At the heart of the tribute band phenomenon is a disarmingly naked sense of adulation. In order to properly emulate an established and (presumably) talented band, it requires talented musicians. These are people who can (and, in the case of Night of the Living Tribute Bands, do) spend large amounts of time in their own bands, making original music. However, their love for and appreciation of these other bands inspires them to attempt imitation.

For the past 11 years, in honor of Halloween, the Olympia Film Society has hosted an event simply known as Night of the Living Tribute Bands. These shows are rare windows into the musical lives of local performers whom we may know from seeing around town, but haven't yet learned of their inner devotions. Frequently, the tribute bands that perform at Night of the Living Tribute Bands are one-offs, assembled specifically for the event and made up of jumbled about musicians from various local bands (though an all-female Black Sabbath tribute band called Black Betty was born out of the event).

"Everyone just comes together for one night," says the Olympia Film Society's Audrey Henley, organizer of Night of the Living Tribute Bands. "We're really fortunate that we have so many great musicians in our town. Some people are coming from Tacoma. I believe that some of the folks who are in the T. Rex tribute band have some of their members from Tacoma. ... There's a transformation that happens at Night of the Living Tribute Bands, which is kind of how we play with that title. These musicians came together, they worked their asses off, and it's crazy to see and hear. ... These bands all play for free, and a lot of these musicians don't really know each other or they play in different bands. It's creating another community of musicians, which is my favorite thing about this show."

The lineup for this year's Night of the Living Tribute Bands is psychotic, which is really most of the fun. Try to imagine this bill: Dolly Parton, T. Rex, Bauhaus, AC/DC, Alice Cooper, early punk-era Beastie Boys and KISS. How will the arena rock of AC/DC and KISS match up with the gloomy proto-goth of Bauhaus? Or, how will Dolly Parton fair with the fans who came to see the punk of Beastie Boys or the macabre metal of Alice Cooper? T. Rex sticks out as the glittered-covered glam thumb that it is. It's total madness. (Ooh, can you imagine if Madness was on the bill?)

I've been getting a lot of pressure for the past couple weeks to think up a good costume for Halloween. My response is to say that I don't think I should be forced to dress up in a costume that I don't care anything about. At Night of the Living Tribute Bands, these bands will dress up as the figures that really mean something to them. They will aspire to imitation, with the insanity of the ensuing show being their one reward.

Your reward is to see the far corners of rock assembled in one place, for one night only.

Night of the Living Tribute Bands
Saturday, Oct. 29, 8:30 p.m., $5 w/ costume, $8 w/o costume, Capitol Theater, 206 Fifth Ave. SE, Olympia, 360.754.5378