ATLRetro

by Melanie Crew
Managing Editor

ATLRetro is the bee’s knees This Week! Come see all the shakin’ shenanigans we’ve dug up just for you!

Monday, April 1

Folk it up with Jackson Browne at the Cobb Energy Centre! Get saxxy with Nate Myers at City Winery! Indie folk it up with james of mosaics, VYB and Justin Lee at Smith’s Olde Bar! Swing on by Big Band Night featuring Joe Gransden and his amazing 17-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!

Tuesday, April 2

The Landmark Midtown Art Cinema gets experimental with their new Classics Series screening of Sergei Parajnov’s THE COLOR OF POMEGRANATES (1969) at 7pm! Celebrate 35 years of John G. Avildsen’s classic, THE KARATE KID (1984) at theatres across Atlanta [AMC Barrett Commons 24 (Kennesaw); AMC Southlake Pavilion 24 (Morrow); AMC Avenue Forsyth (Cumming); Hollywood Stadium 24 (Chamblee); Perimeter Pointe 10; AMC Sugarloaf Mills 18 (Lawrenceville); Avalon Stadium 12 (Alpharetta); Regal McDonough Stadium 16 (McDonough); Georgian Stadium 14 (Newnan); Regal Mall of Georgia Stadium (Buford); and Regal Atlantic Station Stadium 18]! Rock out at The Earl with Dinos Boys, Tommy and the Commies, Les Lullies and Mongo! Jazz it up at the Schwartz Center for a night of Emory Jazz Combos! Get your Americana fix at Smiths’ with Cortez Garza, Brian Revels and Tom Gray!  Jam it up with Joe Gransden and his jazz jam session at Venkman’s! The Star Bar delivers a night of retro shenanigans with DJ Quasi Mandisco’s Dance Party featuring retro-soul, funk, ‘80s, ‘90s and more! And as always, groove on down with Swami Gone Bananas at the Northside Tavern!

Wednesday, April 3

Emory Cinematheque continues their “History of Color Films” series with a screening of Robert Altman’s MCCABE AND MRS. MILLER (1971) at 7:30pm! Make your way to the Variety Playhouse for Nick Lowe’s Quality Rock ‘n’ Roll Revue starring Los Straitjackets! Get experimentally rocked with Norman Westberg, Duet for Theremin and Lap Steel and DBUK at The Earl! Get some soul with the Delvon Lamarr Organ Trio at Eddie’s Attic! Get the rockin’ blues with Toxic Foxtrot, Dry Reef and Rhythm Earth at Smith’s Olde Bar! Southern gothic it up at The Star Bar with Ghost Moths, Delta Moan and Groove Moose! Get the blues with Tab Benoit at Terminal West! Make your way to the Aurora Theatre for their presentation of ERMA BOMBECK: AT WIT’S END, through April 14! The Highlander rocks out with their Punk/Metal/New Wave Karaoke Night, every Wednesday! Catch a Flashback Cinema screening of George Cukor’s THE PHILADELPHIA STORY (1940) at theatres across Atlanta [Northlake Festival Movie Tavern (Tucker); GTC Merchant’s Walk Cinemas (Marietta); Movie Tavern at Horizon Village (Suwannee); and The Springs Cinema & Taphouse (Sandy Springs)]! Spend the night with DEZ & Friends at City Winery! Folk rock it up with Jonathan Byrd at the Crimson Moon Café! Funk it up with the Mike Veal Band at Tin Roof Cantina! Get jazzy at the Red Light Café with The Gordon Vernick Quartet! Or make your way to the Northside Tavern for a rockin’ night of blues with the Tyler Neal Band! And as always, it’s Ladies Night at Johnny’s Hideaway which plays hits from Sinatra to Madonna for a generally mature crowd.

Thursday, April 4

Funk it up with the one and only George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic during their final tour at Cobb Energy Centre! Or sleaze on down to The Star Bar for a night with Sodajerk, Bad Friend and Dang Dang Dang! The 43rd Annual Atlanta Film Festival kicks off and will be presenting films across Atlanta through April 14! Get rocked with Big Eyes at 529! Get country rocked with Rhett Miller at City Winery! Rock on down to The Earl for a night with ANTiSEEN, EYEHATEGOD and The Obsessed! Spend the night with Papa Jack Couch & The Standard Electric Irregulars and Shawn James at Eddie’s Attic! Riot grrrl it up with The Regrettes at the Masquerade! Get folksy with Dead King Cotton, Manny Blu and Paige McCauley at the Red Light Café! Bluegrass it up with Boy Named Banjo at Terminal West! Mandolin Orange dishes out a night of rootsy grass at the Variety Playhouse! Get down with The Foothill Brothers at Venkman’s! Jazz it up with Steve Cole at Suite Food Lounge! Get artsy at the historic Rhodes Theatre during Shamel Pitts’ Black Hole: Trilogy & Triathlon, through April 6! It’s Mai Tai Thursday at Trader Vic’s so get down with some island tunes and have some killer cocktails! 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! And as always, boogie down at Mary’s, as the East Atlanta venue gets funky with their weekly Disco in the Village.

Friday, April 5

Make your way to Atlanta Symphony Hall and folk it up with John Prine and Courtney Marie Andrews! Rock steady on down to the Masquerade for a night with Southern Ska Syndicate (Kool Kat Rev. Andy), The Slackers and Control This! Get mysterious and make your way to 221B Con, a convention for all things Sherlock Holmes, getting criminal through April 7, at the Atlanta Airport Marriott! Catch a killer screening of Alfred Hitchcock’s DIAL M FOR MURDER (1954) at The Earl Smith Strand Theatre at 8pm! Spend the night with the Francisco Vidal Band at City Winery! Get down to Eddie’s Attic for a night with Sam Burchfield and The Scoundrels! A Brothers Revival brings you the tunes of the Allman Brothers at MadLife Stage & Studios! Bluegrass it up with Jim Hurst at the Red Clay Theatre! Hi-octane it up with The Fabulous Thrillbillys, Dale Jepson & The Nighthawks and Codeine Haze at The Star Bar! Indie rock it up with Guster at the Tabernacle! The Dark Star Orchestra pays tribute to the Grateful Dead at the Variety Playhouse! Funk it up with Maleke O’Ney at Venkman’s! Get down with Sammy Blue at the Northside Tavern! Time-Warp it up 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, April 6

Get deadly first thing in the morning and make your way to the Historic Oakland Cemetery’s Headstone Preservation Workshop at 8:30am! Rev it up in Conyers with Kool Kat Hot Rod Walt & The Psycho Devilles at Falcons Fury Harley Davidson! Atlanta Radio Theatre Company  gets mysterious as 221B Con presents Tony Sarrechia’s LADY SHERLOCK HOLMES, IN THE CASE OF THE WOMAN IN RED! Psychobilly it up with Unknown Hinson at the Masquerade! Make your way to The Highlander for a night with Southern Ska Syndicate (Kool Kat Rev. Andy), Flying Raccoon Suit and Taj Motel Trio! Spend the night with Roseanne Cash at Center Stage! Get folksy with How and Why at City Winery! Or get your Americana fix with EG Kight at the Crimson Moon Café! Make your way to The Deep End for a night with New Madrid, Wasted Potential Brass Band and The Medium! Geek it up with Bit Brigade at The Earl! Get chill with Yacht Rock Schooner at MadLife Stage & Studios! The Dark Star Orchestra pays tribute to the Grateful Dead at the Variety Playhouse! Or catch The Dirty Doors’ tribute to The Doors at Venkman’s! Get the blues with the Cody Matlock Band at the Northside Tavern! And as always, DJ Romeo Cologne and DJ Kwasi Mandisco transforms the sensationally seedy Clermont Lounge into a ’70s disco/funk inferno late into the wee hours of the night.

Sunday, April 7

Get your classic silent film fix at The Earl Smith Strand Theatre’s screening of Cecil B. DeMille’s THE TEN COMMANDMENTS (1923), featuring live organ accompaniment at 3pm with Kool Kat Ron Carter! Jazz it up with Joe Gransden at City Winery! Celebrate the tunes of the ‘60s and ‘70s with Boomers Gone Wild at the Crimson Moon Café! Spend the night with the Dirty Kitchen Band, Tracy Bonham and Blake Morgan at Eddie’s Attic! Get chill with Yacht Rock Schooner at MadLife Stage & Studios! Rock ‘n’ Roll all night with KISS at State Farm Arena! Get some soul with Patti LaBelle at Atlanta Symphony Hall! Catch a Flashback Cinema screening of John Landis’ THE BLUES BROTHERS (1980) at theatres across Atlanta [Northlake Festival Movie Tavern (Tucker); GTC Merchant’s Walk Cinemas (Marietta); Movie Tavern at Horizon Village (Suwannee); and The Springs Cinema & Taphouse (Sandy Springs)]! Funk it up with Risky Biscuit at Tin Roof Cantina! Get sweet and low down blues-style at the Northside Tavern with Uncle Sugar with Eddie Tigner! And get down with 10,000 Pontiacs at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack!

Ongoing

Get your dramatic ‘50s fix with Aurora Theatre’s presentation of MEN WITH MONEY, through April 7! (LAST CHANCE!)

