ATLRetro

By Julia Carlson
Contributing Writer

Monday, May 20

Swing down to Café 290, and hear Joe Gransden and his awesome 16-piece big band perform swinging jazz at 8:30 p.m. Northside Tavern hosts its weekly Blues Jam featuring blues and southern soul singer Lola Gulley. Enjoy some BBQ with Pead Boy & the Pork Bellies at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack.

Tuesday, May 21

It’s all good. At least 20 guest singers honor the folk rock icon during 7th Annual Bob Dylan Birthday Bash at The Earl, hosted by Chickens and Pigs. Your $7 in advance/$10 at door admission benefits nonprofit Ovarian Cycle, which funds cancer research. Musical May continues as Stanley Donen directs SINGING IN THE RAIN (1952) with the help of stars Gene Kelly, Donald O’Connor and Debbie Reynolds in Northlake Festival Movie Tavern’s retro cinema classic this week. Kool Kat Calu Cordeira mixes tiki libations at Mai Tai Tahitian Tuesday starting at 9 p.m. at the Dark Horse Tavern. Grab your horn and head over to Twain’s in Decatur for a Joe Gransden jazz jam session starting at 9 p.m., or you can blues it down with Nathan Nelson & Entertainment Crackers at Northside Tavern. Head over to Fat Matt’s Rib Shack for some old school southern rock and blues with Crosstown Allstars. Tease up that big hair for a Heavy Metal Cover Band at 10 High.

Wednesday, May 22

Saxophonist extraordinaire David Sanborn and guitarist/vocalist Jonathan Butler deliver Satin & Soul at the Cobb Energy Centre, part of Atlanta’s all May month of jazz leading up to the Atlanta Jazz Festival at Piedmont Park this weekend. Get schooled by either of two of Atlanta’s burlesque finest  Katherine Lashe or Kool Kat Talloolah Love in Beginning Burlesque classes at Studio Burlesque. See our Kool Kat interview with Talloolah here. Old enough to feel Retro? It’s Ladies Night at Johnny’s Hideaway which plays hits from Sinatra to Madonna for a generally mature crowd. Danny “Mudcat” Dudeck brings the Piedmont blues to Northside Tavern. Frankie’s Blues Mission preaches the blues at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack. Go SINGING IN THE RAIN (1952) for a second night at Northlake Festival Movie Tavern.

Thursday, May 23

The American Cancer Society celebrates its 100th birthday in style with “An Evening with Quincy Jones & Friends” at the Fox Theatre. The legendary music producer/performer will be joined for an unforgettable performance with special guests including James Ingram, Patti Austin, Siedah Garrett, Nikki Yanofsky and Alfredo Rodriguez.More action than usual OTP as Raleigh, NC’s Chatham County Line brings their brand of bluegrass to Red Clay Theatre in Duluth, and Beverly Guitar Watkins blues it down at Steve’s Live Music in Sandy Springs. Back intown, it’s 80s/90s Retro Video Night with free drinks ’til 10 at The Shelter.  Have a maitai, mon, while listening to Lloyd’s Rocksteady Review play soulful sounds of ’60s and ’70s Jamaica with a nod to all other island music at vintage tiki bar, Trader Vic’s. Go to Northside Tavern to hear the classic 50s Chicago-style blues of The Breeze Kings. Get on over to Fat Matt’s Rib Shack to hear the honkytonkin’ blues of Chickenshack. Cunningham Henson Duo takes the stage at Red Light Cafe‘s weekly Bluegrass Thursday. If you didn’t get the chance to go to Studio Burlesque yesterday, you have another chance to try out Beginning Burlesque with Ursula Undress at 6:30 p.m., followed by Performance Track Series at 9:30 p.m. It’s your final night to go SINGING IN THE RAIN (1952) at Northlake Festival Movie Tavern.

Friday, May 24

Gregory Dean Smalley and Earl Maddox may no longer be with us, but some of the city’s (and southeast’s) finest rockabilly and Redneck Underground bands raise a Boone’s Farm toast high to their legacy during the opening night of the 22nd annual Bubbapalooza 2013 at the Star Bar. Friday’s line-up includes The Belmont Boys, Hi-Test, Ghost Riders Car Club, Blacktop Rockets, AM Gold and Slim Chance & the Convicts. Check out  our preview of this year’s Bubba, but in the meantime, check out our 20th anniversary retrospective for some history.  Ask Colin Baker the Doctor’s name, we dare you, this weekend at TimeGate, Atlanta’s annual DOCTOR WHO/STARGATE convention through Sunday at The Holiday Inn Select Perimeter-Dunwoody. The actor played the iconic British science fiction protagonist from 1984-86. Watch for our Timegate preview later this week.  Mudcat brings the blues to Northside Tavern for a two-night jam.  The Nick Longo Band jazzes it up under the dinosaurs at Fernbank Museum of Natural History’s Martinis and IMAX. Enjoy BBQ with a side of Funky Bluestar at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack.  Gatsby’s throws an ’80s throwback party. Two Black and white classics start weeklong runs today at The Plaza Theatre: the recently digitally restored and finally complete silent METROPOLIS (1927) and Martin Scorsese‘s brilliant boxing drama RAGING BULL (1980) starring Robert DeNiro. Watch for Retro Reviews later this week.  Oh, and then there’s some comedy called PORKY’S (1982).

Saturday, May 25

The free Atlanta Jazz Festival kicks off today outdoors at Piedmont Park (through Memorial Day Monday). Catch the Aaron Diehl Quartet, Alexandra Jackson, Cecile McLoren Salvant, and more. The 22nd annual Bubbapalooza 2013 fires up its big night with BBQ and an all-star line-up of rockabilly/Redneck Underground bands at the Star Bar. Saturday’s line-up includes a herd of Kool Kats such as Caroline & the Ramblers, Cletis & His City Cousins, and Grim Rooster, plus Nashville’s The Billygoats and Ohio’s The Twistin’ Tarantulas, and many more. TimeGate, Atlanta’s annual DOCTOR WHO/STARGATE convention also has its big day at The Holiday Inn Select Perimeter-Dunwoody. Watch for our Timegate preview later this week.  Mudcat brings the blues to Northside Tavern for the second of a two-night jam. Mount Carmel will be bringing their 1973 musical spirit to The Earl. The Jumpin’ Jukes swing from Mississippi into Fat Matt’s Rib Shack. As usual, DJ Romeo Cologne transforms the sensationally seedy Clermont Lounge into a ’70s disco/funk inferno late into the wee hours of the night.

Professor Morte (Shane Morton). Photo courtesy of Shane Morton.

Sunday, May 26

The free Atlanta Jazz Festival continues outdoors at Piedmont Park (through Memorial Day Monday). Catch Jacob Deaton and the Tribulation Band, Tia Fuller, Rudresh Mahanthappa’s Gamak and more. TimeGate, Atlanta’s annual DOCTOR WHO/STARGATE convention winds down at The Holiday Inn Select Perimeter-Dunwoody. It’s never too early to get ready for Halloween. Learn SFX make-up from the Silver Scream Spookshow‘s Professor Morte himself at Shane Morton’s Monster Makeup Class at noon. The Trio will jazz up The Family Dog from 7-10 p.m. Check out some classic bottleneck acoustic blues from The Tony Bryant Blues Band at Fatt Matt’s  Rib Shack. Enjoya honkytonk BBQ brunch with live music at Big Tex starting at noon. CineProv makes light of notorious REEFER MADNESS (1936) at The Plaza Theatre.

Ongoing

Two black and white classics start weeklong runs May 24-30 at The Plaza Theatre: the recently digitally restored and finally complete silent METROPOLIS (1927) and Martin Scorsese‘s brilliant boxing drama RAGING BULL (1980) starring Robert DeNiro. Watch for Retro Reviews later this week. Oh, and then there’s some comedy called PORKY’S (1982).

