contest. She performed “Valerie” by Amy Winehouse at Sing for Your Life‘s live auditions held at Atlanta’s Jungle Club. Halfway through the song, the judges told her to stop singing and summoned her to come down off the stage. Worried about what would come next, Josette was relieved when they asked her to sing a standard. Drawing on her love of retro music, she sang “Almost Like Being in Love” by Nat King Cole, and made it into the final 12 contestants.

“Diamonds Are A Girl’s Best Friend”

For the first week of the 12-week long competition, she chose “Someone to Watch Over Me” by George and Ira Gershwin. Josette planned an arrangement that showed her range in the middle of the song, and even though it was cut for time at the last minute, Josette advanced to next week’s round.

Josette began hoping she might have a future as a singer. Though she lacked the vocal training or singing experience of most of the other singers, from her dozens of dance recitals, she knew how to put on a show.

Week Two’s theme was “Divas” and Josette chose the “ultimate diva,” Marilyn Monroe. Josette planned to sing “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend” in an elaborate production. She’d sing the preamble while wearing a coat, then–when the main part of the song began–she’d drop the coat to reveal a sexy, jeweled costume. Josette planned to sing all over the stage and even go down the steep stairs into the audience. Despite all her planning, a huge problem arose once she began performing the song in front of the audience in the actual competition. She was so new to singing, that she didn’t know how to make sure the microphone was turned on!

The Jungle Club is a huge, warehouse-like space, so even her powerful voice could barely be heard past the first few rows. For most of those in the audience, she was almost inaudible, and not even as loud as a phone ringing. Finally, just after Josette dropped her coat to reveal her sexy costume, a sound technician went onto the stage to turn on her microphone, but her problems weren’t over. When the song started to replay from the beginning, Josette had to break character, explaining to the DJ that she wanted to resume where the song had originally stopped. The curtain even started to close on her, before someone pulled it back. Then, more agonizing seconds ticked by, as she stood in silence on stage, while the DJ tried to re-cue her music.

Many amateurs would have panicked at that point, but Josette’s dance training made her comfortable on stage. She slipped back into character, vamping for time until the music was finally ready. Still, Josette faced a daunting task: To avoid being the contestant sent home that night. She had only two minutes left of her song to impress the audience and the judges. A lifetime of hopes and dreams came down to those two minutes.

And then it happened! She started off good, becoming very good in a few more seconds. Soon, the amateur singer was performing the song as if she were a seasoned professional who’d sung it dozens of times. With the powerful delivery of a Broadway star, Josette unleashed a decade of pent-up singing talent in an amazingly confident performance. For the final note, her voice soared, as she sang longer and with more power than she

“I’m a Fool to Want You”

ever had before. It was as if she was determined to give the audience and judges something to remember instead of her microphone problems. And she did! See her performance here, which blurs the line between cabaret, burlesque and Broadway.

Needless to say, Josette advanced to the competition’s next round. It was as if that final powerful note had pierced her own personal sound barrier, because from that point on, she could seemingly sing anything. Her next song was an even more elaborate production of “Roxie” from CHICAGO, complete with two back-up dancers. Josette, the young woman who’d never sung in a musical, looked like an experienced pro.

For Week Seven, she chose “Bad Romance” by Lady Gaga, rendering an even more elaborately choreographed production, again with back-up dancers. But this time, the audience voted Josette down, into the bottom two. Whatever the reason, Josette found herself Singing for her Life against the other low-rated contestant (like Josette, also an excellent singer). Josette barely survived, and advanced to the next round.

As if determined to show that she could win on her voice alone, the next week Josette sang Pink’s “Glitter in the Air” while seated. Using her body, hands and facial expressions, she still delivered an incredible vocal performance. In the coming weeks, she showed her increasing versatility (and growing confidence) by giving good performances of songs by Billy Joel, Pat Benatar and Willie Nelson.

“Black Coffee”

In Week 10, she took the art of burlesque and cabaret to a new level, by singing the Billie Holiday classic “I’m A Fool to Want You” in a unique way. Not only did she not dance, she again didn’t even stand up! And near the end of the song–well, you’ll have to see for yourself. Take a peek at Josette’s rendition here.