The Alliance Theatre presents their production of THE WIZARD OF OZ at the Woodruff Arts Center, through April 14!

Aurora Theatre presents ERMA BOMBECK: AT WIT’S END, through April 14!

Get really retro and journey back 220 million years to when massive pterosaurs ruled the skies with Fernbank Museum of Natural History’s newest Giant Screen film, FLYING MONSTERS 3D, through June 1!

ATL CRAFT presents a magical occult Movie Night every second Friday of every month!

My Parents’ Basement goes old-school with their monthly Pinball Tournament, every first Wednesday of the month!

Geek it up and get to bowlin’ at The Comet Pub & Lanes’ Comet Cosplay, getting nerdy the first Monday of every month!

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

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

The Highlander rocks out with their Punk/Metal/New Wave Karaoke Night, every Wednesday!

Get your vinyl fix during Little 5 Points Corner Tavern’s Records of Mass Destruction! event, every Monday!

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

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

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

Get your reggae fix with Rub-A-Dub gettin’ down at WildPitch Music Hall, every second Sunday of the month!

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

Come see all the shakin’ shenanigans we’ve dug up for you in ATLRetro This Week!

Monday, June 11

A special feature-length Director’s Cut of DOCTOR WHO: GENESIS OF THE DALEKS (1975) screens at theatres across Atlanta at 7pm [Hollywood Stadium 24 (Chamblee); Avalon Stadium 12 (Alpharetta); Cinemark Tinseltown 17 (Fayetteville); Regal Atlantic Station Stadium 18; Perimeter Pointe 10; Regal McDonough Stadium 16 (McDonough); AMC Southlake Pavilion 24 (Morrow); AMC Barrett Commons 24 (Kennesaw); AMC Sugarloaf Mills 18 (Lawrenceville); Georgian Stadium 14 (Newnan); and AMC Avenue Forsyth (Cumming)]! Get down with Roy Akers and Mausiki Scales & the Common Ground Collective at City Winery! Geek it up at My Parents’ Basement as they bring back their Drink & Draw event, hosted by Jon Waterhouse ! Catch a screening of Melvin Van Peebles’ SWEET SWEETBACK’S BAADASSSSS SONG (1971), through June 13 at The Plaza Theater, or catch a screening of Samuel D. Pollard’s documentary, MAYNARD (2017) about the life and times of the first black mayor of Atlanta, through June 14! Fathom Events presents a wild double feature with screenings of Joe Johnston’s JUMANJI (1995), followed by Jake Kasdan’s JUMANJI: WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE (2017) at theatres across Atlanta at 6:30pm [Hollywood Stadium 24 (Chamblee); Avalon Stadium 12 (Alpharetta); Cinemark Tinseltown 17 (Fayetteville); Regal Atlantic Station Stadium 18; Perimeter Pointe 10; Regal McDonough Stadium 16 (McDonough); AMC Southlake Pavilion 24 (Morrow); AMC Sugarloaf Mills 18 (Lawrenceville); and Georgian Stadium 14 (Newnan)]! 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!” Danny ‘Mudcat’ Dudeck fires it up at Blind Willies! Boogie on down to the Northside Tavern and spend an evening with Lola at her famous Monday Night Northside Jam! And blues on down to Fat Matt’s Rib Shack as they dish out The Pork Bellys and a plate full ‘o finger lickin’ BBQ!

Tuesday, June 12

Have a bloody fantastic time as The Atlanta Opera presents SWEENEY TODD at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Center at 7:30pm! Get sizzlin’ with Kool Kat Katherine Lashe and her burly-Q gals of Syrens of the South as they spice up your evening with their Tease Tuesday Burlesque: June is Jumpin’ event, shakin’ it up at the Red Light Café! Get down with Roy Akers and Mausiki Scales & the Common Ground Collective at City Winery! Spend the night with David Ryan Harris at Eddie’s Attic! Angelo Moore (Fishbone) & The Brand New Step funk it up at the Masquerade! Gomez brings their Bring It On 20th Anniversary Tour to the Variety Playhouse! Make your way to The Bakery as they bring you a night of dark electro retrotastic goodness featuring Kool Kat Russ Marshalek and A Place Both Wonderful and Strange, Frisky Monkey and Dreaming Shadows! Embrace your childhood and make your way to the Alliance Theater for their presentation of WINNIE-THE-POOH, a musical based on the stories of A.A. Milne, running through July 8! Get old-timey with Ol’ GoForth at Darwin’s Burgers & Blues! Make your way to Blind Willie’s for their Tribute to Freddie King! Jam it up with Joe Gransden and his jazz jam session at Venkman’s every Tuesday! The Star Bar delivers a night of retro shenanigans with DJ Quasi Mandisco’s Little 5 Points Dance Party featuring retro-soul, funk, ‘80s, ‘90s and more! Gray & The Bad Boys get down at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack! And as always, groove on down with Swami Gone Bananas at the Northside Tavern!

Wednesday, June 13

Get your apocalyptic garbage fix and catch a screening of Rachel Talalay’s TANK GIRL (1995) presented by WUSSY MAG at The Plaza Theater at 7pm! Spend the night with Peter Mayer (Coral Reefer Band) and Brendan Mayer at City Winery! Doo-wop on down to The Earl for a night with La Luz, Timothy Eerie and Midnight Larks! Rock out with Kip Winger at Eddie’s Attic! Funk it up with the Charles Walker Band and Wasted Potential Brass Band at Smith’s Olde Bar! Catch Stephen Stills and Judy Collins at Atlanta Symphony Hall! Make your way to the Northlake Festival Movie Tavern’s Flashback Cinema series screening of Joe Pytka’s SPACE JAM (1996) at 2:30pm/7:30pm! Or follow the yellow brick road down to the Studio Movie Grill (Alpharetta/Duluth) for a screening of Victor Fleming’s THE WIZARD OF OZ (1939) at 7:15pm! Catch a double feature of Duwayne Dunham’s HOMEWARD BOUND (1993) and Mary Lambert’s PET SEMATARY (1989) at Noni’s Bar & Deli during their Cinema Paradiso film event starting at 10pm! Get rocked with The Wild Hares at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack! Get the Chicago/West Coast blues with the Electromatics at Blind Willie’s! Funk it up with the Mike Veal Band at Tin Roof Cantina! Get jazzy at the Red Light Café with The Gordon Vernick Quartet! Or make your way to the Northside Tavern as Danny ‘Mudcat’ Dudeck fires it up a night of acoustic blues! St. James Live! delivers their Hump Days Blues night, getting classic blues-style every Wednesday! And as always, it’s Ladies Night at Johnny’s Hideaway which plays hits from Sinatra to Madonna for a generally mature crowd.

Thursday, June 14

Kool Kat Spike Fullerton and the Ghost Riders Car Club dish out a hot night at the Clermont Lounge! A night of hilarity ensues as RIFFTRAX LIVE presents David Winters’ SPACE MUTINY (1988) at theatres across Atlanta at 8pm [Hollywood Stadium 24 (Chamblee); Avalon Stadium 12 (Alpharetta); Cinemark Tinseltown 17 (Fayetteville); Regal Atlantic Station Stadium 18; Perimeter Pointe 10; Regal McDonough Stadium 16 (McDonough); AMC Southlake Pavilion 24 (Morrow); AMC Barrett Commons 24 (Kennesaw); Georgian Stadium 14 (Newnan); and AMC Avenue Forsyth (Cumming)]! Scott Thompson (Kids in the Hall) brings The Buddy Cole Monologues to City Winery! Spend the night with MyFever, The Underhill Family Orchestra and Cloudland at The Earl! Get folksy with Charlie Mars at Eddie’s Attic! Rock out at The Highlander with DJ Howiestein and Mister Wilson’s Over the Edge Record Party! Folk it up with Vilai Harrington & The Hamptones, Dead King Cotton and Nathan Evans Fox at the Red Light Café! Or get folk rocked with the Michigan Rattlers and A Wild Frontier at Smith’s Olde Bar! Marty Manous rocks out at Solis Two Porsche Drive!  Boogie down to Venkman’s for a night with Atlanta Latin Jazz Orchestra! Catch The Gatherers at the Masquerade! Catch the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra free at Piedmont Park at 7:30pm! Cody Matlock & the Mothership get down at Darwin’s Burgers & Blues! It’s Mai Tai Thursday at Trader Vic’s so hula on down for a night of rockin’ island tunes and killer island cocktails! Get old-school with the Juke Joint Dukes at Blind Willie’s! 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! And as always, boogie down at Mary’s, as the East Atlanta venue gets funky with their weekly Disco in the Village.

