Yes, it's a good time to be a Beatle. Assuming you're not one of the dead ones.

This week marks the debut of The Beatles: Rock Band, which allows you to play the Beatles' catalog in actual Beatles venues, like the Ed Sullivan Show set, as seen above. Also, it is shiny and new, and shiny and new things are important.

To celebrate, on Tuesday night, the Blockbuster store at 9309 N 56th St. in Temple Terrace will offer a night of Beatlemaniacal entertainment, featuring music by Beatles cover band The Beatles Experience by Live and Let Die (which is the worst band name since The Moe Syzlak Experience Featuring Homer).

There will also be giveaways, pre-release game demos and the chance to win a copy of The Beatles: Rock Band. The fun all starts at 8 p.m., and leads up to the midnight release of the game

But wait, there's more! Also on Tuesday, Vinyl Fever in Tampa will have a daylong party leading up to the midnight release of the remastered Beatles catalog. Enjoy Beatles karaoke, Beatles trivia contests and prizes, food and drinks (including free PBR and green apples) and free limited edition Beatles lithographs with purchase.

And on Wednesday, Vinyl Fever will open early (10 a.m.) and feature live Beatles cover music by Lance Rowland and others.

The fun starts at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday. at Vinyl Fever, 4110 Henderson Blvd. in Tampa. Click here for details.

Meanwhile, Daddy Kool Records in St. Petersburg is also having a midnight Beatles sale on Wednesday, Sept. 9. They'll be open until midnight, playing The Beatles: Rock Band all night -- and they're offering 12 percent off EVERYTHING (except concert tickets).

Finally, looking ahead a few weeks, WMNF is preparing a tribute concert on Sept. 26 called "Come Together: A Tribute to Abbey Road, Yellow Submarine and the Beatles."

Twenty local bands will each perform three songs by the Beatles (get a full lineup after the jump). What's more, The Ditchflowers will perform an acoustic re-creation of Abbey Road at 5 p.m., and an electric re-creation of the album at 11 p.m. And Captain Obvious and the Duh Patrol will join forces with Freight Train Annie to perform the entirety of the Beatles' Yellow Submarine (the non-orchestral parts, at least).

The concert starts at 2 p.m. Sept. 26 at Skipper's Smokehouse in Tampa. These WMNF tribute shows tend to sell out, so you might want to get your tickets in advance.

There. We feel better, now that we've given this little-known foreign-born band some much-needed media attention.

-- Jay Cridlin, tbt*

From the WMNF press release:

Boon-- power-pop-fusion (ish-ness)

Captain Obvious and the Duh Patrol

The Chicken Chasers—Shving

Chorus Angelorum – a cappella vocal group

The Crabgrass Cowboys - Roots Country-Rockabilly-Americana-Bluegrass

The Ditchflowers--Folk Rock/Powerpop/Melodramatic Popular Song

Gumbo Boogie--Roots Rock Zydeco

Hat Trick Heroes--Alternative Rock Psychedelia

Juniper--Traditional Celtic & Alt. Folk

Mark C and Joe Reina--Acoustic Beatles

Parson Brown - 60's inspired folk/rock/eclectic

Phillip and Mike—Singer/Songwriters

Rich Whiteley Band--Gently Twisted Americana

Bob Anthony with Natty Moss-Bond--Singer-songwriters-instrumentalist

Sandy Atkinson & The Revelations--Blues.

Soul Purpose--Roots, Rock and Reggae

The Tampa Bay Women’s Blues Revue--Rhythm & Blues

10th Concession—Pop/Rock

Tribal Style—Reggae-Alternative-Ska