Finally, it was down to Week 12, the final week, when Josette faced off against only one other contestant, Amber Renee. Each had to perform three songs, and for Josette‘s final song of the competition, she made a very unlikely choice: “Black Coffee” by Peggy Lee. In addition to being very obscure for most of the audience, it’s definitely a “downer” song and not an obvious crowd pleaser.

But she trusted her instincts. It was one of her favorite songs to perform alone in her room, in the not-too-distant past when she was afraid to sing in public. She always envisioned herself performing it in a sultry way, in a suitably lurid setting inspired by old movies and pulp covers she saw on the internet.

In her introduction to “Black Coffee”, the strain of the twelve grueling weeks of intense competition is evident. She knew all of her recently-revived hopes and dreams were riding on the outcome of that night’s performance. There was a cash prize, but more importantly for her, the first prize also included a producer and studio time to actually record three songs, plus a life solo show of her singing.

Josette found a way to make an obscure, downer of a song, the hit of the evening. You have to see her performance of “Black Coffee” for yourself. The effect on the audience was electric. I’ve studied burlesque for 25 years, and I’ve never seen a performance like that. Is it burlesque? Is it cabaret? I don’t know, but the audience loved it!

Still, Amber Renee was a formidable rival, and suspense filled the room as the last judge voted. When judge Barry Brandon finally announced that Josette had won the competition, she doubled over with emotion and burst into tears. Josette sobbed into the arms of her coach Michael Robinson, and she couldn’t have been more emotional or grateful if she’d won a million dollars or American Idol.

Josette told me that from the start, she hadn’t expected to win, and after three very stressful months, she couldn’t believe she’d actually prevailed. After regaining her composure, she tried to say a few words, telling the audience how she came to enter the contest. But when Josette started trying to explain about being told as a child that she couldn’t sing, she started to break down. Pulling herself together, she started to thank everyone, but broke down again. Pulling herself together again, she went out into the audience and gave a heartfelt, emotional thanks (and often a hug) to everyone she recognized or who came up to congratulate her.

Josette hadn’t just won a singing contest. She’d finally achieved the first step in a dream that had been shattered and shelved almost 10 years earlier.

But there was one final twist to her story, one that even Josette hadn’t seen coming. Impressed during the competition when a few contestants sang their own original songs, Josette wondered: Could she write her own songs as well?

“Here Kitty Kitty”

Collaborating with Atlanta songwriter J. L. Rodriguez, Josette began writing her very first pop song. They worked on the musical parts together (since she doesn’t play an instrument or read music), and she wrote the lyrics, having been inspired by a drawing of cat women a fellow Harlots alum had created. Top local producer, Thomas Cary Walker Jr., pitched in and in October 2013, Josette‘s first single, “Here Kitty Kitty,” was released on iTunes.

Josette gave the first full performance of her very first song in front of 10,000 people at Piedmont Park, during Atlanta’s LGBT Pride Festival. This was a full production, with four professional backup dancers, great lighting and Josette on the huge Jumbotron screen next to the massive stage. As she admitted to the audience after the song, she was nervous when she first came out. But she quickly settled down and was soon delivering a powerhouse performance, singing and dancing all over the stage.

Remember Shockaboom‘s finale with Tongo Hiti at Trader Vics, that Josette emulated the first time she danced there for the Dames Aflame? What seemed like a Samba move to me a few years ago had another name by last fall: Twerking. On the big stage at Piedmont Park, Josette had taken what she learned from Shockaboom to a whole new level and was light-years beyond Miley Cyrus. The already-cheering crowd started to roar, and when Josette whipped her long hair around to the sound of a whip being cracked, 10,000 people went wild. Catch a video of the wild scene here!

At the end of the number, Josette paused to catch her breath and look out over the cheering crowd. Seeing 10,000 people cheering for her singing, her dancing, and her first song–less than a year after entering the singing contest–was like the improbable ending to an old Hollywood move.