EXTREME MAMMALS from sabertooth tiger skulls and wooly mammoth fur to contemporary creatures such as the duck-billed platypus invade Fernbank Museum of Natural History through August 18.

Learn about  a different side to the third American president and Constitution author in the Really Retro special exhibition Slavery at Jefferson’s Monticello: How the Word is Passed Down at the Atlanta History Center through July 7.

Every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday night is Retro Cinema at Movie Tavern. Check out classic movies on the big screen weekly at 7:30 p.m.

Do you have or know of a Retro event we should include in This Week in Retro Atlanta? Be sure to email us at atlretro@gmail.com!

Radio Free Radio; Hosted by Col. Bruce Hampton and Michael Holbrook; 7 p.m.;  first and third Thursdays of each month

By William Ashton
Contributing Writer

For a self-proclaimed “shy accountant,” Col. Bruce Hampton has made a spectacle of himself for more than four decades. He’s acted in an Oscar-winning movie (SLING BLADE [1996]), made 15 records (or so) and helped organize the H.O.R.D.E. concert tours of the ‘90s, but he’s mostly known as a performing musician, playing thousands of shows since the late 1960s.

A big, genial man, Hampton had a heart attack a few years ago, but he still plays 150 shows a year. He says that, at age “66 and above ground,” that’s plenty. “If I could go on at 8 p.m., I’d do more, but a lot of southern clubs start at 11,” he says. “It’s a young man’s game.”

Col. Bruce Hampton’s music is an unpredictable blend of blues, jazz and psychedelic rock, with a dash of funk and what not. Before the term “jam band” was coined, Hampton was jamming; he’s played  guitar and sang with The Hampton Grease Band, Aquarium Rescue Unit and Fiji Mariners (among others). A touchstone for many musicians in the jam-band circuit, Hampton was there for all but one H.O.R.D.E. tour in the ‘90s, he recalls.

“The only time I missed [H.O.R.D.E.] was when I went out with [the late blues musician] Hubert Sumlin one year, which was fine. We were in Louisiana one night when Sumlin offered to take us to the Crossroads [the intersection along Mississippi’s Highway 61 where blues legend Robert Johnson was rumored to have sold his soul to the devil]. We declined very quickly,” Hampton says. “It was a long way away.”

Col. Bruce Hampton (his legal name, he says) has recently taken his talents to the airwaves, playing music and sharing stories on AM 1690’s “Radio Free Radio” with former Hampton Grease Band member Michael Holbrook.  The show airs at 7 pm on the first and third Thursdays of each month.

“I’ve done occasional programs on AM 1690. Jon Waterhouse (from the radio station) asked us to do it every other week,” he said. “I do whatever Jon tells me.”

Hampton and Holbrook seem to have thousands of stories about life on the road, touching on encounters with everyone from Frank Zappa and John Lennon to Muddy Waters and Chet Atkins.

Playing with G.E. Smith led to Hampton’s sitting in on-air with the SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE band one night a couple of decades ago, when Smith was “SNL’s” musical director. Longtime friend Billy Bob Thornton cast Hampton in SLING BLADE – and Hampton’s band performs in Thornton’s forthcoming movie JAYNE MANSFIELD’S CAR.

Sometime this year, Atlanta fans may see Col. Bruce playing regularly at the long-shuttered Avondale Towne Cinema. Hampton is among those meeting with Avondale city officials, with a goal of reopening the venue under new management, he says.

“A couple of lawyers from Alabama are planning to reopen the venue, and music will certainly be a part of it,” said Hampton, who saw wrestling matches at the Avondale landmark when he was growing up in the Decatur area. “I’ll try to play there twice a month and have guest artists. We had a similar (residency) at Brandywine in the ‘90s and it was a huge success.”

Another successful outlet for Hampton’s talents are the summertime Jam Cruises, which gather assorted musicians – many from New Orleans – for musical voyages through the Caribbean.

Hampton seems surprised that he likes the cruises. “I dislike Disney World. I hate just about everything with a lot of people involved, but this is the greatest thing I’ve ever done,” he said. “There’s food 24 hours a day, music 20 hours a day. The musicians are the cream of the crop. It’s fascinating and great.”

Hampton’s own fascinating story is the subject of a 2012 documentary, BASICALLY FRIGHTENED: THE MUSICAL MADNESS OF COLONEL BRUCE HAMPTON; the DVD (with new bonus live footage) has recently gained distribution through Amazon.com after a couple of years of limited availability.

DAY OF THE DEAD (1985); Dir. George Romero; Starring Lori Cardille and Joe Pilato; Tuesday, May 14, 9:30 p.m.; Plaza Theatre; Trailer here. Presented by Splatter Cinema.

By Andrew Kemp
Contributing Writer

George A. Romero’s 1968 classic NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD warned audiences that when there was no more room in Hell, the dead would walk the earth. It was a strong and resonating nightmare for Americans who, after a decade of unrest and war, had begun to wonder if Hell was truly spilling over. Romero’s 1985 film DAY OF THE DEAD has an entirely different thought for people living through the last days of the Cold War: if the dead come, can we learn to live with them? Can we learn to live with ourselves?

DAY OF THE DEAD, which arrives at the Plaza Theatre on Tuesday night for the Splatter Cinema series, is the third film in Romero’s Dead trilogy, following the nihilistic NIGHT and 1978’s satirical classic DAWN OF THE DEAD. Unlike most movie franchises, the films in Romero’s Dead series have no direct connections to one another. Each film is an isolated story located within the same world where a plague of zombies has destroyed civilization and where the best and worst instincts of the human race clash against each other in the last, desperate clutch for survival. Fans of THE WALKING DEAD may recognize that world, and may or may not know that they owe a debt to Romero: NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD invented the modern concept of the zombie, and Romero perfected using the dead to explore the dark side of the living. In NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, racial tensions and domestic violence tears at a small band of survivors; DAWN OF THE DEAD skewers the lure of commerce and capitalism as zombies descend on a shopping mall; 2005’s LAND OF THE DEAD shows a group of wealthy survivors crawling to safety on the backs of the poor.

DAY OF THE DEAD is more of a closed system, a bottle episode that puts two opposing ideologies into an tight space and shakes them up. Sarah (Lori Cardille) is part of a dwindling team of scientists in an underground military compound charged with finding a cure for the zombie plague. The soldiers assigned to protect them are led by Captain Rhodes (Joe Pilato), who barks orders and grows increasingly hostile to the science team as the hopelessness of their situation becomes clear. The fuse in the powderkeg is the cache of zombies the scientists are drawing from for their experiments, especially a dead guy named “Bub” who may be learning to be human again.

Always considered something of a problem child in the Romero series because it compares unfavorably to the (let’s admit it) superior DAWN, fans and critics initially kicked DAY OF THE DEAD down the street, leading to an agonizing 20-year delay before Romero returned to zombies in LAND. But DAY has been picking up attention from critics lately and the signs point to what could eventually be a complete rehabilitation. Yes, the movie’s problems are hard to ignore—for an apocalyptic movie, it sure feels very small, and the performances are grating—but Romero crafts the story and stages his world with his trademark critic’s eye. The signature conflict between progress and aggression, between building and destroying, is slathered on pretty thick, but the film is also an intriguing analogy about forming camps to shoot at one another when the enemy is, quite literally, at the gates. The movie could be about climate change or a financial collapse—all that really matters is the struggle about who gets to be leader on a sinking ship.

