Best Of Atlanta 2007 After Dark Large


After Dark



Some things become passé with the passage of time. Like spandex biker shorts. Remember when those were hot? Other stuff transcends the era in which it was created. Sorta like oatmeal. It’s always on the menu.

Sure, it’s easy to take a young, all-female band such as the Coathangers, mash them up with the city’s oldest beer-can-crushing stripper, and label the former trendy and the latter timeless. But that barely scratches the surface. Because there’s nothing more timeless than watching a band full of cute twentysomethings provoke extreme reactions by throwing their femininity in everybody’s face. On the other hand, if you’ve never had Blondie jab you in the face with her tits at the Clermont Lounge, you have yet to receive a true gag gift.

Likewise, Atlanta’s emerging rock scene is brand-spanking new compared with the city’s entrenched rap industry. Yet bands such as the Black Lips and Deerhunter put Atlanta on blast in ‘07 with timeless techniques like DIY touring, grassroots promotion and buzz-worthy performances. Meanwhile, homegrown hip-hop relied on the viral marketing of YouTube dance-offs, mixtape massacres, and a fleeting fantasy to “Party Like a Rockstar.”

Just like the city, the vibe Atlanta emits is a little bit country and a little bit controversial. Put the two together and you get something greater than the sum of our parts.

Call it spandex-flavored oatmeal.

– Rodney Carmichael

Best Sports Bar BOA Award Winner

Year » 2007
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2007 » After Dark » Readers Pick
Taco Mac Virginia Highlands
Multiple metro Atlanta locations.

Best Strip Club BOA Award Winner

Year » 2007
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2007 » After Dark » Critics Pick
Strokers Club
Even swelling gas prices can’t stop folks from descending on STROKERS, the pleasure palace where parting with dollar bills never felt so liberating. Bottles aren’t the only thing popping here. In an age where Brazilian butt implants abound, clubs such as Strokers are the preferred destinationmore...
Even swelling gas prices can’t stop folks from descending on STROKERS, the pleasure palace where parting with dollar bills never felt so liberating. Bottles aren’t the only thing popping here. In an age where Brazilian butt implants abound, clubs such as Strokers are the preferred destination for those who like to take it to the gluteus maximus. You’re likely to see as many females sitting on the couch as you’ll spot sliding down the pole. Guys aren’t the only ones who lap up the two for $10 table dances on Customer Appreciation Mondays. But if you don’t have enough cash to make it rain, leave the shot callin’ to the rappers and ballers. less...

Best Strip Club BOA Award Winner

Year » 2007
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2007 » After Dark » Readers Pick
Pink Pony

Best Strip Club BOA Award Winner

Year » 2007
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2007 » After Dark » Critics Pick
Clermont Lounge
When it comes to strip clubs, the CLERMONT LOUNGE stands at the topless, er, top of must-see Atlanta landmarks. Locals and visitors are drawn to the kitsch appeal of the dingy basement-level dive bar. The Clermont isn’t like anything you’ve ever seen in person. Originally a swank suppermore...
When it comes to strip clubs, the CLERMONT LOUNGE stands at the topless, er, top of must-see Atlanta landmarks. Locals and visitors are drawn to the kitsch appeal of the dingy basement-level dive bar. The Clermont isn’t like anything you’ve ever seen in person. Originally a swank supper club in the mid-’50s, it became the Clermont we know and love in 1965 and hasn’t changed much over the years. A steady stream of customers — including guests ranging from Marilyn Manson to Jon Stewart — keep the place jiggling into the wee hours. Face it: The rustic interior has played host to more dancing and debauchery than you’ll ever witness in a lifetime — or three. And speaking of double D’s, legendary poet/adult entertainer/all-around diva Blondie has helped put the place on the map with her infamous beer-can-crushing skills. less...

Best Stripper Other Than Blondie BOA Award Winner

Year » 2007
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2007 » After Dark » Readers Pick
Blondie

Best Urban Music Club BOA Award Winner

Year » 2007
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2007 » After Dark » Critics Pick
Sugarhill
No other venue captures the sonic and cultural diversity of Atlanta like SUGARHILL, an urban hang suite where underground legends, Blackberry professionals and occasional pop stars shake their groove thangs to 4 a.m. Sugarhill reminds us that soul has always been a Southern thing, as a new generationmore...
No other venue captures the sonic and cultural diversity of Atlanta like SUGARHILL, an urban hang suite where underground legends, Blackberry professionals and occasional pop stars shake their groove thangs to 4 a.m. Sugarhill reminds us that soul has always been a Southern thing, as a new generation of crooners and sexy sirens gets funky and free during Tuesday night jam sessions hosted by soul mama Joi, featuring Little John and the Chronicle. An all-star lineup of DJs (Kemit, Salah Ananse, Jamad) offers a sweaty good time raising the roof with an alluring array of house, soul, dance and hip-hop. Beyond the music, the mixed-use venue also hosts poetry nights, comedy and fundraisers with a signature home-grown flair. less...

Best Urban Music Club BOA Award Winner

Year » 2007
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2007 » After Dark » Readers Pick
MJQ Concourse

Best Local Vocalist BOA Award Winner

Year » 2007
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2007 » After Dark » Critics Pick
Bernadette Seacrest
Not since Francine Reed settled here 25 years ago has a singer new to the Atlanta scene made such an indelible first impression as BERNADETTE SEACREST. The irony is that the jazz chanteuse is more popular in Europe than in her adopted city, but don’t expect that to last long. Seacrest singsmore...