Sing For Your Life Competition

While Josette is the living embodiment of Red Hot Riding Hood on stage and says she just naturally tends to dance in a sexy fashion, off stage she’s very much a down-to-earth, girl-next-door type, a kind and sensitive person. Instead of talking about becoming a star, she talks about being creative, the joy of seeing her artistic vision fulfilled, and how great she feels when she’s entertained (and surprised) an audience. Luckily, she’s got a very supportive network of people helping her, including parents, a large extended family, boyfriend, friends and fellow performers.

Josette continues to dance with the Dames Aflame, and on December 20, she’ll be performing with them as a dancer in “Big Mike” Geier’s Kingsized Holida Jubilee extravaganza at the Variety Playhouse. This past year, Josette has focused primarily on her dancing, after joining two additional dance troupes–the BELLES (from Belles Organics) and THE CHERRY BOMBS. The Cherry Bombs will be joining her for a performance at Josette‘s big December 18 show at the Jungle Club. That show marks a return to singing for the busy Josette, and she plans to get back into the recording studio in the new year.

Photos copyright 2012-2014 Whitney Fields Photography. Some have been cropped from their original appearance.

by Melanie Crew
Managing Editor/Contributing Writer

Baby, it’s 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 hip to the jive and come on out to see what Retro Atlanta has in store for you!

Monday, December 15

Rock on down to The Earl for their screening of Jenni Matz’ RYE COALITION: THE STORY OF THE HARD LUCK FIVE (2014), a documentary following the career of the ‘90s hard rock/post-hardcore band at 8:30pm! 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! Blues on down to Fat Matt’s Rib Shack for a side of Dry White Toast and a plate full ‘o finger lickin’ BBQ! It’s a night of rockin’ blues at Blind Willie’s with The Sly Dog Band! Frankly my dears, we do give a damn, so get your Scarlett O’Hara fix at the Central Library in Fulton County with their 75th Anniversary screening of Victor Fleming’s classic, GONE WITH THE WIND (1939) at 12pm! And don’t shoot your eye out at the Charles D. Switzer Library in Marietta during their screening of Bob Clark’s holiday classic, A CHRISTMAS STORY (1983) at 6pm!

Tuesday, December 16

The Earl delivers a night of lonesome cowboy blues and rockin’ folk with Ben Trickey, Rick Dang and The Wayward Souls! It’s a night of ‘90s alt-rock at Smith’s Olde Bar with Bush and Twin Atlantic! Get alternative with Ed Roland and his friends during their Holiday Show at Eddie’s Attic! Get folksy, Russian-style at Steve’s Live Music in Sandy Springs with Balalaika Fantasie! It’s a night of Chevy Chase shenanigans at the Northlake Festival Movie Tavern’s “Home for the Holidays” screening of Jeremiah S. Chechick’s holiday comedy classic, NATIONAL LAMPOON’S CHRISTMAS VACATION (1989) at 7:30! Get classic, holiday-style with Frank Capra’s IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE (1946) at CineBistro at Town Brookhaven during their “Cineclassics 2014” screening at 6:30! Muppet mayhem ensues at the Toco Hill-Avis G. Williams Library during their screening of Brian Hensen’s THE MUPPET CHRISTMAS CAROL (1992) at 3pm! Joe McGuinness delivers a night of roots and Americana at Blind Willie’s! The Star Bar delivers a night of retro shenanigans with Kool Kat Jeff Clark and Stomp & Stammer’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Trivia at 8pm, followed by ‘80s Dance Night! Jam it up with Joe Gransden and his jazz jam session at Twain’s in Decatur every Tuesday at 9 pm! Or boogie on down to Darwin’s Burgers & Blues in Marietta for a taste of Bill Sheffield’s acoustic roots and blues! Sweet Georgia’s Juke Joint gets the blues with Bob Page! And The Entertainment Crackers get bluesy with their folksy Americana at the Northside Tavern!