But DAY OF THE DEAD is a zombie horror movie, let’s not forget, and it’s the visuals that really help the film pop next to the rest of the b-horror crowd. This is a Splatter Cinema screening, which means there’s plenty of outrageous gore and some of the best of Tom Savini’s famous zombie effects. Romero has a particular gift for encouraging great monster makeup and then finding inventive and iconic ways to shoot it. DAY OF THE DEAD has plenty of munchy, crunchy effects, but it also has one of the most infamous disembowelings in movie history. And here I sit, 10 years after I first saw the film, never able to shake the opening image, where a zombie walks past sporting only the least-useful half of its jaw while an old rotting newspaper declares in its headline that “THE DEAD WALK!”

The NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD was a literal evening of horrors, but the DAWN of its sequel was more of a metaphor, a way to describe the gradual realization that the world had changed and would never be the same. DAY OF THE DEAD continues that metaphor. The long day is here and the survivors have only the bleak reality that arrives and lingers—we’re all alone, on our own, and fodder for the cold inevitable.

Andrew Kemp is a screenwriter and game writer who started talking about movies in 1984 and got stuck that way. He writes at www.thehollywoodprojects.com and hosts a bimonthly screening series of classic films at theaters around Atlanta.

By Julia Carlson
Contributing Writer

Monday, May 13

Swing down to Café 290, and hear the sweet jazz beat of Bumpin the Mango at 8:30 p.m. Northside Tavern hosts its weekly Blues Jam featuring blues and southern soul singer, Lola Gulley. And enjoy some BBQ with Pead Boy & the Pork Bellies at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack.

Tuesday, May 14

Go undead, undead with the master of zombie cinema as Splatter Cinema presents George Romero’s DAY OF THE DEAD (1985) as its monthly feature at The Plaza Theater, at 9:30 p.m. Read our Retro Review here.  Musical May continues as George Sidney directs stars Dick Van Dyke and Ann Margaret in BYE BYE BIRDIE (1963), Northlake Festival Movie Tavern’s retro cinema classic this week. Kool Kat Calu Cordeira mixes tiki libations at Mai Tai Tahitian Tuesday starting at 9 p.m. at the Dark Horse Tavern. Grab your horn and head over to Twain’s in Decatur for a Joe Gransden jazz jam session starting at 9 p.m., or you can blues it down with Nathan Nelson & Entertainment Crackers at Northside Tavern. Head over to Fat Matt’s Rib Shack for some old school southern rock and blues with Crosstown Allstars. Tease up that big hair for a Heavy Metal Cover Band at 10 High.

Wednesday, May 15

Roots rock phenomenon Nikki Hill, with her husband Matt on guitar, tore-up the 2013 Viva Las Vegas Rockabilly Weekender. Catch her first Atlanta appearance at Smith’s Olde Bar.Get schooled by either of two of Atlanta’s burlesque finest  Katherine Lashe or Talloolah Love in Beginning Burlesque classes at Studio Burlesque. Old enough to feel Retro? It’s Ladies Night at Johnny’s Hideaway which plays hits from Sinatra to Madonna for a generally mature crowd. Danny “Mudcat” Dudeck brings the Piedmont blues to Northside Tavern. Frankie’s Blues Mission preaches the blues at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack.

Thursday, May 16

“Their raucous set was like if the Velvet Underground had turned to the MC5 at their Boston Tea Party concert in 1968 and, instead of insulting them, had turned and made love to them—and that was how Lou Reed wound up wearing that dog collar,” declared Dan Collins, editor of LA RECORD, about Fullerton, California band The Cosmonauts‘ recent performance at Austin Psych fest. Catch them rocking out at 529 with The Garden and The Caste Outs. Annie Sellick is headlining the last of the Jazz Nights at Scottish Rite outdoor concerts in Oakhurst from 6:30-10pm. It’s 80s/90s Retro Video Night with free drinks ’til 10 at The Shelter.  Relax with a cocktail while listening to Agent 45 spin old school soul, blues and R&B at vintage tiki bar, Trader Vic’s. Go to Northside Tavern to hear the classic 50s Chicago-style blues of The Breeze Kings. Get on over to Fat Matt’s Rib Shack to hear the honkytonkin’ blues of Chickenshack. Plectophilia takes the stage at Red Light Cafe‘s weekly Bluegrass Thursday.

Friday, May 17

Sail on to the Star Bar and shake your booty at Stayin’ Alive,Romeo Cologne’s Disco Doggies Benefit Party supports animal rescue nonprofit Society of Humane Friends Georgia. Andrew and the Disapyramids, featuring Kool Kat Joshua Longino, bring some ’60s rock n roll to The Earl, before  St. Paul and the Broken Bones break into soul. Alabama makes it a Southern rock night at the sweet home of restored 1929 movie palace The Fox Theatre. Smokey’s Farmland Band and The High Strung String Band strum up some eclectic bluegrass to The Masqurade. The Will Goble Quartet, featuring Gregory Tardy plays Friday Jazz at the High Museum of Art . Rolling Stones tribute band The Jagged Stones, featuring ATLRetro Kool Kat Keef Richards will make sure you get some satisfaction at Cooper’s Corner in Grayson. It’s Salsa Night under the dinosaurs with Salsambo Dance Company at Fernbank Museum of Natural History’s Martinis and IMAX. Enjoy BBQ with a side of Atlanta Boogie at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack. Sans Abri delivers bluegrass-influenced Americana alt-roots music at Big Tex. And over at Northside Tavern, Stoney Brooks brings “jitter bugging swing dance” this Friday night.

Saturday, May 18

Head down to the Fifth Annual Atlanta Springfest at Twain’s and hear a whole slew of swell bands for just 10 bucks including Gringo Star, Villain Family, Uncle Daddy & the Kissin’ Cousins and Muleskinner MacQueen. ATLRetro Kool Kat, the fabulous Fonda Lingue presents “Le Jardin,” the latest production of  The Jewel Box Revue,  a glitzy, glamorous revue reminiscent of the Golden Era of Burlesque, hosted by Devin Liquor and featuring performances by such Atlanta and Knoxville stars as Ursula Undress, The Chameleon Queen, Nipsy Tussle and more. The Atlanta Rollergirls all-star team, the Dirty South Derby Girls take on the Ohio Roller Girls at 5 p.m., and the Toxic Shocks battle the Apocalpystix at 7:30 p.m. at the Yaarab Shrine. Come investigate Taste of the Highlands to sample the best of the neighborhood’s restaurants! Online Retro radio station Garage 71 and magazine Grease Inc. host a first annual Cruise-In to celebrate 2013 Armed Forces Day and raise money for charity Pin-Ups for Soldiers, which provides care packages to deployed military, with vintage bike and car shows, and live rockabilly/roots music from The Sideburners, Kira Annalise and Atomic Boogie. Don your flapper dress, grab those spats and Charleston on down to the Roaring 20s Big Band Dine and Swing Dance at G.A.B.B.A The fabulous Rolling Stones are the subject of Satisfaction, which can be found at Variety Playhouse! Punk veterans Alkaline Trio take Center Stage. Come see Ron Cooley and the Hard Times deliver classic electric blues, soul, rock’n’roll, R&B and jazz at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack.. As usual, DJ Romeo Cologne transforms the sensationally seedy Clermont Lounge into a ’70s disco/funk inferno late into the wee hours of the night.

Sunday, May 12

The Trio jazz up The Family Dog. Check out some classic bottleneck acoustic blues from The Tony Bryant Blues Band at Fatt Matt’s Rib Shack. Get a Banjolicious brunch at Big Tex starting at noon. Cineprov spoofs up John Travolta cult classic, THE BOY IN THE PLASTIC BUBBLE (1976), at The Plaza Theater at 7:30pm.

