Beatles vs. the Dead: A Tribute Battle of the Bands, 11/6/09

Maybe it’s a generational thing.

Maybe it’s just a matter of “the song, not the singer.”

But the whole concept of the “tribute band” thing has always left me scratching my head. Maybe it’s because most of the bands that I’ve really loved over the years never became popular enough to demand that some bunch of musicians would go out on the road and play nothing but Doll by Doll songs. Or deal exclusively with the catalog of Manfred Mann. Or Chris Whitley, Jeff Buckley, Tindersticks…

Heck, there weren’t a whole lot of people going out to see those real-deal folks when they were still out there on tour – and, yes, some of them still are.

But apparently there are ticket-buyers out there willing to drop hard-earned cash to see Dark Star Orchestra pretend that they’re the Grateful Dead. Or 1964 The Tribute serving up a faux Fab Four performance. Hey, it’s a free country… isn’t it?

Anyway, if that’s the kind of thing that floats yer boat, you’ve got a decision to make on Friday (November 6):

Dark Star Orchestra at the Palace Theatre in Albany
or
1964 The Tribute at the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall in Troy

Which one are you going to see?

Or am I being just too harsh?