Wednesday, December 17

It’s a night of holiday Big Band boogie at the Georgia Ensemble Theatre with Joe Gransden’s “I’ll Be Home For Christmas” performance, featuring his 16-piece Big Band! It’s a night of ‘70s psych rock at The Earl with New Madrid, Kool Kats Spirits and the Melchizedek Children and the Reverends! Hans Solo hilarity ensues at the Highland Inn Ballroom as SCENE MISSING presents their Hans Shot Firstmas event at 9pm, featuring comedy, skits and writing based on Star Wars films! Smith’s Olde Bar rocks out and gets funky with the Miraculous Mandarins, Scofflaw and Phrenic! Get jazzy at Elliott Street Pub with Sal Gentile! Get adventurous with Dread Pirate Roberts at Studio Movie Grill (Alpharetta/Duluth) during their screening of Rob Reiner’s THE PRINCESS BRIDE (1987) at 7pm! Get your classic rockin’ blues fix with Fleetwood Mac at Phillips Arena! It’s a hootenanny and a half at The Star Bar as they get smokin’ during their Slim Chicken Honky-tonk Extravaganza, featuring live-band old-time country and western tunes! It’s your second chance to catch Ed Roland and his friends during their Holiday Show at Eddie’s Attic! Stomp on down to Steve’s Live Music in Sandy Springs for a night of blues to psycho-grass with Joe Craven! Get funky at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack with The Georgia Flood! Blues it up Chicago/West Coast-style with the Electromatics at Blind Willie’s! Or make your way to the Northside Tavern as Danny ‘Mudcat’ Dudeck fires it up with his rockin’ blues! It’s a night of Chevy Chase shenanigans at the Northlake Festival Movie Tavern’s “Home for the Holidays” screening of Jeremiah S. Chechick’s holiday comedy classic, NATIONAL LAMPOON’S CHRISTMAS VACATION (1989) at 7:30! 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 18

Beware all you naughty children! Krampus is coming to town at 7 Stages, during their 5th Annual Krampus Xmas holiday rock ‘n’ roll show featuring the Little Five Points Rock Star Orchestra, Kool Kat Katherine Lashe and Syrens of the South, Sadie Hawkins, terrifying puppets and more, running through Dec. 20! Or get jazzy at The Strand Theatre with Kool Kat Jeffrey Butzer and T.T. Mahoney during their unique tribute to Vince Guaraldi’s “A Charlie Brown Christmas” with Chad Shivers & the Silent Knights opening with the Beach Boys Christmas album! Or get really retro at the Atlanta History Center during their Candlelight Nights event, offering a candlelit stroll transporting you through the pioneer days, the Civil War and the ‘30s and each era’s Christmas traditions. Rock out at Terminal West during Mark Carroll’s 11th Annual Toy Drive featuring Yacht Rock Revue! Rock out at The Star Bar during their Rock & Roll Christmas Blackout! Join in on the holiday hi-jinx at The Plaza Theater as their Cineprov group delivers their “Ruining Childhood Memories Holiday Show” at 7:30! It’s a hootenanny of rockin’ proportions at The Earl with Frontier Ruckus and Justin Kinkel-Schuster! It’s Bluegrass Thursday at the Red Light Café, so stomp on down for a night with Time Sawyer! Bluegrass it up at the Tabernacle with Trampled by Turtles and the modern-era Wanda Jackson, Nikki Lane! Or get your alt-country punk fix at Elliott Street Pub with The Punknecks! Catch Dames Aflame dancer and cabaret gal, Josette Pimenta (see our Kool Kat feature soon!) singin’ her heart out at Jungle Atlanta! Get rockin’, roots-style at Steve’s Live Music in Sandy Springs with Donna Hopkins! Heather Luttrell delivers a night of Americana and blues at Blind Willie’s! Make your way to the Atlanta Room at Smith’s Olde Bar for a night with Cosmoknox, Clockwork and Blackfox! Or get your jugtime Dixieland fix in the Music Room with the Rumpke Mountain Boys and The Jugtime Ragband! Eddie’s Attic delivers an evening with Patterson Hood (Drive-by Truckers)! 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, December 19

