THE great thing about tribute acts is that it gives people the chance to see and hear bands they never got the chance to when they were in their pomp.

I would have loved to have seen The Beatles or The Small Faces but I couldn’t get the day off primary school.

And I would have loved to have witnessed the power and the glory that was Led Zeppelin in their 70s heyday but sadly, no joy there either as I was too busy bunking off big school.

For those of you of a similar plight, there’s the choice of YouTube or a quality tribute band, and they don’t come more qualitier than Whole Lotta Led.

They’ve been the prime UK tribute to Led Zep for 20 years now, relying on the music itself rather than costumes and wigs.

The band are all top pros and have been for decades, and they all saw the mighty Zep back in the day apart from keyboard player Martin Weetman who, despite having a ticket for the show at Earls Court in 1975, wasn’t allowed to go because his mum said so.

How rock’n’roll is that?

Interestingly, they’ve performed over 1,300 shows in their career which means they’ve played Stairway to Heaven more times than any other band ever, including Led Zeppelin themselves.

So expect a visit from a team of lawyers representing Spirit when they show up at the Corn Exchange in Dorchester tomorrow night, Saturday, April 23, for an epic two and a half hour romp through the hits, the album tracks and some rarities too.

Tickets at £15 are available from the box office on 01305 266926.

Now then, every band needs somewhere to rehearse when they’re starting out.

One of my first bands used to practise in my parents’ bedroom until some oaf (probably the bassist) decided to carve PUNKS ROOL OK with a penknife on my mum’s wardrobe door, so that put paid to that escapade. Still, it was 1977 after all.

But you’d have to go a long way to out-glam Hunter and The Bear’s first rehearsal space: A metal shipping container dumped in a London industrial estate car park.

Now, THAT is glamorous. Even so, it did the trick as the hairy four-piece are very much ones to watch with their soaring harmonies and sound somewhere between Lynryd Skynryd and The Band.

They landed the support slot on Eric Clapton’s recent UK arena tour and you can see and hear what all the fuss is about next Friday, April 29 when they rock up at Bridport’s Electric Palace.

Tickets are £10.50 from the box office on 01308 424901.

Right that’s it for this week. I’ll be back next Friday with a full run down of all the events over the first bank holiday weekend of May, including the Tea On The Quay at the Rendezvous and Spring Break at the Lazy Lizard in Weymouth. If you’d like your gig featured, send all your gumph to gigs@dorsetecho.co.uk Till next time…

GIG GUIDE

TONIGHT (22)

The Undercover Hippy (Corn Exchange, Dorchester)

Shooter (Finns, Weymouth)

Blazing Strings (Lazy Lizard, Weymouth)

Ray Charles (Weymouth Working Mens Club, Weymouth)

Chris Woodchuck (Edinburgh House of Sounds, Weymouth)

Billy Solo (Wellington, Weymouth)

Rob Ryan (Drift Bar, Hope Sq, Weymouth)

Coyote (Wyke Smugglers, Weymouth)

Alchemy (Wyke Regis Working Mens Club, Weymouth)

Hot Pockets (Royal Exchange, Portland)

Surfin’ Birds (Ropemakers, Bridport)

Rich Young (Boat That Rocks, Portland Marina)

Mojos (Golden Lion, Weymouth)

Milk and Two (Royal Oak, Weymouth)

SATURDAY (23)

Whole Lotta Led (Corn Exchange, Dorchester)

Regulation 9 (Finns, Weymouth)

The Dinnerladies (Sailors Return, Weymouth)

Under the Carousel (Lazy Lizard, Weymouth)

Barry Hobson (Conservative Club, Weymouth)

The Katz (Weymouth Working Mens Club, Weymouth)

Haze (Edinburgh House of Sounds, Weymouth)

Midnight Express (Wyke Working Mens Club, Weymouth)

Sheryl Lee (Park, Weymouth)

Skatmandu (George, Dorchester)

Coyote (Market House, Weymouth)

The Silhouettes (Centenary Club, Weymouth)

Splinter (Chalk and Cheese, Maiden Newton)

The Rocketeers (Wyke Social Club, Weymouth)

Average Wyke Band (Wyke Smugglers, Weymouth)

No Fixed Abode (Tom Browns, Dorchester)

Tommy Crawford (Tides Inn, Weymouth)

Diane (Bridge Inn, Preston, Weymouth)

Rockin’ 60s (Wyke Regis Working Mens Club, Weymouth)

Weird and Gilly (Victoria Inn, Dorchester)

Bug Tree Swamp (Ropemakers, Bridport)

All Funked Up (Golden Lion, Weymouth)

Bad Intention (Crown, Bridport)

Blazing Strings (Royal Oak, Weymouth)

SUNDAY (24)

Bowie/Meat Loaf: The Show They Never Did (Weymouth Pavilion)

Replay (Wyke Smugglers, Weymouth) 2pm.

Ricky Solo (Sailor’s Return, Weymouth) From 3pm.

Open Mic Surgery (George, Dorchester)

Sheryl Lee’s Sunday Club (Edinburgh H

ouse of Sounds, Weymouth) 4pm.

Bitter and Twisted (Britannia, Portland)

Dave Bowen Quintet (Trooper, Stourton Caundle) 1-3pm.

Gut and Steel (Crown, Bridport) 4pm.

Karen (Royal Oak, Weymouth) 3pm.

MONDAY (25)

Songwriters night with George Hall (Boho, Weymouth)

Acoustic session (Belvedere, Weymouth)

Georgie Broad (Edinburgh House of Sounds, Weymouth)

TUESDAY (26)

Singalong with Nigel (Edinburgh House of Sounds, Weymouth)

WEDNESDAY (27)

Georgie Broad (Edinburgh House of Sounds, Weymouth)

Wessex Folk Night (Sailors Return, Weymouth)

Open Mic Night (Belvedere, Weymouth)

Open Mic Night (Royal Exchange, Portland)

THURSDAY (28)

Leggomen (George, Weymouth)

Ricky Solo (Edinburgh House of Sounds, Weymouth)

Open Mic Surgery (Tom Browns, Dorchester)

Open Mic (Drift Bar, Hope Sq, Weymouth)

Traditional Tune Session (Cove House Inn, Portland)

Ukulele Sessions (Sailors Return, Weymouth)

SoapBox Night (Belvedere, Weymouth) Come and have a go, singing, poetry, comedy. Du Kane is your host.

FRIDAY (29)

Hunter and the Bear (Electric Palace, Bridport)

TBA (Finns, Weymouth)

Martin Maton (Weymouth WMC)

Ricky Solo (Edinburgh House of Sounds, Weymouth)

Rob Ryan (Park, Weymouth)

Billy Solo (Wellington, Weymouth)

Fluke (Boat That Rocks, Portland Marina)

Skint Imperials (Royal Exchange, Portland)