2009

The after-show is a curious species of concert: ostensibly designed to extend the buzz of a good night of music (or be just a fun, no-frills late night gathering), even a weak one usually succeeds. There’s no pressure from being prime-time headliners; performers have a tacit understanding with the audience that they’re going to keep things loose — place your expectations moderately, they’re saying, hold onto that buzz and have a little fun.

Under those expectations, this was one of the best I’ve ever seen: undoubtedly relaxed, with a terrific, no-bullshit and all-rock crowd, and a band that managed some awesomely fun and even transcendent moments while maintaining a goofy, freewheeling tone, charmingly self-aware but without much need for presentation or concert decorum. “We have no idea what the fuck we’re doing up here,” Mark Karan laughed, even after he and most of his stage mates had traded almost as many juicy solos as they had laughs.

Karan was the nominal bandleader, but for about two hours, it was essentially a RatDog-plus-guests set that saw no fewer than 12 musicians turn up, including a generous, 25-minute appearance from The Chief himself. The hours were wee; people had lined up outside of the cavernous, 150-capacity Triad Theater as early as 11:45 for a show that was supposed to start at midnight, but as with most aftershows, the stated start time was more or less a “suggested” times of arrival, and not a note was played before 1 a.m., if it was even that early.

READ ON for more on Mark Karan & Friends from Chad…

Legendary Downtown NYC rockers Living Colour launch a massive tour next week that will take them all over South America and Europe to promote the best album they’ve released since

In addition to doing Leno last week and Letterman this Monday, Rod Stewart will appear on The View on Tuesday and on Kimmel Thursday night to promote his Soulbook album which

Phish leader Trey Anastasio reveals how Phish festivals were born as part of the four-part Phish Festivalography series that’s currently airing on Sirius/XM’s Jam_On. Part Four – on Coventry –

If the ticket gods didn’t shine brightly on your internet order for Phish’s Fall Tour, you still have another shot at the valuable ducats – the dreaded public on sale dates. It’s time to put your years of ticket buying experience to good use as we all attempt to get the best seats possible.

On Friday, Syracuse and Charlottesville go on sale at 10AM via Ticketmaster. All three shows at Madison Square Garden go on sale at 11AM through Ticketmaster followed by both nights of Albany at Noon on Tickets.com. On Saturday, Portland goes on sale through Ticketmaster at 9AM, tickets for Detroit will be available at 10AM via Ticketmaster, both nights of Cincinnati are up at 11AM and both nights of Philly close down the action at Noon.

• 10AM: Syracuse, Charlottesville
• 11AM: MSG Night One, MSG Night Two, MSG Night Three
• Noon: Albany Night One, Albany Night Two

Once again, we’ve embedded a poll for each show AFTER THE JUMP. Once you’ve either scored or missed out on tickets please let us know how you did by filling out the poll below. You can go into more detail about your experience by leaving a comment after the post. Good luck!

READ ON to participate in our Fall Tour 2009 public on sale survey…