Kool Kat Jeffrey Butzer, T.T. Mahoney and Robby Handley bring you their 7th annual A Charlie Brown Christmas Tribute at The Earl with Small Wreath Actions’ garage-tinged Rock n Roll Christmas Extravaganza, through Dec. 20! It’s a garage rock revival at Terminal West with The Whigs and Kool Kats Gringo Star! Kathleen Bertrand delivers a night of jazzy holiday classics at the High Museum during their “Friday Night Music Remix” event! It’s a night of garage/prog rock at WonderRoot with Air Wolves, Glen Iris, Bold Ashes and Slow Chrome! Rock out at Smith’s Olde Bar with The Stacktone Slims, Time Sawyer, Back on the Freakout and House of Thomas in the Atlanta Room. Or get funky in the Music Room with All the Locals, Navajo Joe and Forje! Celebrate 45 years of the Beatles’ “Abbey Road” with Abbey Road Live! at the Variety Playhouse! Boogie down jingle-style at Mary’s during their Mary XXX-Mess Party! Get groovy at the Red Light Café with Markey Blue and Garrett Freireich! It’s a night of muddy Mississippi blues at the Buckhead Theatre with the North Mississippi Allstars and Larkin Poe! Catch Suzy Bogguss, the female Merle Haggard, at the Red Clay Theatre during her Christmas Concert! Spend the evening with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and their “A Very Merry Pops!” event, featuring the Atlanta All-City Chorus and catch a sighting of The Grinch, running through Dec. 20! Kool Kat Hot Rod Walt and the Psycho-DeVilles get revved up at The Alamo in Newnan! Get folksy at the Crimson Moon Café with the Solstice Sisters and Out of the Rain! Swank it up with Kool Kat Amy Pike and the Bonaventure Quartet as they deliver a night of Django gypsy jazz at Steve’s Live Music in Sandy Springs! 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! Blues it up with Frankie’s Blues Mission at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack! Or make your way to Blind Willie’s for a night with Sandra Hall & the Shadows! Tom Holland & the Shuffle Kings blues it up at Darwin’s Burgers & Blues! Northside Tavern delivers a night of the blues with Stoney Brooks! 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 20

Kool Kat “Big Mike” Geier brings his Kingsized Holiday Jubilee & Toy Drive to the Variety Playhouse at 8pm! You won’t want to miss his Kingsized rock n roll orchestra and the glitzy glamorous Dames Aflame! And it’s your last chance to catch Kool Kat Jeffrey Butzer’s tribute to Vince Guaraldi’s “A Charlie Brown Christmas” at The Earl! Or rock out in Gainesville with Kool Kats, The Casket Creatures at the Mule Camp Tavern during their “true nightmare before Christmas” show featuring Jim Sharman’s THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW (1975) at 9pm! ATL Collective, along with Kool Kat Ruby Velle, Grant Green Jr., and more present a “A James Brown Funky Christmas” at Terminal West! It’s a night of Appalachian folk and Americana at the Red Light Café with Waller, Waits & Co. and Wade Sapp! Get geeky at Philips Arena with Marvel Universe Live, featuring superheroes and an action-packed arena extravaganza! Jump across the pond to Smith’s Olde Bar as they present Please PleaseRock Me and Indianapolis Jones! Dear Mr. Peasant delivers a night of Americana at Elliott Street Pub with Husky Burnette! Stomp on down to the Crimson Moon Café for EG Kight! Or make your way to the Charles D. Switzer Library in Marietta for their screening of Chuck Jones/Ben Washam’s classic, HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS (1966) at 3pm! The Powder Springs Public Library screens Michael Anderson’s AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS (1956) at 3pm! And explore Latino music through film at the Atlanta History Center with their “American Sabor Movie” screenings featuring Luis Valdez’ LA BAMBA (1987) at 2pm! Or get a second helping of Bob Clark’s holiday classic, A CHRISTMAS STORY (1983) at the Flat Shoals Library in Decatur at 1pm! Holly Pollyea delivers her funky folk at Steve’s Live Music followed by Red Wine Jam and High Tea! It’s a night of ‘60s covers and more at The Family Dog with the Elegant Bachelors and Parker Smith! Spend the evening with Markey Blue at Darwin’s Burgers & Blues! The Northside Tavern gets rockin’ with a little Chicago/Delta blues of The Breeze Kings! Selwyn Birchwood gets the blues at Blind Willie’s! Blues it up at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack with Mr. Chapman’s Quarterly Revue! 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 21

