It’s the sound of disease. It’s that empty void that fills the concert halls between appearances for Ty Herndon and Mix Mob. It’s the stillness that comes from empty nightclubs and performing arts centers when there isn’t an act such as Lawrence Arms, Midnight Oil or Kings X booked for an evening’s entertainment. It’s the incredible silence of a tour that will never happen. Frightening isn’t it?

And if fear had a name it would be Concert Interruptus; the mysterious malady that prevents concert industry professionals from closing a deal.

The name alone makes veteran promoters cringe and strong roadies weep. It is a disease that knows no boundaries, striking managers and booking agents alike, and is feared from the halls of Madison Square Garden to the hills of California’s Shoreline Amphitheatre. It can happen at anytime, preventing future tours by Journey or Jack Johnson. Some even say it’s a sign of the Apocalypse.

This dreaded affliction has been responsible for some of the greatest failures to ever hit the concert industry. From abortive attempts at orchestrating a Beatles reunion during the ’70s to recent efforts to reunite Roger Waters with the legendary Pink Floyd, Concert Interruptus has caused verbal agreements to crumble, prevented contracts from being signed and kept important phone messages from being returned.

But there is hope. Medical science has made inroads in curing Concert Interruptus via breakthroughs in injections, oral vaccines and suppositories. Witness the current tour by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young or the return of Billy Joel to the concert pop stage. But for every onsale, for every sold out show, thousands of deals go unconsummated every day, leaving fans yearning for their favorite stars of yesteryear.

Won’t you help?

For every third click at Pollstar.com, whether it be for the schedules for Bright Eyes, The Faint or Vans Warped Tour 2002, we’ll donate a third of the profit to the Concert Interruptus Foundation and keep the remaining two-thirds for ourselves. Like all of the problems facing today’s concert professionals, a cure for Concert Interruptus is going to take money and lots of it. For the sake of humanity, won’t you click on Tiger Army or Motorhead today?

Remember, only you can help fight Concert Interruptus. Thank you.