Friday, June 15

Kool Kat James Bickert exploits once again and gets torturous with his AMAZON HOT BOX’s World Premiere at The Plaza Theater at 7pm! Blues66 debuts their mix of classic British blues circa 1966 at The Star Bar! Rev it up at the Masquerade and get hellacious with The Creepshow, Kool Kat Hot Rod Walt, Kool Kats The Casket Creatures and Sugar Virus! Glam rock it up at The Earl as Jerome Newton & The Band Who Fell to Earth presents Ziggy Stardust vs. Maxwell Demon, with special guest Roxy Rex! Twang on down to Terminal West for a night with Unknown Hinson and The Josephines! Sludge rock it up at 529 with Ufomammut, White Hills, Order of the Owl and Insomniac! Get jazzy with Gwen Hughes at Callanwolde Fine Arts Center during their Jazz on the Lawn event! Or get some soul with Kindred & Family Soul at Center Stage! Stomp on down to City Winery for a night with The Wailin’ Jennys! Swing on by Eddie’s Attic for two shows featuring Joe Gransden! Spend the night with Mausiki Scales & the Common Ground Collective at the High Museum! Led Zeppelified performs LED ZEPPELIN II in its entirety at Smith’s Olde Bar with special guests Nocturnal Animals and Rare Birds! Or rock on down to Venkman’s as The Dirty Doors pay tribute to Jim Morrison and The Doors! Catch R+R=Now at the Variety Playhouse! TNT pay tribute to AC/DC at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack! Get rocked blues-style with Beverly “Guitar” Watkins at Blind Willie’s! Funk it up Zydeco-style with Zydefunk at Northside Tavern! Time-Warp it up 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, June 16

Today kicks off The State of Black Science Fiction’s Blacktasticon 2018, running through June 17 at The Ferst Center promising the most comprehensive presentation of black speculative fiction, cosplay, Afrofuturism, Steamfunk and more (Keep your eyes peeled for our Kool Kat interview with writer and guest Nicole Givens Kurtz and our Top Ten Retro Reasons to attend feature)! Get old-timey and honky tonk it up at The Star Bar for their annual Hank Williams Tribute starring Cigar Store Indians, Andrea Colburn & Mud Moseley, Kool Kat Aileen Loy and Til Someone Loses and Eye, Kool Kat Spike Fullerton and the Ghost Riders Car Club, Rodeo Twister, Uncle Daddy & The Kissin’ Cousins, Cool Hand Hayes and Rye Baby! Rev it up and rock on down to the Frederick Brown Jr. Amphitheatre in Peachtree City for Brian Setzer’s Rockabilly Riot! Stomp on down to City Winery for a night with The Wailin’ Jennys! Spend the night with Kevn Kinney and Takenobu at Eddie’s Attic! Rock out with Columbia’s Aterciopelados at the Masquerade! Make your way to Venkman’s for a night with Wet Jeans and ATL Collective! Get nostalgic and rock out at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre with Styx, Joan Jett & The Blackhearts and Tesla! Surf on down to Kavarna for Kool Kat Chad Shivers’ Southern Surf Stomp! with The Del Rios! Get some soul with The Whispers at the Mable House Barnes Amphitheatre! Reggae it up with Stephen Marley at Center Stage! Come celebrate Juneteenth at the Historic Oakland Cemetery featuring tours, storytelling and more! Race over to Solis Two Porsche Drive for their drive-in movie event as they screen Lee Katzin/John Sturges’ LE MANS (1971) at 7:30pm! Have a bloody fantastic time as The Atlanta Opera presents SWEENEY TODD at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Center! Rev on down to Big Tex for a night with Kitty Rose & The Ramblers! Get some soul with Sal’s Soulful Sinners at Darwin’s Burgers & Blues! Get down with Sweet ‘n’ Salty at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack! Funk it up Zydeco-style with Zydefunk and Ross Pead at Northside Tavern! Spend the night with Sandra Hall & The Shadows at Blind Willie’s! St. James Live! delivers their Tribute to the Legends night every Saturday night! And as always, DJ Romeo Cologne and DJ Kwasi Mandisco transforms the sensationally seedy Clermont Lounge into a ’70s disco/funk inferno late into the wee hours of the night.

Sunday, June 17

Spend the night with Indy at the Northlake Festival Movie Tavern’s Flashback Cinema series screening of Steven Spielberg’s RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK (1981) at 2:30pm/7:30pm! Have a bloody fantastic time as The Atlanta Opera presents SWEENEY TODD at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Center! Rock ‘n’ roll on down to City Winery for a night with Red Wanting Blue and Liz Brasher! Mandi Strachota gets the blues at Darwin’s Burgers & Blues! Make your way to Eddie’s Attic for a night with Michelle Malone, Adron and Eliot Bronson! Get funky with Risky Biscuit at Tin Roof Cantina! Rock out with 10,000 Pontiacs at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack! Get sweet and low down blues-style at the Northside Tavern with Uncle Sugar with Eddie Tigner!

Ongoing

Emory Arts presents their exhibition The Dream Machine: The Beat Generation & the Counterculture, 1940-1975 in the Schatten Gallery, through June 17! (LAST CHANCE!)

Noni’s Bar & Deli hosts their Cinema Paradiso film event, screening two films beginning at 10pm, through June 28!

The Alliance Theater presents WINNIE-THE-POOH, a musical based on the stories of A.A. Milne, running through July 8!

My Parents’ Basement goes old-school with their monthly Pinball Tournament, every firsts Wednesday of the month!

Geek it up and get to bowlin’ at The Comet Pub & Lanes’ Comet Cosplay, getting nerdy the first Monday of every month!

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

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

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

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

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

Get your reggae fix with Rub-A-Dub gettin’ down at WildPitch Music Hall, every second Sunday of the month!

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
Contributing Writer

Hey all you rockin’ vintage lovers! This Week is the Kat’s Meow with ATLRetro’s Kool Kats doing what they do best, delivering a whole ‘lotta swell rockin’ Retro events! So, come on out and see what’s on the Retro menu! Get your fill of all the classic horror-ific blood-filled flicks your dark little heart desires! Or boogie down to the tune of Dixieland to ‘70s vintage rock to all the punk you can handle! And of course we’ve got all the old-school blues and soul you could want! So, get off that couch and get Retro!

Monday, April 21

Re-live your big screen childhood fantasy this week at Cinefest as they screen Steven Spielberg’s classic sci-fi film, E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL (1982) through April 27! Or for something a little more wicked and blood-splattered come a little later and celebrate the bloodbath that will be their last week screening in 35 mm, kicking off the week with Tobe Hooper’s gore fest, THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE PART 2 (1986) at 9 pm! Rock on down to Wonderroot for a NY punk and folksy Americana-filled night with Killing Kuddles, Warm Needles, the Seagulls and Above Repute! Swing on by Big Band Night featuring Joe Gransden and his amazing 17-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!  And blues on down to Fat Matt’s Rib Shack for a side of Dry White Toast with some finger lickin’ BBQ!
 
Tuesday, April 22

Get terrified at Cinefest as they screen Larry Cohen’s IT’S ALIVE (1974) at 7 pm followed by Alfred Sole’s ALICE, SWEET ALICE (1976) at 9pm! It’s a night of Burly-Q musical classics, “Minnie the Moocher”, “Mack the Knife” and more at the Red Light Café during Sadie Hawkins’ “Burlesque Battle of the Babes”, Last Pasties Standing event, every fourth Tuesday of the month! It’s Bettie Page’s birthday, so find a ‘viewing party’ and celebrate with Aneles at the debut of their music video, featuring a gaggle of gorgeous gals, for “Bettie Loved”, their Bettie Page tribute song. Swing on down to the Roswell Cultural Arts Center for the Georgia Ensemble Theatre’s presentation of ‘Sounds of the Big Band Era’ event featuring Joe Gransden and his 17-piece Big Band at 8 pm! Boogie on down to The Star Bar and get groovy at The Funk Godfather, DJ Romeo Cologne’s Funk Royale featuring DJ Quasi Mandisco every other Tuesday! Blues Station gets the blues at Blind Willie’s! Stomp on down to Big Tex for a night with Moira Nelligan & The Dixie Jigs and their old-fashioned Americana! Or boogie on down to Darwin’s Burgers & Blues in Marietta for a taste of Bill Sheffield’s acoustic roots and blues! The Entertainment Crackers gets bluesy with their folksy Americana sounds at the Northside Tavern.  Get the blues at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack with the J.T. Speed Band! The Bob Page Trio gets bluesy at Sweet Georgia’s Juke Joint! And get lured by the femme fatale in Billy Wilder’s classic film noir, DOUBLE INDEMNITY (1944) at the Northlake Festival Movie Tavern during their L.A. After Dark series’ screening at 7:30 pm!

