Night of the Living Tribute Bands (NOTLTB) is to musicians what Olympia's Procession of the Species is to artists. But instead of life-size whales constructed out of reclaimed wood, it's Marshall stacks, rocker stances and an emulation of a band that takes months to perfect.

Held at the Capitol Theater, NOTLTB is in the business of resurrecting famous, favorite bands. This year, The Specials, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Beastie Boys, They Might Be Giants, The Pixies, Queens of the Stone Age, and Iron Butterfly will rock the stage.

A recurring theme with the bands is that they strive to make their tribute as true to life as possible, bringing in the same instruments, costumes and nuances to the stage as their music heroes would have.

Take this year's Beastie Boys, for instance. A sneak peek at their performance shows that Mike D (Dan Fajans), Ad-Rock (Ben Levine) MCA (Thomas Murray) and DJ Hurricane (Keith Naccarato) have got it down. There's even a guest appearance by Slayer's Kerry King (Tim Deidrich) to pull the riffs on "Fight For Your Right (To Party)" and "No Sleep Till Brooklyn."

The pitches on the voice, the energy in the performance and the timing of the beats proves these boys have been studying. They even have the signature Adidas, sunglasses and gold chains.

"We watched a lot of videos from the ‘80s, before they turned into old men," laughed Fajans. "We want to be the young, punk Beastie Boys as opposed to Beastie Boys that played the Tibetan Freedom Concert."

The bands involved in NOTLTB come together out of a love of performance and often have never played music together. Many bands have been working all year on their performance.

"You have to really dial in every little part," said Diedrich, a seven year veteran of NOTLTB. "A lot of times people really underestimate the amount of work."

But it pays off. The audience loves it, and the show sells out year after year.

"It's like going to somebody's birthday party that's lived here forever," Diedrich said. "It's a good time."

Come celebrate with the rest of Olympia and join the costume contest for a chance to win a pair of tickets to the 30th Annual Olympia Film Festival.

NIGHT OF THE LIVING TRIBUTE BANDS, 8 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 26, all ages, bar 21+, Capitol Theater, 206 Fifth Ave. SE, Olympia, $10, $8 OFS members, available at olympiafilmsociety.org, Rainy Day Records and the door, 360.754.6670

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