RIJF club passes will go on sale Friday. The price has gone up to $99 this year and will go up to $109 on January 1st, then up again to $119 as the festival approaches.

It's got to be some tricky actuarial work to hit the sweet spot on the club pass price, although the organizers seem to be taking the eminently reasonable approach that as long as the club passes keep selling out, they'll keep jacking the prices up.

This is still a great bargain in my book. Even though the break-even point between the club pass and at-the-door ticket price is four to six shows, if you plan on seeing more than two or three, just get the club pass anyway. It allows you the freedom to check out some new music that you might otherwise have shied away from. I guarantee you'll find it worth the extra scratch.