Wednesday, April 23

Rock on down to the Drunken Unicorn for a night of vintage 70s rock with The Johnny Rebs, The Stacktone Slims and Mad Dog 20/20! Or for a little Cream and Led Zeppelin-inspired rock, get down and dirty at Smith’s Olde Bar with The London Souls, Jessy Lynn Martens and Kool Kat Rob Hamdallah! Dick Valentine (The Wild Bunch/Electric Six) delivers a night of disco, punk and New-Wave infused rock with Soda Jerk at The Earl! Get some gritty R&R at 529 with The Dirty Magazines, Sons of Hippies and R_Garcia! It’s Scene Missing’s The Importance of Being Ernest event at the Highland Ballroom, so come on by for a night of laughs as they deliver writing and comedy exploring Ernest P. Worrell’s films at 9 pm! Get terrifyingly chilled at Cinefest as they screen John Hess and Lewis Teague’s horror flick, ALLIGATOR (1980) at 7 pm followed by David Cronenburg’s sci-fi horror classic, THE FLY (1986) at 9 pm!  Or for a little throwback ‘60s spy farce humor, chuckle on down to Emory’s White Hall as Emory Cinematheque screens Michel Hazanavicius’ OSS 117: CAIRO, NEST OF SPIES (2010)! It’s a night of Romanian and Ukrainian Gypsy folk tunes at Steve’s Live Music in Sandy Springs! Lola delivers the blues at Sweet Georgia’s Juke Joint! Kool Kat Scott Glazer’s Mojo Dojo invades Blind Willie’s with their blues, jazz and Southern soul! Fat Matt’s Rib Shack has The Hollidays! Or make your way to the Northside Tavern as Danny ‘Mudcat’ Dudeck fires it up with his rockin’ blues! It’s Ladies Night at Johnny’s Hideaway which plays hits from Sinatra to Madonna for a generally mature crowd.  And it’s murder at the Northlake Festival Movie Tavern as they screen Billy Wilder’s classic film noir, DOUBLE INDEMNITY (1944) during their L.A. After Dark series’ matinee screening at 11:30 am!

Thursday, April 24

Get hellishly spooked at Cinefest as they screen Bernard Rose’s CANDYMAN (1992) at 7 pm followed by Clive Barker’s HELLRAISER (1987) at 9 pm! It’s Bluegrass Thursday at Red Light Café, so stomp on down to catch Waller, Caleb Warren & the Perfect Gentlemen and Austin House Letters! For a taste of vintage rock and saucy gals, rock on down to the Clermont Lounge for the Joy Kills and their record release party, along with Swank Sinatra, Plastic Visions and Ganges Phalanges! Smith’s Olde Bar delivers a night of retro rock with the Geisha Hit Squad, Goodbye June and Spi vs. Spy in the Atlanta Room, or for all you indie lovers, rock on down to the Music Room for the Elliott Smith and Steely Dan-inspired dream pop of Misery Loves Chachi, OAMI, Teach Me Equals and Bahnof! The Claire Lynch Band dishes out their Americana and bluegrass at the Red Clay Theater! 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! Make your way to the Crimson Moon Café for The Tom & Julie Show featuring tributes to tunes from the 60s to the 90s every Thursday! 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! Heather Luttrell delivers a night of rockin’ blues and Americana at Blind Willie’s! Hula on down to Trader Vic’s for a couple Mai Tais and the rockin’ surf, beach party tunes of Kool Kat Joshua Longino and Andrew & the Disapyramids! Uncle Johnny’s Band delivers a Grateful Dead tribute at Steve’s Live Music in Sandy Springs! And it’s your last chance to catch Billy Wilder’s classic film noir, DOUBLE INDEMNITY (1944) on the big screen at the Northlake Festival Movie Tavern during their L.A. After Dark series’ screening at 7:30 pm!

Friday, April 25

Hey all you misfits and retro rockin’ mischief lovers! Tonight begins the Atlanta Mess Around in East Atlanta Village through April 27, day events at 529 and nights at The Earl!  Doors open at 3 pm at 529 with the Ex Humans, Ryan Dinosaur (Bukkake Boys), Manic and the Vincas! Head to The Earl at 8 pm for The Marked Men, the Barreracudas, Predator, King Louie & the Loose Diamonds, AJ Davila y Terror Amour and Games! Or rev on down for a rockabilly throw down at the Diesel Filling Station for Kool Kat Rev. Andy’s Rockabilly Ruckus event, that’ll have you dancin’ the night away to tunes from Elvis to Brian Setzer to the Nekromantix! Or get your fill of your favorite MTV videos with Kool Kat VJ Anthony at his ICON 80s: Music Video Dance Night invading Famous Pub every Friday night at 10 pm!

Get sacrilegious at Cinefest as they screen Lamberto Bava’s DEMONS (1985) AT 9 pm! Doria Roberts & the Black-Eyed Susans deliver a night of rockin’ folk and blues at the Red Light Café! Get a fill of some really old-time country and western tunes with the coal miner’s daughter herself, Loretta Lynn at the Mill Town Music Hall in Bremen with Mama’s Blue Dress! Get some retro rock at 529 with the Radio Birds, Charlie & the Foxtrots and Poison Coats!  Rock on down to The Star Bar for Ed Roland & the Sweet Tea Project (Collective Soul) with Five Eight and special guests! Or stomp on down to Smith’s Olde Bar for a little Americana and roots jams with Yarn, Copious Jones and The Reluctant Saints in the Music Room and a little honkytonkin’ with Marshall Seese, Sweet GA Brown, Matthew Thomas and Eric Norman in the Atlanta Room! The Jugtime Ragband delivers some vintage Dixieland at Big Tex! The Crimson Moon Café delivers a night of old-timey vintage ‘20s string music with the Georgia Crackers! Get funky with the Pimps of Joytime and the Bird City Revolutionaries at the Drunken Unicorn! Or 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! Rev on down to the Buck Creek Tavern in High Falls for a rockin’ night with Kool Kat Hot Rod Walt and the Psycho-DeVilles! Sin City Atlanta delivers a rockin’ AC/DC tribute at Hottie Hawgs BBQ! The Mavericks are back on the scene tonight, dispensing a night of rockin’ country blues at Center Stage! Darwin’s Burgers & Blues gets bluesy with the Katie Martin Band while SaNa Blues gets down and dirty at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack! Francine Reed & The Shadows deliver a night of saucy blues at Blind Willie’s! Danny ‘Mudcat’ Dudeck fires up the blues at The Northside Tavern! The Breeze Kings deliver a night of Chicago and Delta blues at the Fernbank Museum of Natural History’s Martinis and IMAX event! And as always, Time-Warp it up and get naughty with some uber musically-inclined transsexual aliens at The Plaza Theater as they continue their tradition of screening THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW (1975) every Friday night, featuring the live cast of Lips Down on Dixie at midnight!

Saturday, April 26

For National Puppetry Day make your way to the Center for Puppetry Arts to catch their presentation of iLamb Chop 2.0, featuring Mallory Lewis (Keep your eyes peeled for her Kool Kat interview this week), daughter of the late and great Shari Lewis, creator and Lamb Chop puppeteer, with an unveiling of a new commemorative postage stamp featuring the famous duo! It’s day 2 of the Atlanta Mess Around in East Atlanta Village, so rock on down to 529 at 2 pm and fill your day with some retro punk rockin’ tunes with The Coathangers, The Audacity, Dinos Boys, Brain F/, Shantih Shantih and Plastic Pinks! Then later, rock over to The Earl for The Spits, GG King, Tyevk, ShockedMinds, Greg Ashley (Gris Gris) and The Golden Pelicans! And celebrate Southern Appalachian culture at the Bear on the Square Mountain Festival with an old-timey and foot-stompin’ vintage musical lineup of Sons of Bluegrass, John Lilly, Erynn Marshall & Carl Jones, Bluebilly Grit, Playing on the Planet and The Freight Hoppers on Dahlonega’s historic square through April 27!

If you’re craving something a little more sinister, a little more over-the-top, spend an evening in Hell at the Masquerade with ‘Dracula’s nasty little brother’ and carnival barker better known (or maybe not) as Unknown Hinson, adding a little psycho overdrive to that ‘billy music of the ‘50s and ‘60s!  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! The Star Barhas Jimbo Mathus & the Tri-State Coalition, Bad Friend and Kool Kat Jeffrey Butzer! Santana invades Chastain Park with his ‘60s & ‘70s rock and Latin fusion! Or chill with “The Boss” Bruce Springsteen at Aaron’s Lakewood Amphitheatre! Stomp on down to the Red Light Café to catch The Bitteroots, Greco, Sleuth Hound and Kristen Englenz! Sandra Hall & the Shadows get down and dirty blues-style at Blind Willie’s! Danny ‘Mudcat’ Dudeck fires up the blues at the Northside Tavern! Get folksy at Eddie’s Atticwith Barnaby Bright, Minton Sparks and Cicada Rhythm! Roxie Watson delivers her harmony-soaked honky-grass at the Crimson Moon Café! Get a taste for the blues with Sweet & Salty at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack! For a night of comedic opera, make your way to the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Center for the Atlanta Opera’s presentation of ‘The Barber of Seville’, directed by Jose Condemi through May 4! Get morose at Famous Pub with Kool Kat VJ Anthony’s BLACK OUT event featuring dark ‘80s, Goth and industrial every fourth Saturday of the month! Secondhand Swagger gets grungy at the The Family Dog! Get revved up with Kool Kat Hot Rod Walt and the Psycho-DeVilles at Traxx Lounge & Grill! 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, April 27

It’s day 2 of the Bear on the Square Mountain Festival in Dahlonega, so come on out for the Georgia Pick & Bow Allstars, Jason Kenney & Leah Calvert, Curtis Jones & Primal Roots, The Locust Honey String Band and The Deja Bluegrass Band! It’s day 3 of the Atlanta Mess Around in East Atlanta Village, featuring ‘Dunch’ at The Earlwith King Louie’s One Man Band! Or make your way to Marietta for the 21^st Annual Taste of Marietta festival from 11 to 7 pm, featuring great food and rockin’ tunes with Yacht Rock Schooner, Three Way Street, Lauren St. James and The Goodbye Machine!