Ongoing

The Plaza Theater will be showing Fritz Lang-directed horror classic M (1931), starring Peter Lorre (see our Retro Review here) and GHOSTBUSTERS (1984) through Thursday.

EXTREME MAMMALS from sabertooth tiger skulls and wooly mammoth fur to contemporary creatures such as the duck-billed platypus invade Fernbank Museum of Natural History through August 18.

Learn about  a different side to the third American president and Constitution author in the Really Retro special exhibition Slavery at Jefferson’s Monticello: How the Word is Passed Down at the Atlanta History Center through July 7.

Every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday night is Retro Cinema at Movie Tavern. Check out classic movies on the big screen weekly at 7:30 p.m.

M (1931); Dir. Fritz Lang; Starring Peter Lorre, Otto Wernicke and Gustaf Gründgens; Starts Friday, May 10; Plaza Theatre; Trailer here.

By Aleck Bennett
Contributing Writer

Starting this Friday, the Plaza Theatre allows us a look at where an entire subgenre of cinema—the psychological horror film—emerged by presenting a beautiful digital restoration of Fritz Lang’s pioneering classic M.

Hannibal Lecter and Jame “Buffalo Bill” Gumb. Norman Bates and Patrick Bateman. Frank Zito and Mark Lewis. Fictional serial killers of cinema, all driven by deeply cast and untamable desires to murder. Each one has their set of forebears and influences, but the family tree for the entire group springs from a single source. Not just a single source, but a single letter: M.

A series of child killings is plaguing Berlin, perpetrated by the seemingly mild-mannered Hans Beckert. As Beckert’s crimes intensify, police presence on the streets of the city increases in response. The relatively “good” criminals of Berlin—the pickpockets, beggars, safecrackers, pimps and prostitutes of the city’s streets—see their professions being stifled by the police raids carried out in search for Beckert, and they organize a manhunt of their own. Hans Beckert becomes a man pursued by both sides of the law, impotent to stop the drive to kill that fuels his crimes, and his time is rapidly running out.

The primary feeling that pervades M is an overwhelming sense of societal unease. The murder of innocent children has set neighbor violently against neighbor. Those in charge of upholding the law are seen as no different from the criminal underworld of Berlin. Practically everybody in the film, save for the children, is physically repulsive and morally suspect. The entire city seems to be in shadows, every bar and meeting place a dive grubby with the accumulation of decades of cigar smoke, spilled drinks and half-eaten food. The glamour of Berlin in the 1920s has passed into the pulse-pounding hangover of the early 1930s. It’s the waning days of the Weimar Republic, and the decadence of the era has given birth to monsters. And the monster in our crosshairs is Hans Beckert. And yet he’s one of the only truly relatable characters in the film.

Unlike those who would pursue him, though, Beckert is a man without a choice. He’s filled with self-loathing at the unspeakable acts that he is compelled to carry out, yet he is unable to stop himself. Those on his tail have chosen their vices and created their own fates. Beckert’s fate is foisted upon him by either an accident of genetics or by the society into which he was born, and from the ugly way Fritz Lang paints German society circa 1931, we can safely assume that the author intends society to be on the hook for this one.

Lang and the film’s writer Thea von Harbou (Lang’s wife at the time) created the modern serial killer-themed psychological horror film with this landmark piece of cinema. By removing all sense of mystery from the story and showing the guilty party in practically the first frame, the movie is allowed to delve into Beckert’s damaged psyche, to witness how his actions resonate within the greater society and to generate suspense not from the uncovering of clues, but from seeing the forces on either side of the law slowly closing in on the film’s protagonist and wondering how they will eventually catch up with him. It’s a genius move, and the end result is a film that feels contemporary in its sensibility rather than one that treads the well-worn path of detective fiction.

And unlike most early talkies, Lang’s use of sound is complex and evocative. The film’s opening sequence, in which Beckert pursues the young Elsie Beckmann as his latest victim (a sequence in which we do not see his face, but hear his voice), is cross-cut with another scene playing out at Elsie’s apartment building as the girl’s mother waits for her. As the sequence concludes, Elsie’s mother calls out for her repeatedly. With each call we are shown a different, empty location, and each time the mother’s voice becomes fainter and fainter until it’s clear that Elsie can no longer hear that call. It’s a purely sound-driven sequence that was incredibly forward-thinking for its time. Similarly, Lang depicts two meetings in visually similar locations—one, a meeting of the policemen and the second, a meeting of the criminals—and cross-cuts between them on dialogue cues to create a sort of counterpoint which drives the parallel action. Lang also lifted the concept of the leitmotif from opera as a sound-based storytelling device. Beckert has a habit of whistling a few bars of “In the Hall of the Mountain King” by Edvard Grieg, and as the film progresses, the use of the music becomes an announcement to the audience that Beckert is nearby.

And finally, Peter Lorre delivers a performance that few actors of any generation could approach. As Beckert, Lorre segues from joviality to intense self-loathing, from desperate pleading to furious anger, with nary a seam showing and never seeming artificial or overly theatrical in his approach. He makes Beckert a fully rounded human character, practically alone among the grotesques that populate the Berlin of the movie. It’s a tour-de-force, with his climactic confrontation and breakdown being one of the most effective performances he would ever deliver. It’s the performance that made him a star, as he would flee Germany in 1933 to find international success waiting for him in Paris, London and Hollywood.

M is both contemporary in its feel and a snapshot of a particular place at a particular time. And it’s not a pretty picture. Lang had first-hand experience of the changing weather of Germany: production on the film was nearly shut down based on the Nazi party’s reading of the original title—MÖRDER UNTER UNS (MURDERER AMONG US)—as an attack on the then-growing party. And he translated his horror at what he saw as festering within German society into not only what is considered a psychological horror classic, but the first film of its kind. Consistently engrossing, tightly wound and entirely thrilling, it’s not a movie to be missed.

Aleck Bennett is a writer, blogger, pug warden, pop culture enthusiast, raconteur and bon vivant from the greater Atlanta area. Visit his blog atdoctorsardonicus.wordpress.com

By William Ashton
Contributing Writer

Few realized it at the time, but the 1990s were halcyon days for rock n roll. Even a band as hard to categorize as Chicago’s Urge Overkill could grab a major-label deal, than score a left-field hit with a Neil Diamond cover (“Girl You’ll Be a Woman Soon,” as heard in 1994’s PULP FICTION). The irresistibly ambitious trio never quite became huge, but their big sound (power-punk meets the Stones?) and ironic look (remember their medallions?) stood out in a time of by-the-numbers grunge and unabashed pop. They toured a lot, and made some great records. The band eventually split after personal disagreements – and drummer Blackie Onassis’ heroin addiction – made it “no fun” to be in UO, according to Eddie “King” Roeser, UO’s guitarist and bassist.

But in 2004, Roeser and UO singer/guitarist Nash Kato began playing some low-key shows, leading to their first album since 1995 (2011’s ROCK AND ROLL SUBMARINE) and a new commitment to the band. Now a quartet (and without Onassis), the group plays Atlanta’s Tabernacle Thursday, May 9, opening for French group Phoenix, whose most recent album made the U.S. top 10.

Roeser says UO’s return is more of a continuation than a comeback.

ATLRetro: How did you get hooked up with Phoenix, and will their audience like UO?

Roeser: They were at our shows in Paris and New York. It was Daft Punk that turned them on to us. Phoenix are giving something back to their musical elders. They are in a position to have muscle now. And I think they are rising to international domination.

We’re not on tour, just doing a couple of shows at the request of Phoenix. We’re playing a couple of shows, then they fly back [to Europe] to do festivals. I look at Phoenix and see some things in common with UO – the team dynamic, brotherly love, and the outlandish potential, evocative lyrics that give you a sense of what the song is about but aren’t always on the nose.

Tell me about your new music.

