This is just a tribute

Among the unsung heroes of the suburbs are the fine folks at the Illinois Entertainer, that free monthly publication you get at your local watering hole, movie theater, all-night diner or, in increasingly rarer incidents, independent record store. You can always count on a good interview or two, but the main attraction of the IE, I must confess, is its complete collection of ads touting suburban bars' live entertainment for the month.

In this month's ads, I discovered the best band name in the world: Judas Beast. That's right, a Judas Priest and Iron Maiden tribute band. (Presumably, The Number of the Priest was too cumbersome a name.)

The concept alone is wonderful; why choose a side in the "Priest vs. Maiden" debate when you can happily embrace both? (It's a pointless argument anyway; when Eddie Trunk and Co. tackled it on VH1's "That Metal Show," no compelling evidence was offered in either's favor. Basically, Priest rocks, and Maiden rules. I prefer Maiden, but I'm digressing to a spectacular degree now.) Judas Beast's next appearance in Daily Herald Land comes Friday, March 6, at Barrington's heavy metal haven, the Penny Road Pub. I must go.

I've seen plenty of cover bands in my day -- you can't live in the suburbs and not stumble across Mike & Joe -- but have only seen full-on tribute bands twice. I had more fun seeing The Four Horsemen at Idol's in Palatine in 2003 than I did at the Metallica "St. Anger" show that same summer. I even saw the guys from the tribute band in the parking lot beffore the show; part of me wishes they had played on the big stage that night. (Idol's, by the way, is hosting a Led Zeppelin tribute band named Kashmir this weekend.) Back at EIU, I saw Tripping Billies play at Mother's, and all the awestruck girls there didn't seem to mind that the guys in the band weren't really Dave Matthews, Boyd Tinsley and Carter Beauford.

Every week I see ads for these tribute bands. I'm already sold, on name alone, on Judas Beast. But who else is worth seeing?