Steve’s Live Music in Sandy Springs delivers their Gypsy Jazz Brunch offering up a plate of Hot Club jamming and Parisian Swing with Kool Kat Amy Pike and the Bonaventure Quartet from 12:30 to 3:30 pm every 2^nd & 4^th Sunday, and catch them later on in the day at The Family Dog! Ralph Stanley delivers some old-timey bluegrass at Eddie’s Atticat 2 pm and 7 pm! Stomp over to Big Texfor their Bluegrass Brunch featuring The Rhubarbarians! Shimmy on down to the Red Light Caféfor The Powerhouse Burlesque Show, featuring performances by Bettina May, Vita deVoid and our local favorites, Kool Kats Taloolah Love and Ursula Undress, Sadie Hawkins and more! And make your way to Fat Matt’s Rib Shack and get rockin’ with Fatback Deluxe!

Ongoing

Georgia Ensemble Theatre gets really retro with ‘Camelot’ Broadway-style through April 27! (LAST CHANCE!)

Out of Box Theatre presents ‘Always…Patsy Cline,’ running through April 27! (LAST CHANCE!)

The Atlanta Opera presents ‘The Barber of Seville’, at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Center through May 4!

Take a magic carpet ride through the historic Arabian-themed Fox Theater as they kick off their ‘Spring Fling withWild Things’ tours running through May 17^th!

Center for Puppetry Arts spins ‘Charlotte’s Web’ through May 25^th!

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

The Star Bar gets groovy with The Funk Godfather, DJ Romeo Cologne and DJ QuasiMandisco every other Tuesday!

Steve’s Live Music’s Gypsy Jazz Brunch offers up a plate of Hot Club jamming and Parisian Swing with Kool Kool Kat Amy Pike and the Bonaventure Quartet from 12:30 to 3:30 pm every 2^nd & 4^th Sunday!

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
Contributing Writer

Get spooked in Retro Atlanta this week! As the days creep closer and closer to that most haunted pinnacle of fright and terror, Retro Atlanta shows you where to find the shock and horror you’re lusting! Atlanta gets Retro this week with monsters and spooks and martians, oh my! And don’t forget, Retro Atlanta always offers a retro-rockin’ good time! So, don’t be a scaredy cat and come on out and play! We can’t promise you’ll make it home alive, but we can promise you a horrifying good time!  

Monday, October 14

Boogie on down to the Northside Tavern and forget all about the Monday Blues with the soulful vocals with Lola at her famous Monday Night Northside Jam!  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!’ Head on down to Fat Matt’s Rib Shack for a side of Dry White Toast with some finger lickin’ BBQ!  And get yer rockin’ blues and soul fix with Brandon Reeves at Blind Willie’s! 

Tuesday, October 15

If you’re craving some old-school rockin’ blues, come on down to Fat Matt’s Rib Shack for the JT Speed Band and some rockin’ BBQ or boogie on down to Darwin’s Burgers & Blues in Marietta for a taste of Bill Sheffield’s acoustic roots and blues or hit up Blind Willie’s for the BB King and Ray Charles sounds coming from Timo Arthur! Mosey on down to Steve’s Live Music for their Bluegrass pickin’ and Folk Sing-a-long, led by Hank Weisman! Jam it up with Joe Gransden and his jazz jam session at Twain’s in Decatur every Tuesday at 9 pm. The Entertainment Crackers gets bluesy with their folksy Americana sounds at the Northside Tavern. Do you believe in the boogey man? Sleepwalk on down to Elm Street and get haunted in your dreams as the Northlake Festival Movie Tavern terrifies in their Retro Cinema Scares! series’ presentation of Wes Craven’s A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET (1984) at 7:30 pm!

Ruby Velle and the Soulphonics

Wednesday, October 16

Get ready to roll on the floor and laugh out loud as Emory’s Cinematheque pulls all the punches in their American Comedy Classics series and catch their screening of Leo McCarey’s THE AWFUL TRUTH (1937) starring Cary Grant at Emory’s White Hall at 7:30 pm! Put on your dancin’ shoes and skip on over to East Atlanta’s Graveyard Tavern for their Graveyard Swing Night, held the first Wednesday of every month (schedule will be back to normal in November), promising an evening of swingin’ jazz and boogie-woogie with the Savoy Kings! The Star Bar is ready to feed your ears with the rockin’ sounds of Rodney “The Pie Guy” Henry of the Glenwood Popes and t.v. superstar pie maker along with special guests, VITO ROMEO featuring members of The Booze, Sharp Dressed Lads and Don Dupree! Or make a trip to the Tabernacle for a night of 50’s and 60’s soul and R&B presented by the groovin’ Kool Kats Ruby Velle & the Soulphonics!  Head on over to Blind Willie’s for some straight out blues and rock and roll with the foot stompin’ sounds of Andrew Black!  Rock on over to the Northside Tavern as Danny ‘Mudcat’ Dudeck fires up the blues! Catch The Hollidays slingin’ their 60s soul and rock n roll at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack. It’s Ladies Night at Johnny’s Hideaway which plays hits from Sinatra to Madonna for a generally mature crowd. Whatever you do…don’t fall asleep! Because you won’t want to miss a single terrifying second as the Northlake Festival Movie Tavern’s Retro Cinema Scares! series’ presents Wes Craven’s A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET (1984) in their matinee screening at 11:30 am!

Thursday, October 17

Hey all you dapper little children! Are you ready for a zoot suit riot!? What about that rockin’ devilish swing your mama warned you about?  Get rebellious! Put on your dancin’ shoes and hop on over to Smith’s Olde Bar for a night of maniacal swing from the one and only Cherry Poppin’ Daddies, kings of the 90s swing revival and King Daddy Pole Cats, that will leave you breathless and begging for more! Former member of The Cramps, Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds, Kid Congo Powers & The Pink Monkey Birds headline at The Star Bar, so come on and rock out! Head on over to Noni’s Bar & Deli for their weekly Occupy Edgewood event featuring DJs Rene Dellefont & Brian Parris as they offer up the sounds of The Smiths and The Cure and all the morose tunes your black little heart desires. Get chipper and head on down to The Plaza Theater for a taste of The Coen Brothers’ FARGO (1996) during their Fall Focus on Directors series at 9:30! Get your boogie on at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack, as Chickenshack featuring Eddie Tigner delivers some honky-tonk blues while the Northside Tavern presents the classic 50s Chicago-style blues of The Breeze Kings. Get whiskey-soaked and foot stomped with the Americana and blues wailings of Heather Luttrell & The Possum Den at Blind Willie’s while Donna Hopkins spreads her swampy funk with a dash of John Lee Hooker at Steve’s Live Music in Sandy Springs! Get your boogie on at Mary’s, as the East Atlanta venue gets funky with their weekly Disco in the Village. Hula on down to Trader Vic’s for a few cocktails with Kool Kat “Big Mike” Geier and his Polynesian pop lounge band, Tonga Hiti! It’s a night of jazzy swing with a taste of Ella at the Red Clay Theatre as Annie Sellick’s Quartet takes the stage at 8 pm! It’s 80s/90s Retro Video Night with free drinks ’til 10 at The Shelter. And it’s your last chance to get fatally up close (if you dare!) to that horrifying dream master himself, Freddy Kreuger, as the Northlake Festival Movie Tavern’s Retro Cinema Scares! series presents Wes Craven’s A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET (1984) at 7:30!

Friday, October 18

Get spooked as the Oakland Cemetery captures the spirit of Oakland in their Halloween Tours! It’s your only chance to rendezvous with the ghosts of Atlanta after dark, so come on out and make new ghostly pals and maybe even a kindred spirit! Tours begin at 5:30 pm! Ferst Center for the Arts hosts The Hot Club of San Francisco, a jazzy gypsy ensemble, as they present “Cinema Vivant”, an evening of vintage silent films accompanied by the sounds of Django Reinhardt’s gypsy swing and 1920s Paris at 8 pm!

If you’re craving something a little more sinister, a little more over-the-top, spend an evening in Hell at the Masquerade with ‘Dracula’s nasty little brother’ and carnival barker better known (or maybe not) as Unknown Hinson, adding a little psycho overdrive to that ‘billy music of the 50s and 60s!  Or head on down to the Star Bar for a rockin’ night out with Stallion, preceded by a guzzlin’ good time with Dusty Booze & The Baby Haters of the ‘late scumbag revival’ beltin’ out those rockabilly tunes as well as Banned in ATL, a tribute to the 80s punk-core band Bad Brains! Get a taste of the Rockaholics and their bluesy renditions at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack while Blind Willie’s hosts House Rocker Johnson & The Shadows! Steve’s Live Music gets jazzy with the rockin’ folky blues of Randall Bramblett! Cha-cha on down to the Fernbank Museum of Natural History’s Martinis and IMAX for a cocktail or two and dance the night away at their Salsa Dance Night featuring the Salsambo Dance Studio!