It’s sort of a miracle it has held up for us. We started playing again long before a record materialized. We thought it would be quick work, but it wasn’t. The fear after a break was that you can’t get the sound back easily. Eventually the sound was very recognizable as Urge. The goal was more of a continuation. We weren’t reinventing the wheel. We knew we had a good wheel. We wanted to make a record that stacked with the others and did.

ROCK AND ROLL SUBMARINE fits in with your other records.

It wasn’t quite as polished as SATURATION [UO’s big-budget  1993 debut for Geffen Records]. We didn’t have the big production values; we did SATURATION to the hilt. Then we went radically the other way with EXIT. One thing about Urge records: we didn’t have a defined sound, like Weezer or something. We spread the approach song by song.

You and Nash got back together, but Blackie Onassis did not. Didn’t he stay in UO after you left in the ‘90s?

Those two [Kato and Onassis] tried to continue the band – but no records were released. Nash said I didn’t see the worst of it. If you get a dependency problem, if you end up needing heroin every day, that’s your priority. He [Onassis] was so ashamed of it, so secretive. He kinda bailed at the last minute – more than once.

When will there be a new Urge record?

We’re nearly done with kind of touching up the tracks, mixing them now. The next step is to try to get a release date. We are releasing it ourselves; a big label takes a share of the publishing and merchandizing. This is by necessity a low-key release. Our hope and expectation now are to keep our music in line with what it has always been. We aren’t making radical changes in our sound, we’re not gonna come up with gimmicks. We’re keeping it real, continuing to do what we do best.

La Schaffer gets a bit anachronistic. Photo courtesy of La Schaffer.

Here at ATLRetro, we’re not so sure what to think about the new cinematic version of THE GREAT GATSBY, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and directed by Baz Luhrmann which hits theaters this Friday, but if it inspires more Roaring ’20s-themed social events, we’re ready to do the Time Warp back to the Charleston again. We’ve also been hearing quite a bit about a newfangled, Retro-inspired sound called “ElectroSwing”! Then we heard about Madame Nocturne’s ElectroSwing Soiree at Gatsby’s Prohibition Nightclub and Dessert Lounge in Midtown on Thursday May 9. Well, it didn’t take us long to decide that its organizer La Schaffer would sure make a swell Kool Kat of the Week.

La is relatively new to the event planner world, but has a background in design and nouveau cirque that intrigued us further. She has a pretty awesome day job as graphic designer for the Center for Puppetry Arts and is about to head to Georgia Tech this fall to pursue a master’s degree in Human-Computer Interaction. She also works with the wacky Dad’s Garage troupe, performs with ELEMENT Acrobats + Circus Artists and helps out with marketing for Imperial OPA.

We caught up with La lately to find out more about her fabulous creative life and this week’s soiree. Here’s what she had to say!

ATLRetro: ElectroSwing is a rising new musical trend with events springing up around the nation. For the uninitiated, what is it and how does it relate to vintage swing music?

La Schaffer: ElectroSwing mixes swing and jazz with modern beats to create something that feels both old and new simultaneously. Often, the swing elements used are sampled straight out of the Big Band era, but they’re made to be a bit more accessible to a modern crowd when mixed with electronic dance music. ElectroSwing artists who create original compositions do an incredible job of recreating the core components of good old fashioned jazz and swing, so sometimes it’s hard to tell if something is old or new, and that’s part of the fun.

Does dancing to ElectroSwing require ballroom lessons?

I sure hope not, or else I’m in trouble! Part of the beauty of the genre is the versatility: You can sort of choose your own adventure and go the swing route, and listen to and pick up those themes, or you can stick to the electronic side and jam out that way. It’s all super catchy, so I think the bigger question is how not to dance around to it, in one way or another!

Gatsby’s sounds like an ATLRetro dream venue. What’s it like inside?

Gatsby’s has a great vibe and some fabulous decor. Much of the furniture is actually vintage. The tables are covered in old newspaper clippings. The lighting is dim and moody – mason jar light fixtures over the bar, red light lamps with dangling crystals, and a dance floor with lighting that can change with the occasion. There are little nooks and crannies to explore, and lots of fun old things on the walls to investigate. It transports you to another time while still being a bit playful. The space can be used for a variety of events since it has a huge dance floor. City of the South Theater even puts on productions there by turning the dance floor into a theater in the round (Here, have a plug for Sordid Lives, running May 11, 17 and 18!). It’s a very cool space to hang out in. It makes you feel a little mysterious.

Why was the 1920s way cooler than now?

As much of a big ol’ nerd and technophile as I am, there is something magical about the simpler days of past eras. I’m terribly guilty of the manufactured busy-ness phenomenon and the dreaded Fear Of Missing Out. Being so connected to everything sometimes makes it hard to concentrate only on what is right in front of us. I imagine it must have been easier to focus on your own experiences and accomplishments to some degree. Then there’s just the whole rebellious teenager phase of America. I’m not sure I’d want to live certain parts it – the smugglin’ and bootleggin’ – but it’s so fascinating to think about and imagine.

Are you a big fan of THE GREAT GATSBY, the book or the 1974 movie? Why do you think F. Scott Fitzgerald’s story is so enduring?

I actually just did a lot of reviewing recently while planning this shindig – reread the book and saw the 1970s movie for the first time. I hadn’t read THE GREAT GATSBY since middle school, when I thought I was just so super cool for carrying around my grandmother’s crackly, yellowed, 1940s paperback copy, instead of the school-issued copy. I certainly got way more out of it this time around. I think, aside from it being such a clear documentation of the era, the story endures the test of time for the same reason tabloids exist: People love train wrecks. It’s comforting to hear stories that are worse than our own mishaps. That aspect is timeless: Its craziness.

La Schaffer. Photo courtesy of La Schaffer.

Do you have any trepidation about the new movie coming out this summer?

Not even at all. I’m pretty confident from what I’ve seen so far that I, personally, am going to love it — I can’t speak for anyone else! I recently re-watched both ROMEO + JULIET (1996) and MOULIN ROUGE! (2001) out of excitement for THE GREAT GATSBY and realized just how bizarre those movies are. I was completely obsessed with MOULIN ROUGE! when it came out. I never really thought about how weird it was until recently, and how both it and ROMEO + JULIET  just require you to sit back, shut up, and accept this random element that it being thrown into an inappropriate setting: breaking out into song, using only Shakespearean English complete with iambic pentameter, or whatever it will be in THE GREAT GATSBY. I’m excited to see what twists he adds.

Who’s Madame Nocturne? I understand she’s a bit of an elusive hostess, not unlike Jay Gatsby?

It’s true! It’s hard to say sometimes if she’ll even show up to her own events. She keeps an eye on the big picture while the rest of us run around and do the dirty work of planning. She’s sort of quiet, but she’s very sweet if you get a chance to meet her. Keep an eye out for a petite lady in a fancy fur coat, which is her trademark.  She certainly will be overseeing the evening from her elevated vantage point, at the very least.

I understand there will be a cirque element as well. Can you talk a little about that and how does the cirque aesthetic dovetail with the 1920s?

It’s good old fashioned entertainment! What’s more ’20s than some razzle dazzle spectacle? It’s beautiful, graceful, and just a little bit dangerous. We’ll have aerial silks and lyra performances by ELEMENT circus artists + acrobats throughout the night.  Some of them may be by yours truly.

How should we dress? Any shopping tips for finding vintage suits or flapper dresses in Atlanta?