It’s a rompin’ stompin’ hootenanny at The Earl with Chickens and Pigs and their 9th Annual Keith Richards Birthday Bash! Pallookaville delivers their 2nd Annual Holiday Sing-A-Long with Puddles Pity Party and Big Foot, featuring Matthew Kaminski and the mighty organ at 8pm! Get jazzy at Steve’s Live Music in Sandy Springs during their “A Diva Christmas” event, featuring Deb Bowman, Audrey Shakir, Karla Harris and Theresa Hightower! Or doo-wop it up at Atlanta Symphony Hall with Under the Streetlamp! Celebrate the holidays with Joe Gransden’s Big Band Holiday Show at Eddie’s Attic with special guest, Francine Reed! The Family Dog dishes up a Charlie Brown Extravaganza with the David Ellington Trio and Kayla Taylor! Stomp on down to Terminal West for their 4th Annual Holiday Hootenanny, featuring Kool Kat Col. Bruce Hampton, Papa Mali, Delta Moon, Grant Green Jr., Deep Blue Sun and more! Or bluegrass it up at Smith’s Olde Bar’s Bluegrass Brunch featuring D.B.A! And it’s your last chance to get adventurous with Dread Pirate Roberts at Studio Movie Grill (Alpharetta/Duluth) during their screening of Rob Reiner’s THE PRINCESS BRIDE (1987) at 2pm!

Ongoing

Callanwolde Fine Arts Center’s exhibit, Vintage Coca-Cola Santas, featuring 14 original oil paintings by Haddon Sundblom in 1931 for The Coca-Cola Company, sleighs through Dec. 16! (LAST CHANCE!)

The Strand Theatre’s Lumiere Piano Bar & Lounge, featuring classic silent films quietly flickering in the background, accompanied by a live pianist and tasty cocktails, runs through Dec. 20! (LAST CHANCE!)

Serenbe Playhouse presents their adaptation of “Snow Queen” through Dec. 21! (LAST CHANCE!)

The Strand Theatre’s “A Christmas Tradition” song and dance revue runs through Dec. 21! (LAST CHANCE!)

The Gwinnett Ballet Theatre presents “The Nutcracker” at the Gwinnett Performing Arts Center through Dec. 21! (LAST CHANCE!)

Shakespeare Tavern’s Atlanta Shakespeare Company presents Charles Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol”, running through Dec. 23!

The Alliance Theatre gets retro Dickens-style with their “A Christmas Carol”, getting Scrooge-y through Dec. 24!

Center for Puppetry Arts adapts Larry Roemer’s classic, RUDOLPH THE RED-NOSED REINDEER (1964) through Dec. 28!

The Fox Theatre and the Atlanta Ballet present their holiday tradition of “The Nutcracker”, running through Dec. 28!

Museum of Design Atlanta (MODA) exhibits 50 Years of Ebony Fashion Fair through Jan. 4!

The Marietta Museum of History gets Victorian as they present their “Peeling Back the Layers: Victorian Wedding Ensembles” exhibit through May 2, 2015!

William Bremen Jewish Heritage Museum’s, “Where the Wild Things Are: Maurice Sendek in His Own Words and Pictures” getting wild through July 5!

HepCat’s Hop gets swingin’ every first Wednesday of the month at the 57th Fighter Group Restaurant!

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

ICON 80s: Music Video Dance Night rocks out at the Famous Pub every Friday night with a different 80’s theme!

The Star Bar delivers Stomp & Stammer’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Trivia at 8pm, followed by ‘80s Dance Night at 10pm, every Tuesday!

Boogie on down into Disco Hell at The Family Dog as DJ Quasi Mandisco delivers a night of classic funk, soul and disco the last Friday of every 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.