Get comfy and cozy with the creatures of the night at The Plaza Theater for their October Fright Fest featuring the horror films of yesteryear and a frightening good time! Get horrified as you view the German expressionistic film, directed by F.W. Murnau, NOSFERATU (1922) releasing the darkly morbid, blood-sucking beast, Vampire Count Orlok to the masses, James Whale of Universal Pictures’ FRANKENSTEIN (1931) starring Boris Karloff as The Monster, the Halperin Brothers’ WHITE ZOMBIE (1932) featuring Bela Legosi, James Whale’s THE INVISIBLE MAN (1933) starring Claude Rains and Herk Harvey’s film that inspired the wickedly disturbed mind of David Lynch, CARNIVAL OF SOULS (1962). It’s an evening of shock and terror you won’t want to miss!

Saturday, October 19

Today is the day all you ghosts and goblins have been waiting for! Little Five Points business district hosts its 13th annual Little Five Points Halloween Festival & Parade!  So, come on out dressed to the nines in your spookiest Halloween costume and get haunted! Get fed! Get rocked! And get your flesh to the best Halloween parade in the south!  The event wakes from the dead at noon and haunts until 11 pm, with an artists’ market, food venders including Palookaville, the Naked Donut Company and many more as well as two stages for live entertainment, The Jagermeister Stage, located in Findley Plaza and the Wrecking Bar Brewpub Stage located in the The Star Bar’s parking lot.  The spooktacular parade of horror runs from 4 to 6 pm and promises to spook even the bravest of the brave, so pick a spot and hold on tight!  Get your faces rocked off with Kool Kats galore and more at the Jagermeister Stage! Mercury Orkestar, a spitfire gypsy brass band will have you boogyin’ at 1 pm. Grim Rooster with Kool Kat Phil Stair gets down and dirty with that high energy rockin’ rockabilly at 2 pm.  Kool Kat Julea Thomerson & Her Dear Johns goes on at 3 pm, with their banjo’n foot stompin’ honkytonk while Cletus & His City Cousins will keep you dancin’ with that rockin’ big rig honkytonk at 6 pm! Kool Kat Caroline Hull Engel and her band The Ramblers will have you up and dancin’ with some heated classic rockabilly at 7 pm!  For some ‘gypsy punk garage grass’, Strung Like A Horse promises to deliver at 8 pm followed by The Higher Choir beltin’ out that roots rock and soul at 9 pm.  Head on over to the Wrecking Bar Brewpub Stage for a deadly good time as Kool Kats Ryan Howard, Derek Obscura and Jamie Robertson of the Casket Creatures wake you from the dead with their horror punk from the unknown at 2 pm.  Walk From the Gallows will keep you rockin’ with their retro-inspired rock/country at 3 pm.  After the parade surf on back to catch up with Kool Kat Joshua Longino and Andrew & the Disapyramids as they throw an unforgettable Halloween beach party at 6 pm! The Biters will get a taste of your flesh at 7 pm followed by Stonerider and their bitchin’ retro rock at 8pm!  The Locksmyth, reminiscent of Tom Waits and The Kinks will have you on your toes at 9 pm followed by Jungol gettin’ David Lynch-y and rockin’ you at 10 pm! You won’t want to miss out on the best Halloween festival around, so drag your warm bodies out of bed and head on down to Euclid Avenue!

Andrew & the Disapyramids.

Tonight is 80s night at the Variety Playhouse as the Yacht Rock Review performs their ghoulish October tradition of performing Michael Jackson’s Thriller album, in its zombified horrific entirety, followed by their MTV Party to Go! where you can embrace your inner neon child and dance the night away to the dance music of ’87 to ‘92 at 7:30 pm!  If you need a little more hard-core 80s, rock on over to the Drunken Unicorn for a  night of Guitar Wolf, those rockers from Japan who’ll leave you begging for more of their Ramones and rockabilly sounds! Watch out ladies! If you want his body, and you think he’s sexy, come out and spend the night with Rod Stewart as he takes over Atlanta at Philips Arena with Steve Winwood!  If you need something a little on the mellow side, check out Audience Wanted: An Eclectic Evening of Dance presented by the Georgia Ballet with dance accompanied by the music of Nat King Cole and other jazz legends at the Marietta Performing Arts Center.  The Bitteroots’ tangy, soulful funk can be found at Big Tex while The Boohoo Ramblers will make you boogie-woogie on down at The Family Dog.  Fat Matt’s Rib Shack offers their ‘retro rock repertoire’ with The Tone Prophets while Francine Reed gets intimate and bluesy wild at Blind Willie’s.  For some countrified blues, head on over to Steve’s Live Music in Sandy Springs for the Tom Lennon Band! And to get a taste of some true ‘punk grass’ bluesy Texas swing, boogie on over to the Red Clay Theater to spend an evening with Grace & Tory, The Wicks and Penny & Sparrow at 8 pm! 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, October 20

Witness the truth and come celebrate the 75^th anniversary of the most horrific broadcast of the 20th century, Orson Welles’ 1938 War of The World broadcast that terrified the nation, presented by the Atlanta Radio Theater Company at the Morris & Rae Frank Theater’s production of WAR OF THE WORLD: THE UNTOLD STORY in Dunwoody! Find out what really transpired on this one day only event where you learn about the martian invasion that began it all and how the extermination of humanity was really averted! You won’t want to miss this truly momentous revelation with only two showings at 2:30 and 7:30 pm!

Start your day with a Bluegrass Brunch with the Decatur Bluegrass Association at Big Tex in Decatur from 11am to 1 pm.  Get a sneak peak of the choreography of Gathering Wild Dance Company’s newest creation, Circa 50, in their free event at Dance 101, ‘Party Like it’s 1955’ throwing a 1950’s style party from 4 to 6 pm!  Get funky at The Earl with Grupo Fantasma’s Latin Funk Orchestra and Heavy Chevy!  The Family Dog presents the bluesy sounds of the Jez Graham Trio and Joe Gransden while Fatback Deluxe belts out their retro blues, soul and jazz from the 40s, 50s and 60s at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack!  The Appleseed Collective offers a little of their ragtime, sweaty soul at Smith’s Olde Bar while Poor Old Shine gets down and dirty with some foot stompin’ Americana at Eddie’s Attic! Blues it on down to the Northside Tavern for the sounds of Uncle Sugar or come out and experience the Joni Mitchell Tribute Dinner Show at 6 pm, featuring Margo Bernstein, Kim Chamberlain and more at Steve’s Live Music in Sandy Springs! And it’s your last chance to find out what really happened in the Coen Brothers’ FARGO (1996) at The Plaza Theater during their Fall Focus on Directors series!

Ongoing

Atlanta Zombie Apocolypse runs from Sept. 27 through Nov. 2. 

Netherworld haunts from Sept. 27 through Nov. 2.

Six Flags’ Fright Fest spooks every weekend from Oct. 5 through Oct. 27.

Oakland Cemetery’s Halloween Tours haunt  Thursday & Sundays 5:30 – 9:30, Friday & Saturdays – 5:30 – 10:30, so, come on out for their spooky one-hour ghost tours! It’s your only chance to rendezvous with the ghosts of Atlanta after dark! Runs Oct. 18 through Oct. 27.

Center for Puppetry Arts’s THE WIZARD OF OZ follows the yellow brick road until Oct 20. (W-F 10 & 11:30, Sat 12 & 2 and Sun 1 & 3 pm) (LAST CHANCE!)

Serenbe Playhouse’s THE SLEEPY HOLLOW EXPERIENCE chills and thrills from Oct. 10 through Oct. 31

The Stage Door Players’ presentation of THE ANDREW BROTHERS: A MADCAP MUSICAL SALUTE TO THE SWINGING 40s swings from Oct. 10 through Oct. 20. (LAST CHANCE!)

Agatha’s A Taste of Mystery’s who-done-it mystery dinner show, ‘SOMEWHERE OVER THE RAINBOW…SOMEONE DIES!’ runs from Oct. 7 through Nov. 6.

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.

Just another reason Atlanta has become Halloween-Town, USA is the Rock and Roll Monster Bash  Sun. June 2 at the Starlight Six Drive-In. Hosted by the Silver Scream Spookshow‘s Professor Morte, the fiendishly fun festival of macabre music and movies is now in its 11th year. Highlights include MONSTROSITY CHAMPIONSHIP WRESTLING, live music by six bands, a souped-up hearse show, and two classic horror features in 35 mm majesty, THE DEVIL’S RAIN (1975), starring William Shatner, Ernest Borgnine and John Travolta, as well as Sam Raimi‘s EVIL DEAD 2 (1987), starring Bruce Campbell‘s chin and a chainsaw. [Read our Retro Reviews for THE DEVIL’s RAIN here and EVIL DEAD 2 here].

Another big reason to come is a vicious vendors market, featuring a wide variety of cool monster-themed and Retro-inspired merchandise from vintage cult movie ephemera to vintage clothes, Gothic jewelry to BBQ and booze. One of our favorite discoveries last year was artist Jeff Riggan, who had just moved himself and his Monster Art Studio up to Atlanta from Florida. We’ve been running into him at various street festival art markets, and his work has never ceased to impress us, from stuffed sideshow freaks Slugmo and Squidboy to gigantic tiki/tropical-themed works or a mega-painting of Lux Interior of The Cramps!