Dress however you’d like – whatever inspires you! Show up retro or electro. I expect we’ll see a lot of ’20s,’ 40s, cirque and steampunk-inspired styles, as well as some modern raver-wear, and “normies,” too. All are welcome! I wish I knew where to shop for vintage goodness. My home stock of costumes is embarrassingly abysmal, considering my interests. I must confess that my favorite ’20s dress – a lovely, lacy, drop-waist black and light pink number – is graciously loaned to me by Liz Singleton, the amazing Costume Designer at Dad’s Garage, which is one of my homes away from home. Other places I shop for vintage clothing include my parents’ basement, my friends’ closets and cheap costume websites… Eek.  Sad trombone sound goes here!

La Schaffer. Photo courtesy of La Schaffer.

When you’re not planning 1920s themed soirees, you have what most folks might call a pretty awesome day job as a graphic designer for the Center for Puppetry Arts. Can you share a little bit about what you do there?

Yup! I’ve been the graphic designer for the marketing department at the Center for four years now. I take care of things like ads, postcards, brochures, eblasts and our giant annual Season Guide. We just went through a huge rebranding, so that was quite exciting for me. It’s a great place to be – everyone’s really cool and playful, and it’s very much like a family. Plus, if I ever have a rough day, I can just go up to the museum and hang out with Dr. Teeth for a few minutes. He always knows what to say. I’m actually headed back to school this fall, though, so I’m sad to be leaving, but they won’t get rid of me that easily. I’ll be back to volunteer and generally continue to “contribute” ridiculous “ideas” at inappropriate times.

What other cool things are you up to?

Let’s see. I tend bar at Dad’s Garage; gym hop for aerial silks, tumbling, rock climbing and occasional parkour; help out with marketing for various cool groups around town; go to tons of theater; and travel as much as funding allows!

Will this be the first of a series of Madame Nocturne social events? Is there a Facebook page or Twitter feed we can like/ follow to make sure we don’t miss the next one?

It’s actually her second, but this event is a big step up from her first one. It is possible that this will lead to more, though! It will depend on how the event goes. We’ll see what Gatsby’s thinks. We were lucky enough to meet with The Artifice Club during the planning process, so who knows, maybe she’ll get in cahoots with them somehow, too. You can befriend her here to keep in touch!

Anything else you’d like to add about why folks should definitely come out this Thursday?

The better turnout we have, the more likely it is for Gatsby’s to play ElectroSwing regularly, and I think that would be a pretty great thing to have going on in Atlanta!

By Aleck Bennett
Contributing Writer

Monday, May 6

Joe Gransden brings the swinging sounds of his big band to Café 290, with special guests the Milton High School Jazz Band and Bob Reynolds. Northside Tavern hosts its weekly Blues Jam featuring blues and southern soul singer, Lola Gulley. And enjoy some BBQ with Pead Boy & the Pork Bellies at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack.

Tuesday, May 7

Break your rusty cage and run to the Tabernacle as recently-reunited Seattle legends Soundgarden take the stage. Barren Girls bring their X and 45 Grave-inspired, punk-and-garage fueled rock’n’roll fury to 529. Head to The Shelter for the Southern Fried Fundraiser and Burlesque Show featuring reigning Southern Fried Burlesque Queen Lola Lesoleil, Tokyo Belle, Talloolah Love and many many more! Musical May continues as Howard Hawks directs screen sirens Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell in GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES (1953), Northlake Festival Movie Tavern’s retro cinema classic this week. Kool Kat Calu Cordeira mixes tiki libations at Mai Tai Tahitian Tuesday starting at 9 p.m. at the Dark Horse Tavern. Grab your horn and head over to Twain’s in Decatur for a Joe Gransden jazz jam session starting at 9 p.m., or you can blues it down with Nathan Nelson & Entertainment Crackers at Northside Tavern. Head over to Fat Matt’s Rib Shack for some old school southern rock and blues with Crosstown Allstars.

Wednesday, May 8

Feeling outshined because you missed Soundgarden Tuesday? Catch ‘em for a second night at the Tabernacle! Shake your body to the best of italo, synth, disco, minimal wave, acid and post-punk with DKA Disco at Mary’s Bar in East Atlanta. Did catching Talloolah Love last night inspire you? Join her for her Beginning Burlesque class at Studio Burlesque. Catch Marilyn Monroe’s breakout performance in the second night of GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES (1953) at Northlake Festival Movie Tavern. Old enough to feel Retro? It’s Ladies Night at Johnny’s Hideaway which plays hits from Sinatra to Madonna for a generally mature crowd. Danny “Mudcat” Dudeck brings the Piedmont blues to Northside Tavern. Frankie’s Blues Mission preaches the blues at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack.

Thursday, May 9

Grab your gold UO medallion and your crushed velvet jacket and head to the Tabernacle for the mighty, luxurious sounds of Chicago alt-rock pioneers Urge Overkill (opening for French rockers Phoenix). It’s 80s/90s Video Night with free drinks ’til 10 at The Shelter. Have a roaring night out with Madame Nocturne’s ElectroSwing Soirée at Gatsby’s Prohibition Night Club & Lounge in Midtown. ElectroSwing, circus performances, GREAT GATSBY-themed drink specials—the works! Event mistressmind lovely La Schaffer is our Kool Kat of the Week, so watch for that soon. Relax with a cocktail while listening to Tongo Hiti playing Retro-Polynesian luxurious live lounge sounds, as well as trippy takes on iconic pop songs, at vintage tiki bar, Trader Vic’s. Go to Northside Tavern to hear the classic 50s Chicago-style blues of The Breeze Kings. Get on over to Fat Matt’s Rib Shack to hear the honkytonkin’ blues of Chickenshack. 8th of January takes the stage at Red Light Cafe‘s weekly Bluegrass Thursday. Catch the final night of the “Two Little Girls from Little Rock” with GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES (1953) at Northlake Festival Movie Tavern.

Friday, May 10

Gregory Alan Isakov brings his Leonard Cohen-meets-Bruce Springsteen brand of folk-rock to Smith’s Olde Bar. Guitar hero Dickey Betts (Allman Brothers, Gov’t Mule) returns to Wild Bill’s in Duluth with his band Great Southern. Sail on to the Star Bar for  a punk night out with a variety of bands playing Bad Brains tribute show Banned in ATL. Head to the historic Plaza Theatre for a gorgeous restoration of Fritz Lang’s horror classic, M (1931), featuring Peter Lorre’s star-making performance. Watch for our Retro Review soon. Go Really Retro as RITUAL weaves a night of fairy tale-themed frolic with Fairy Tail at The Shelter. The Mar-Tans serve up heaping helpings of New Orleans funk, R&B, blues and jazz under the dinosaurs at Fernbank Museum of Natural History’s Martinis and IMAX. Enjoy BBQ with a side of Atlanta Boogie at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack. Sans Abri delivers bluegrass-influenced Americana alt-roots music at Big Tex. And over at the Northside Tavern, Danny “Mudcat” Dudeck brings the Piedmont blues both Friday and Saturday night.

