There are cover bands and then there are tribute bands. The former might be able to pump out some decently convincing AC/DC covers for a frat party, but the latter lives, breathes, and eerily replicates the lives of the band members. These bands often have an additional twist: You all love a certain arena metal band, plus you’re all ladies? Perfect. Really into Led Zeppelin, but also reggae? Excellent. You happen to all worship the Misfits and each weigh over 250 pounds? Oh yes, that’s the stuff from which hilarious tribute acts are made. Click through to count down, in no particular order, the 10 funniest tribute bands we could find.
1. The Misfats
Billing themselves as “the fattest Misfits cover band ever!” — and you’d be hard-pressed to prove them wrong — the Misfats proudly change all the lyrics of Misfits songs to be fat-friendly. That means “20 Eyes” becomes “20 Pies,” and the word “martian” becomes “lardass.” And ladies, you’re in luck: they’re looking for a chubby cover girl Misfat. Bring your A-game and you might be able to “waddle amongst” them. Listen to some of their music here.
2. Mini Kiss
Odds are, you’ve seen this intrepid Kiss cover band in the Dr. Pepper commercial where they join the real Kiss on stage. But Mini Kiss is no advertising gimmick: they claim to be one of the most popular tribute acts in the world. And you can see why — who wouldn’t want to see a 4’4” dude rocking out in full metal gear?
3. Red Hot Chili Pipers
For those who love Flea and the gang but have always wished that there was more of a Scottish traditional instrumental arrangement to “Under the Bridge,” we have your solution. The Chili Pipers fuse bagpipe anthems with alternative rock hits — not just the Chili Peppers, but Coldplay too, as well as some oldies like “Smoke on the Water.”
4. Lez Zeppelin
This all-lady Zeppelin tribute has been touring across the US — and taking the cover band world by storm — since 2004. Plus, despite their funny name, these girls can actually kick out the jams with aplomb. They also seem to play at a B.B. King’s somewhere in the country almost every weekend.
5. Gabba
A British sensation since 1996, Gabba pays tribute to both ABBA and the Ramones by playing the former’s infectiously catchy Swedish dance tunes in the style of 1970s Brooklyn punk. The resulting songs (some of which you can listen to here) have titles like “Hej Ho Disco,” “Fernando es un Punk Rocker,” and “The Pinhead Takes It All.”
6. No Way Sis
Dubbed “the 2nd best band in the world” by Oasis frontman Noah Gallagher, this Oasis tribute band gained fame in its own right when they broke into the UK’s top 40 with their cover of “I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing.” Alas, after Oasis stopped their reign on the charts, No Way Sis broke up and went on to cover other things.
7. Chicks with Dixie
An all-transvestite Dixie Chicks cover band, Chicks with Dixie seems to exist at least as much for the name as for their music (which they don’t seem to have posted online). But you know what? We’ll take it.
8. AC/DShe
AC/DShe is a San Francisco-area AC/DC cover band that has — you guessed it — all female members. They’ve been playing the tribute circuit for 11 years and claim to be the first in the female metal tribute band wave craze. They also threaten to melt your face with their guitar-shredding.
9. Beatallica
Oh yes, that means what you think it means. Beatles covers in the style of Metallica. In practice, this entails mashing up classics from Abbey Road with more sinister lyrics. “Leper Madonna” and “Fuel on a Hill” are our personal favorites.
10. The VW Bugs
The Vampire Weekend tribute band that Pitchfork originally assumed was a joke is, well…not exactly a joke, but not totally sincere either. The band has certainly recorded some convincing covers of Vampire Weekend songs, but they also have a twitter account that satirizes the band as it promotes the tribute. Sample tweet: “Rest of band returns home and heads straight for their bunkbeds, still covered in taco filling but exhausted. ZZZZzzzz.” Oh, and they’re all Princeton grads to Vampire Weekend’s Columbia alumni.