A professional artist for nearly 30 years, Jeff has painted approximately 30 murals for Orlando-based Tijuana Flats Tex-Mex restaurants, as well as created sets, sculptures, murals and large scale artwork for the Universal theme parks, Six Flags, WonderWorks, Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, and more. He and his work has been featured in many publications, local and national news, as well as several television shows.

Needless to say, Jeff’s tent will be one of our first stops at the Bash this year, but ATLRetro also is horrifically happy to report that’s just one of his nefarious plots to do his part in making Atlanta the official monster capital of America!

ATLRetro: You’ve got some big plans for this year’s Rock N Roll Monster Bash, such as a scarily special photo op, I hear! What can you reveal in advance without giving away any spoilers?

Jeff Riggan: There will be blood.

As I recall, last year was either your first Monster Bash and you were pretty excited about being part of it. What’s your personal favorite thing about Monster Bash and why it’s a not-to-be-missed Atlanta event?

Last year Monster Bash was our first festival in Atlanta, and it opened the doors for me.  Monster Bash is a great venue for people with a freaky passion for art,  music, classic horror movies.

How did you first get into painting monsters? Does it go back to when you were a kid? Is there a cool story?

Listening to punk rock, skateboarding. Sid & Marty Krofft polluted my mind, Evel Knievel got me amped and Bob Ross had a painting show. That’s how it all started!

Who was your first favorite monster growing up and why?

[Maurice Sendak‘s] WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE. It laid rest on my mind until I started making my stuffed creatures.

You’ve done murals, 3-D art, sides of buildings, all sorts of crazy stuff. What were one or two of your most fun projects and why?

I worked in the theme park production industry for over 15 years, which was an amazing experience. I would have to say the most fun I had was in my own backyard, so to speak, painting murals for a local co-op in Florida, all over the outside of their buildings. They let me have the freedom to express myself. One of my most favorite was painting a three-story high Great Dane. I also enjoyed traveling from the Florida Panhandle to Chicago painting murals for a corporate restaurant – I was given free reign to paint whatever I wanted.

In addition to monsters and murals, you paint music-inspired art such as your recent Cramps and tiki-stuff. How do you describe your art and what are the limits of what you enjoy creating?

I listened to music before I began painting, it was a creative outlet for me until I discovered I was an artist. It’s a tangible way for me to express myself. They are intertwined, art and music. Lux Interior, Unknown Hinson, Hunter S. Thompson – in my own interpretive way.

You used to live in Florida. What brought you to Atlanta and when exactly did you move up here?

I came here as a leap of faith in May 2012. Monster Bash was our very first show here in ATL , so [I and my wife Emily] have been here for one year!  It was an immediate overwhelming sense of belonging – everyone we met said “Welcome to Atlanta.” True Southern Hospitality!

Atlanta has a huge horror scene now. What do you think of it, and how is the local fervor for horror inspiring/affecting your work? 

I think it’s amazing.  It definitely challenges me. I’ve also met some cool people – Tim [Mack] from Imperial Opa Circus, Chris Brown of Macabre Puppets – that have inspired me.

You seem like the kind of guy who must have an amazing studio. Can you describe it and what you keep around to inspire you?

Eyeballs, skulls, torsos,  “souvenirs” from dumpster diving and exploring old buildings, machine parts, trailers, bicycles – Fred G. Sanford would be envious!

Didn’t you some movie work here lately?

I just finished working on THE CIRCLE, an independent horror film, with Beth Marshall, Tripp Rhame, Ben Jacoby and Tom Hamilton. Forrest Hill and I built props, special effects, and build the sets  We worked out at the old prison farm on Key Road, near the Starlight Drive-In.

What else are you up to right now, and what’s the next event at which you’ll be exhibiting/selling your work? 

A featured spread in Stuffed Magazine with my felted circus freak creatures – Slugmo and Squidboy. We’ll be at the Strut [Sept. 21] in East Atlanta and then…..who knows!  My sets/booths are becoming more and more elaborate, and I am always adding new stuff.

What question do you wish someone would ask you but they never do? And what is the answer? 

Hey, can we pay you for your ideas, you just create stuff? The answer is YES!

The 11th annual Rock and Roll Monster Bash kicks off at 10 a.m. Sunday June 2 and runs all day and night at the Starlight Six Drive-In. Get their early to stake out the best parking spots. Bands include Alice Cooper tribute group Black Juju, Baby Baby, a reunion of The Butchers, Dracula (singing the hits as only he can!), Spooky Partridge and Metal Gaga (the lovechild of Lady Gaga and Iron Maiden!). Advance tickets are available at https://www.ticketalternative.com.

To purchase artwork year-round or contact Jeff about custom paintings, set design and more, visit Monster Art Studio online.

Monday, Sept. 3

Northside Tavern hosts its weekly Blues Jam featuring Lola Gulley. Head over to Fat Matt’s Rib Shack for BBQ and Peah Boy & Stephen T.

Tuesday, Sept. 4

Recent Kool Kat Calu Cordeira mixes tiki libations at Mai Tai Tahitian Tuesday starting at 9 p.m. at the Dark Horse Tavern tonight. Grab your horn and head to Twain’s in Decatur for a Joe Gransden jazz jam session starting at 9 p.m. Burning Time rock the blues at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack. Nathan Nelson & Entertainment Crackers blues it down at Northside Tavern. Dance the night away at Tues. Retro in the Metro nights at Midtown’s Deadwood Saloon featuring video mixes of ’80s, ’90s and 2Ks hits.

Wednesday, Sept. 5

Cobb Energy Centre goes classic goth with Dead Can Dance. Yippee-ki-yay, The Plaza is screening a 35mm print of DIE HARD (1988) tonight at 9:30 p.m. Get ready to rumba, cha-cha and jitterbug at the weekly Swing Night at Graveyard Tavern. Frankie’s Blues Mission plays Fat Matt’s Rib Shack. Danny “Mudcat” Dudeck blues it down at Northside Tavern. Dance to ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s hits during Retro in the Metro Wednesdays at Pub 71 in Brookhaven.

Thursday Sept. 6

Chris Isaak rocks Cobb Energy Centre. Go Goth again when Jesus and Mary Chain haunt Variety Playhouse. Eat, drink and play a classic game with an adult spin every Thursday night as Mon Cherie presents Mad Lib-Ations, Atlanta’s newest Retro weekly pastime, starting at 7 p.m. at the Corner Tavern in Little 5 Points. The fun-filled night includes games and prizes from some of the city’s most fun Retro retailers, Psychobilly Freakout and punk faves spun by The Right Reverend Andy and a raffle. Relax with a tropical cocktail at vintage tiki bar Trader Vic’s where Tongo Hiti play Retro-Polynesian luxurious live lounge sounds, as well as trippy takes on iconic pop songs, every Thursday night. Every first Thursday at 8 p.m., Drink and Ink at Milltown Tavern Arts provides artists with 2-for-1 Pabst Blue ribbons and Binders art supplies brings out new products to test. The Breeze Kings and Chickenshack bring on the blues respectively at Northside Tavern and Fat Matt’s Rib Shack. Mike Z Trio honkytonks it up at Big Tex.

Friday, Sept. 7

Kool Kat Rod Hamdallah plays The Earl with The Goddamn Gallows and J.D. Wilkes & The Dirt Daubers. Rockoholics are at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack. Quentin Tarantino favorite The Street Fighter (1974) with martial arts superstar Sonny Chiba is on the big screen at GSU’s Cinefest at 9 p.m.The Plaza starts a three-day run of the Stanley Kubrick classic FULL METAL JACKET (1987). Frankie’s Blues Mission brings on the blues at Johnny MacCracken’s. Danny “Mudcat” Dudeck blues it down at Northside Tavern. The Backyard Birds play Big Tex. Bonaventure Quartet swings Steve’s Live Music. Derryl Rivers and Company perform blues, jazz and a slight bit of funk under the dinosaurs at Fernbank Museum of Natural History Martinis & IMAX.

Saturday, Sept. 8

Battle of the Burgers starting at noon at John Howell Park features not just red meat but really great rockabilly, honkytonk and Redneck Underground bands including Hot Rod Walt Trio, Whiskey Belt, Slim Chance & the Convicts, Wesley Cook and Sailing to Denver.Unknown Hinson plays The Brothers and Sisters Festival at Masquerade with Blackberry Smoke, North Mississippi All-Stars, Reynolds & Williams Band and Nathan Nelson & the Entertainment Crackers. Kayla Taylor Jazz performs their Big Show of the year at Mable House Barnes Amphitheatre as part of the free South Cobb Arts Candlelight Concert series. If you missed our Kool Kat interview with Kayla, catch up here. “Come quietly or there will be trouble” when Splatter Cinema serves up a rare chance to see a 35mm print of ROBOCOP (1987) at 9:30 p.m. on the big screen at The Plaza. Tommy Dean Trio plays Big Tex. Beverly “Guitar” Watkins is at Fat Matt’s.  is at Variety Playhouse. Ike Stubblefield brings on the blues piano-style at Northside Tavern. And as usual, DJ Romeo Cologne transforms the sensationally seedy Clermont Lounge into a ’70s disco/funk inferno late into the wee hours.