Saturday, May 11

The streets of Avondale Estates turn into party central with Art-B-Que! Check out the BBQ Competition judged by Pine Street Market! Take in work from local artists and purchase their wares as the avenues of Avondale become the Artist Gallery! Enjoy BBQ from Burnt Fork BBQ and Community Q, and a vast array of food choices from many of Atlanta’s other great restaurants and food trucks! Dig music from Uncle Daddy & The Kissin’ Cousins, Floating Coats, The Joy Kills, Bas Clas, Unsatisfied, Ghost Bikini, Subsonics and Duet for Theremin and Lap Steel! It all kicks off on Franklin Street in Downtown Avondale Estates! Drive your vintage roadster, truck, bike or scooter to East Atlanta Roll in the East Atlanta Village 5/11 from 3 – 9 p.m. Cletis and his City Cousins will be performing along with others and Right Reverend Andy of Garage 71‘s Psychobilly Freakout will be spinning your rockabilly and psychobilly favorites! Surf’s up at Atlanta Food Truck Park & Market for Atlanta SurfFest 2013, featuring music from Kill, Baby…Kill, The Mystery Men?, Moonbase, The High Fidelics and Sexwax! (Read an interview with SurfFest founder and Kool Kat Wayne Foster!) If all that’s not enough variety for your blood, take in the wide range of music Atlanta has to offer at Crescendo: Old Fourth Ward Music Un-Fest, a free all-day event featuring acts performing at 24 locations in the O4W! Check out the vast lineup (ranging from the psychedelic country of Tedo Stone to the post-punk/new wave sounds of The Sexual Side Effects and so much more) at the event’s website. Searching for Sugar Man? Search no more! The elusive Rodriguez, the subject of the Oscar-winning documentary SEARCHING FOR SUGAR MAN (2012), can be found at Variety Playhouse! Punk veterans Alkaline Trio take Center Stage. Dress in your finest Victoriana and pilot your airship to Grant Park as the Artifice Club hosts the Fourth Annual Steampunk in the Park outing. Julie Gribble returns to The Family Dog for a night of Americana/country. The Backyard Birds bring the beat to Big Tex. Fatback Deluxe deliver classic electric blues, soul, rock’n’roll, R&B and jazz at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack. Rolling Stones tribute band The Jagged Stones rock this joint at Guston’s Grille in Woodstock. As usual, DJ Romeo Cologne transforms the sensationally seedy Clermont Lounge into a ’70s disco/funk inferno late into the wee hours of the night.

Sunday, May 12

Day two of Art-B-Que brings more of the best of Atlanta’s food and music! Check out the Hot Mama Mothers’ Day contest and performances from Beauregard, Frank Zeno, Five Eight, Pelvis Breastlies, Ghost Riders Car Club, High Strung String Band and Heather Luttrell! Again, it all goes down at Franklin Street in Downtown Avondale Estates! The Trio jazz up The Family Dog. Check out some classic bottleneck acoustic blues from The Tony Bryant Blues Band at Fatt Matt’s Rib Shack. And do the Time Warp again as Cineprov takes a spoofy bite out of the ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW (1975) at 7:30 p.m. the Plaza Theatre.

Frida Kahlo. Photo credit: Nickolas Muray

Ongoing

It’s your last week to make a date with FRIDA AND DIEGO: PASSION, POLITICS AND PAINTING, a blockbuster special exhibition showcasing the works of one of art’s most famous couples, at The High Museum of Art through May 12.

EXTREME MAMMALS from sabertooth tiger skulls and wooly mammoth fur to contemporary creatures such as the duck-billed platypus invade Fernbank Museum of Natural History through August 18.

Learn about  a different side to the third American president and Constitution author in the Really Retro special exhibition Slavery at Jefferson’s Monticello: How the Word is Passed Down at the Atlanta History Center through July 7.

Every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday night is Retro Cinema at Movie Tavern. Check out classic movies on the big screen weekly at 7:30 p.m.

Do you have or know of a Retro event we should include in This Week in Retro Atlanta? Be sure to email us at atlretro@gmail.com!

By Aleck Bennett
Contributing Writer

Monday April 29

Northside Tavern hosts its weekly Blues Jam featuring blues and southern soul singer, Lola Gulley. Enjoy BBQ and Dry White Toast at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack.

Tuesday, April 30

Keep on cruisin’ with Jimmy Buffett & the Coral Reefer Band at Lakewood Amphitheatre. Go Really Retro as Celtic Woman brings their combination of traditional Irish folk and timeless pop anthems to the historic Fox Theatre. Kennesaw State University College of the Arts brings two worlds of musical theatre together for OPERA MEETS BROADWAY at the Earl Smith Strand Theatre. If MGM’s movie musicals are more your swing, take in the ultimate tribute to these classic films as Northlake Festival Movie Tavern’s kicks off their Musical May series with this week’s retro cinema classic, THAT’S ENTERTAINMENT! (1974). Cinefest presents a week-long presentation of Charles Burnett’s incredible Watts-lensed slice-of-life drama, Killer of Sheep (1977). Kool Kat Calu Cordeira mixes tiki libations at Mai Tai Tahitian Tuesday starting at 9 p.m. at the Dark Horse Tavern. Grab your horn and head over to Twain’s in Decatur for a Joe Gransden jazz jam session starting at 9 p.m., or you can blues it down with Nathan Nelson & Entertainment Crackers at Northside Tavern. Head over to Fat Matt’s Rib Shack for some old school R & B, rock ‘n roll and blues with JT Speed.

Wednesday, May 1

Immerse yourself in the dark, driving grooves of the Alan Evans Trio as they bring their organ-centric jazz, funk and blues licks to Smith’s Olde Bar. Kevin Kinney’s Sun Tangled Angel Revival pulls influence from a host of classic rock and soul artists to deliver a rousing night of music at Eddie’s Attic. Hit the floor to the best of 1980s goth, death rock, EBM and post-punk at 529’s Goth Danse Party (and expect a Bauhaus-heavy mix this week!). Get a second night of classic MGM musical memories with THAT’S ENTERTAINMENT! (1974) at Northlake Festival Movie Tavern. Old enough to feel Retro? It’s Ladies Night at Johnny’s Hideaway which plays hits from Sinatra to Madonna for a generally mature crowd. Get ready to rumba, cha-cha and jitterbug at the weekly Swing Night at Graveyard Tavern. Danny “Mudcat” Dudeck brings the Piedmont blues to Northside Tavern. The Hollidays bring a little soul to Fat Matt’s Rib Shack.

Thursday, May 2

Attention all area goths and post-punk fans: prepare to swing the heartache as the legendary Peter Murphy lands in Atlanta with his Mr. Moonlight Tour, celebrating 35 years of Bauhaus at Terminal West. If you’re interested in burlesque shows, photography, music or performers, check out the Atlanta Burlesque and Cabaret Society’s May Meetup at Elliot Street Deli & Pub. It’s 80s/90s Video Night with free drinks ’til 10 at The Shelter. Relax with a cocktail as Tongo Hiti’s rockin’ alter egos The Volcanauts pilot your journey to subterranean paradise at the vintage tiki bar Trader Vic’s. Go to Northside Tavern to hear the classic 50s Chicago-style blues of The Breeze Kings. Get on over to Fat Matt’s Rib Shack to hear the honkytonkin’ blues of Chickenshack. Culliton, Dean & Hall perform their mix of bluegrass, newgrass and swing at Red Light Cafe‘s weekly Bluegrass Thursday. Catch the final night of MGM musical highlights in THAT’S ENTERTAINMENT! (1974) at Northlake Festival Movie Tavern.

Friday, May 3

Kick off your weekend ATL Retro style! Monstrosity Championship Wrestling kicks off Cinco de Mayo weekend at Famous Pub accompanied by the ’60s rock sounds of Andrew and The Disapyramids! All this and more for only $10! Read an interview with the Disapyramids’ own Kool Kat, Joshua Longino. Step into the world of Brent Hinds’ mysterious rockabilly-surf-metal-country band Fiend Without a Face along with Atlanta legends Tiger! Tiger! and Dang Dang Dang. If the past two nights of dark bliss with 529 and Peter Murphy haven’t been enough for you, be sure to visit The Shelter for the Nocturnia: Reunion goth celebration. 7 Stages (host theatre of ATLRetro favorite Dracula: The Rock Opera) throws a steampunk-themed Taste for Theatre. Also in the steampunk vein, the Artifice Club and XS Ultra Lounge present Artifice Nights featuring the music of Crystal Bright and the Silver Hands, Fable Cry and Insomniac Folklore. If the blues are what you’re feelin’, you’ve got a full night ahead of you as The Breeze Kings serve up tasty blues licks under the dinosaurs at Fernbank Museum of Natural History’s Martinis and IMAX. Meanwhile, The John Sosebee Band plays their special brand of hill country juke joint blues-rock at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack. The Blues Barons take the stage at Big Tex. And over at the Northside Tavern, Danny “Mudcat” Dudeck brings the Piedmont blues both Friday and Saturday night.