Not since Francine Reed settled here 25 years ago has a singer new to the Atlanta scene made such an indelible first impression as BERNADETTE SEACREST. The irony is that the jazz chanteuse is more popular in Europe than in her adopted city, but don’t expect that to last long. Seacrest sings torch songs with a fragile and haunting voice that is Billie Holiday cross-pollinated with Madeleine Peyroux. Both members of her two-piece band are alumni of Col. Bruce Hampton — former Aquarium Rescue Unit guitarist Charlie Williams and current Quark Alliance bassist Chris Dale. Seacrest, who moved to Atlanta from Albuquerque in 2006, didn’t even take up singing until six years ago. Catch her now before Atlanta finally discovers her. You’ll be struck first by her tattoos, then you’ll be captivated by her voice.


www.bernadetteseacrest.com

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Best Local Blues Act BOA Award Winner

Year » 2007
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2007 » After Dark » Critics Pick
Danny “Mudcat” Dudeck
The blues is a universal feeling that transcends languages, social status and the constraints of musical genre. DANNY “MUDCAT” DUDECK knows that feeling intimately. He travels the globe spreading his version of the blues gospel and regularly works with a number of international blues-preservationmore...

The blues is a universal feeling that transcends languages, social status and the constraints of musical genre. DANNY “MUDCAT” DUDECK knows that feeling intimately. He travels the globe spreading his version of the blues gospel and regularly works with a number of international blues-preservation organizations. Lucky for us, he gets back to town most weeks to play the tiny Northside Tavern. Whether performing solo, leading a smokin’ band or a tight, one-off jam session with a founding father or a group of novices, his soulful and emotive delivery evokes images of the hard times that fed the early blues pioneers. And Mudcat’s Bayou-baked, chicken-party revues can make even the most jaded music fan happy to be blue.


www.mudcatblues.com

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Best Local R&B/Soul Act BOA Award Winner

Year » 2007
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2007 » After Dark » Critics Pick
Rahbi
When RAHBI takes the stage with a swagger that’s part pimp, part drag queen, it’s obvious why his arrival has caused such a stir among Atlanta’s staid soul scene. The background singer for Donnie stepped out of the shadows this year to unleash his own brand of “glamourmore...

When RAHBI takes the stage with a swagger that’s part pimp, part drag queen, it’s obvious why his arrival has caused such a stir among Atlanta’s staid soul scene. The background singer for Donnie stepped out of the shadows this year to unleash his own brand of “glamour soul.” It bears no resemblance to the singer/songwriter school of thought most of his Atlanta-based peers graduated from. Instead, Rahbi takes his cues from Prince — lace glove and all. During his “Strange Fruit” show in early 2007, he employed a pole dancer and stripper pole in his act. Yet his flamboyant stage show doesn’t overshadow the dramatic vocal ability he honed singing at his granddaddy’s Pentecostal church as a youngster. His appropriately titled live album, Rahbi-Raw, is scheduled for a fall release.


www.myspace.com/rahbi

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BOA Award Winner

Year » 2007
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2007 » After Dark
The Local
I love drinking at THE LOCAL (758 Ponce de Leon Ave., 404-873-5002). People from MJQ go over there, and I’m not actually working so I have a chance to relax and unwind. I know the bartenders over there, and I get to drink my Johnny Walker scotch and play pinball. The pinball is located in this littlemore...
I love drinking at THE LOCAL (758 Ponce de Leon Ave., 404-873-5002). People from MJQ go over there, and I’m not actually working so I have a chance to relax and unwind. I know the bartenders over there, and I get to drink my Johnny Walker scotch and play pinball. The pinball is located in this little back corner room, and I kinda like it being in the back away from everybody, away from the loud noises. I won two free games playing the ‘Family Guy’ pinball machine. I won the first free game, and then you’ve got to get another 15 million points on top of your first 20 million to get another free game. Maybe it’s normal to other people, but for someone like me who goes out all the time to the clubs, certain things like that are important to me in my life. Playing pinball, winning two free games and being able to get, like, 35 million points that’s memorable to me. ” As told to Mosi Reeves” less...

Best Local Hip-Hop Act BOA Award Winner

Year » 2007
Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2007 » After Dark
Young Ralph
It’s funny ‘cause right now new songs come out almost every day, so it’s kinda hard to pinpoint my favorite. Um, one right now is - I forgot his name. But the chorus is: ‘Look like money, smell like money.’ I think it’s YOUNG RALPH or something like that. You just believe it. You believemore...
It’s funny ‘cause right now new songs come out almost every day, so it’s kinda hard to pinpoint my favorite. Um, one right now is - I forgot his name. But the chorus is: ‘Look like money, smell like money.’ I think it’s YOUNG RALPH or something like that. You just believe it. You believe every word of it. That’s what it’s about. You can tell it ain’t somebody just putting on or trying to sound like somebody else. You can tell the guy really believes what he’s saying. Right now, you know, simplicity rules. And ... people will believe you in that simplicity. ” As told to Rodney Carmichael” less...


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