Sunday, Sept. 9

Snake Legs rock the blues at Fat Matt’s, and Uncle Sugar blues it down at Northside Tavern.  Bernadette Seacrest and her R.L. Martin plays dunch at 1 p.m. at The Earl. Frankie’s Blues Mission, Snave & The Grass and Lola are at Smith’s Olde Bar.

If you know of a cool happening coming up soon, send suggestions to ATLRetro@gmail.com.

Tuesday, November 1

The Kinks’ Ray Davies invites you to come dancing at Center Stage. Grab your horn and head to Twain’s in Decatur for a weekly Joe Gransden Jazz Jam session starting at 9 p.m. JT Speed is at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack. Catch Tues. Retro in the Metro nights at Midtown’s Deadwood Saloon, featuring video mixes of ’80s, ’90s and 2Ks hits.

Wednesday, November 2

The current line-up of Guns ‘N Roses finally brings the arena tour supporting their 2008 CHINESE DEMOCRACY album stateside, and one of the first dates is here in Atlanta at Philips Arena tonight. Compared to a crazy awesome mash-up of Joni Mitchell, Green Day, The Replacements and Jonathan Richman and the Modern Lovers, The Front Bottoms bring their eclectic indie punk acoustic sound to The Masquerade tonight. Slamdance On The Road presents the award-winning and critically acclaimed documentary SUPERHEROES directed by Michael Barnett, and the short HELLO CALLER at The Plaza tonight. It’s described as “a profoundly funny, eccentric and inspiring film that chronicles the extraordinary lives of real-life superheroes as they take to the streets to protect and support their communities.” Filmmakers and superheroes will be on hand for a Q&A after the screening. Get ready to rumba, cha-cha and jitterbug at the weekly Swing Night at Graveyard Tavern. The Hollidays make it a rhythm & soulful, rock n rollful night at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack. Danny “Mudcat” Dudeck blues it down at Northside Tavern. Southern rock meets Funkytown at Smith’s Olde Bar with Sol Driven Train and Atlanta Funk Society. Dance to ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s hits during Retro in the Metro Wednesdays presented by Godiva Vodka, at Pub 71 in Brookhaven.

Thursday, November 3

Out on Film presents a celebration of the 10th anniversary of a modern silent classic CLAIRE, called an “uncompromising work of art” by American Cinematographer and “charming and poignant” by Variety at 8 p.m. at the Woodruff Arts Center. The Orchestra de Lune under Anne Richardson’s baton plays the soundtrack live to the 35mm print, and filmmaker, cast and crew will be in attendance. See a trailer here and buy tickets here.

The Center for Puppetry Arts’ official stage adaptation of the Rankin-Bass misfit Christmas TV classic Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer starts a two-month run through Dec. 31. Watch for an ATLRetro ‘Tis the Season exclusive behind-the-scenes preview soon. Influenced by botany, chicken and compassion, Atlanta soul country rockers Villain Family claim their sound lies somewhere betwixt Edgar Allan Poe and Hank Williams. Find out for yourself what that means when they play the Star Bar tonight with French funk ‘n’ roll duo Inspector Cluzo and Oakland folk/bluegrass/rock band Tornado Rider. Tongo Hiti serve up Retro-Polynesian luxurious live lounge sounds, as well as trippy takes on iconic pop songs, every Thursday night at Trader Vic’s. The Breeze Kings and The Chickenshack bring on the blues respectively at Northside Tavern and Fat Matt’s Rib Shack. Drunk on Crutches play Bluegrass Thursday at Red Light Cafe.

Friday, November 4

Pack your bags and grab your boarding pass. Then head on over to The Shelter as Mon Cherie and her fabulous crew of flight attendants & cruise Directors present the first of her new Bon Voyage, World Tour Destination Party series. The first sultry excursion is to The Islands of Hawaii – Where Everyone Gets Lei’d (well, at least the first 80 people, she promises!) Doors open at 9 p.m., and the tiki-inspired fun kicks off at 10 p.m. with a Bon Voyage Fanfare Celebration, complete with confetti & streamers as you arrive in the enchanted isles just as the Luau begins. A Hula Gals & Tiki Show stars LaLa Masseur, Stormy Knight, Toniet Gallego (aka Chinita La Chou Chou of Blast-Off Burlesque), Marilynn Chen and New Orleans Jon. More festivities include Maui Wowie Shots, a Pin-Up Swimsuit Contest, Holiday Spa Pampering, Tiki Fabulous Games & Prizes and Industrial Dance & Surfing Craze brought to you by DJ 313 and DJ Rev Andy. For the entire destination schedule, click here.

Queensryche brings their chaotic creative mix of metal and ‘70s art rock The Masquerade. International Bruce Springsteen tribute band Bruce in the USA rocks Variety Playhouse. You may spy Unknown Hinson, the King of the Country-Western Troubadours, and burlesque lovelies Syrens of the South at The Earl. It’s a punk rock/hard rock night at Star Bar with Tweezer, El Caminos and Nashville’s Spider Virus. HERO plays soulful soft rock at Fernbank Museum of Natural History’s Martinis and IMAX.

Saturday, November 5

The Criminal Cuties PinUp Pageant is the latest in an ongoing series of events to raise money to save Criminal Records, the hard-hit L5P record and comics shop, with some sexy fun at 7:30 p.m. (doors at 6 p.m.) Get the seductive scoop from this week’s Kool Kat Amber Lu here. Jump, Jive & Wail commemorates the 1940s era with an evening of swing dancing to the live music of the Peachtree Jazz Edition‘s 18-piece Big Band ensemble. This free event starts at 7 p.m. at Kennesaw State University’s Dept. of Museums, Archives & Rare Books (Museum of History & Holocaust Education), and also includes free swing dance lessons, a 1940s-style photo shoot, refreshments, a surprise raffle, and more! Attendees are invited (but not required) to wear 1940s attire. The High Museum of Art continues its MODERN MASTERS OF FILM series with THE CHELSEA GIRLS (1966), Andy Warhol’s voyeuristic peek into eight rooms at New York’s infamous Chelsea Hotel with a Velvet Underground soundtrack. Introduction and post-film discussion with Thomas Kiedrowski, Warhol aficionado and author of Andy Warhol’s New York City. Burnt Bacon brings their heady mix of blues, funk, country and soul to Northside Tavern. And as usual, DJ Romeo Cologne transforms the sensationally seedy Clermont Lounge into a ’70s disco/funk inferno late into the wee hours.

Sunday, November 6

Bonaventure Quartet serves up a jazz-ilicious blues “dunch” between 1-4 PM at The Earl.  

Ongoing

Fabrefaction Theatre Company brings Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler’s chilling, suspenseful, heart-pounding masterpiece of murderous barber-ism and culinary crime to the stage. A tale of retribution and in essence, obsession, SWEENEY TODD, THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET serves up a delicious portion of gruesome humor, sinister spite, and suspicious meat pies. Through Nov. 13.

Explore one of America’s most iconic theaters in AIN’T NOTHING LIKE THE REAL THING: HOW THE APOLLO THEATER SHAPED AMERICAN ENTERTAINMENT, a special exhibition at the Atlanta History Center . Presented by the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, in collaboration with the Apollo Theater Foundation, the display includes historic and contemporary costumes, playbills, music scores, graphic images and recorded music. Through March 4, 2012

LIFE AND DEATH IN THE PYRAMID AGE: THE EMORY OLD KINGDOM MUMMY features the first public viewing in 50 years of the oldest Egyptian mummy in the Western Hemisphere, acquired from excavations at Abydos by Emory Theology Professor William A. Shelton in 1920. Watch for a Really Retro piece on this fascinating exhibit at Emory’s Michael C. Carlos Museum soon. Through Dec. 11, 2011.

If you know of a cool happening coming up soon, send suggestions to ATLRetro@gmail.com.

Atlanta certainly has earned its place on the map of the Neo-Burlesque Revival with amazing performers and troupes. Now this steamy Southern city finally is getting its first bonafide burlesque festival, too. In case you’ve been too naughty to notice, Southern Fried Burlesque Fest dances into town next weekend, Thurs. March 10- Sun. March 13, 2011, at the Holiday Inn Hotel and Conference Center in Decatur. But co-founders Katherine Lashe and Ursula Undress (Syrens of the South Productions) kindly have agreed to pull back the curtains and strip down to some of the delicious details…

Katherine Lasche & Ursula Undress invite you to some Southern-fired fun at Atlanta's first burlesque festival.

1. Is there any story behind how you hatched the idea for Southern Fried Burlesque Fest and why Atlanta needs its own festival?

Katherine Lashe: Atlanta’s the biggest city in the Southeast and a hot bed for burlesque with guest performers coming in all the time so it seemed to make sense that we should have a festival to show off all of the amazing talent from all aspects of burlesque that the Southeast had to offer, in addition to showing the Southeast what the rest of the world has to offer as well.

Ursula Undress: I had heard some talk about how we needed to do something like it here at a few of the Atlanta Burlesque & Cabaret Meet-Ups and had been to a few other state-specific festivals. So I supported Katherine with wanting to move forward with one here and told her I would do whatever I could to help. We definitely have the talent in the city and surrounding areas—so it has become sort of a regional thing.

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