Saturday, April 27

The Masquerade Music Park and Fourth Ward Park will be hosting the first Shaky Knees Music Festival on May 4 and 5, featuring 28 bands on three stages as well as local food trucks, artisans and vendors. Day One delivers performances from roots-respecting bands ranging from the Southern rock-and-country-influenced sounds of Band of Horses and My Morning Jacket’s Jim James to the wild, fuzz-drenched ‘60s Voodoo psychedelia of Sweden’s GOAT. Meanwhile, Chastain Park brings the classic country stylings of the legendary Willie Nelson and Family. Head out to Duluth’s Sportstime Bar & Grille for a night of neon-flashing ‘80s classics from Denim Arcade (and read an interview with vocalist and all-around Kool Kat, Becky Cornier Finch)! May the Fourth be with you as you celebrate the Bash of the Empire on Star Wars Day at The Shelter As usual, DJ Romeo Cologne transforms the sensationally seedy Clermont Lounge into a ’70s disco/funk inferno late into the wee hours of the night.

Sunday, May 5

Day two of the Shaky Knees Music Festival at The Masquerade Music Park brings performances from rootsy bands ranging from the Americana/folk-rock of The Lumineers and the Muscle Shoals-influenced country-soul of Drive By Truckers to the garage rock of Heartless Bastards. The Trio jazz up The Family Dog. Check out some classic bottleneck acoustic blues from The Tony Bryant Blues Band at Fatt Matt’s Rib Shack. Celebrate the goddess in every woman with Kool Kat Kitty Love and other performers at her monthly burlesque event Kitty Love’s Sultry Sunday at Red Light Cafe.

Frida Kahlo. Photo credit: Nickolas Muray

Ongoing

Make a date with FRIDA AND DIEGO: PASSION, POLITICS AND PAINTING, a blockbuster special exhibition showcasing the works of one of art’s most famous couples, at The High Museum of Art through May 12.

EXTREME MAMMALS from sabertooth tiger skulls and wooly mammoth fur to contemporary creatures such as the duck-billed platypus invade Fernbank Museum of Natural History through August 18.

Learn about  a different side to the third American president and Constitution author in the Really Retro special exhibition Slavery at Jefferson’s Monticello: How the Word is Passed Down at the Atlanta History Center through July 7.

Every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday night is Retro Cinema at Movie Tavern. Check out classic movies on the big screen weekly at 7:30 p.m.

Do you have or know of a Retro event we should include in This Week in Retro Atlanta? Be sure to email us at atlretro@gmail.com!

HARLEY LOCO: A MEMOIR OF HARD LIVING, HAIR AND POST-PUNK, FROM THE MIDDLE EAST TO THE LOWER EAST SIDE 
By Rayya Elias
Viking Penguin

By Clare McBride
Contributing Writer

I adore the ’80s—the colors, the androgyny, the everything. This is mostly due to watching VH1‘s I LOVE THE ’80s ad nauseum at a formative age, which also means that my vision of the ’80s is a particularly sanitized one. I didn’t realize that until I was watching PARIS IS BURNING (1990), the documentary about queer New York’s drag ball culture in the late ‘80s, and saw, briefly, the old Times Square. As much as I love the ’80s, there’s still much to learn, and that’s when HARLEY LOCO popped up on NetGalley for me. A memoir by a queer woman of color-cutting hair and struggling with drug addiction in New York in the ’80s? Sometimes the universe is kind.

HARLEY LOCO is the story of Rayya Elias. In the ’60s, when Elias was a little girl, her family fled the political strife in Syria for the (relative) safety of Detroit, where she grew up. Struggling with the conflict between the American culture she desperately wanted to fit into, her own sexuality, and her traditional family, she fell into drug and alcohol use at a young age. After high school, she began working in a salon and working on her own music, two occupations that eventually brought her to New York. Things were looking up—a girlfriend, a record deal—until Elias’ drug use got the better of her and she spiraled into addiction. It robbed her of her friends, her family, and her dignity, and her struggles to overcome her addiction were herculean.

This memoir opens with an introduction from Elizabeth Gilbert, author of EAT, PRAY, LOVE, praising both close friend Elias herself and Elias’ writing style to high heaven. I’ll be honest, it made me a little nervous. I’ve not read any Gilbert at all, but it did feel a little like someone quite popular assuring everyone that their friend was totally cool. It struck me as slightly nepotistic, which is sort of a poor way to start with a book. But, soon enough, we’re with Elias herself and, as promised by Gilbert, her writing style does feel natural and unforced, straightforward and human. This does mean that there’s very rarely moments of sparkling wordplay; my commonplace entry for this book is quite sparse (but, it must be said, present, which I can’t say for every book I read). But the plainness of the style makes way for Elias’ life.

And what a life! It’s absolutely stuffed with material—dealing with one’s sexuality in the ’70s, being a successful hair stylist in the let’s-call-it experimental ’80s, being a moderately successful music act at the same time in New York, negotiating two cultures, her jail time, struggling with toxic relationship after toxic relationship, and, of course, the all-consuming drug addiction and her multiple lapses.

Unfortunately, Elias’ jam-packed life doesn’t quite all fit into HARLEY LOCO. Her plain, natural style keeping out of the way of the content is admirable, but it also means it feels like a Cliffs Notes version of her life. Her relationship with the polyamorous Lana is examined in great detail, but the succeeding women in her life are written about in less and less detail, until she opens a chapter mentioning a girl she’d been getting serious with. Everything is touched on, but precious little is examined—she praises her own music without getting too far into the creative process beyond “magical” (a similar thing occurs with hairstyling), she glosses over returning to Syria in the midst of a seven-year struggle to get sober, and she doesn’t even go into enough detail about the fact that she shared a bathroom with Quentin Crisp. She’s got a fantastic handle on why she turned to drugs—there’s a passage where she compares walking into the hotel lobby of a nice hotel with her sister while she’s disgusting after spending weeks homeless and high to her experience in high school. It’s fear-based. Getting high is the only way Elias could relax. There’s a staggering moment when Elias gives you the number of years she spent strung-out versus years sober, and you realize she’s including her childhood. But this reflection doesn’t extend to the rest of the memoir, which ends with her final wake-up call and doesn’t examine the process of putting her life back together again. Given the rich material here, it’s frustrating.

On a much, much lighter note, it definitely served its function as a means of ’80s voyeurism. Elias finds her people among new wave and dark wave freaks, all intriguingly dressed, but it’s the Lower East Side you really get a feel for. Late in the memoir, Elias maps her own journey to get clean against how the neighborhood was cleaned up, and it’s a particularly rich and beloved background. Her style means that you don’t get too much into it, but you can catch the taste of it.

Elias mentions her music in the memoir, for obvious reasons (and in increasingly glowing terms), and you can listen to a few of her songs at her Website. Five of the songs are, although begun at different points in her life, completed fairly recently, but “Nothing Matters” is an actual track from circa 1985/1986. It’s a fascinating window into Elias’ life at the time; I recommend giving it a listen.

Bottom line: An interesting life is hurt by the author’s plain style in HARLEY LOCO—everything is so interesting, but there’s little actual reflection. An interesting portrait of the Lower East Side in the ‘80s, but other than that, I’d give it a pass.

This article was originally published on The Literary Omnivore and is reprinted with permission.