Former Soul Coughing frontman Mike Doughty’s November 17 show at the Lizard Lounge in Cambridge, Massachusetts, sold out in less than one minute online. Tickets went for as much as $250 on craigslist. People came from as far as Florida—and perhaps farther—to be there. So what’s it feel like to be at such a popular, pricey show? Pretty darn good, it turns out. For starters, Doughty put his credit card up at the bar and bought the crowd $100 worth of drinks—with a $50 tip for the bartenders. Show me another concert where that’s happened and I’ll show you my surprised face.

And even though Doughty came across as a bit of an arse at times, repeatedly stopping songs to shush the crowd and threatening to throw out talkative crowd members, his insistence on silence was understandable given that some people had actually paid upwards of $100 to be there. According to Doughty, his MySpace page is a “land of sorrow,” filled with lamentations about how quickly the tour’s sold out; he threatened to “replace” uncooperative fans with others who wanted in to the show. Since people had to work so hard to get into the concert, Doughty wanted to ensure they’d get their money’s worth. And that’s what he gave them, offering a long, rambling 2.5-hour set with nearly as much banter as music, and even enough Soul Coughing songs to keep rabid fans of Doughty’s 1990s project at bay. The 27 Questions tour features just Doughty, his guitar, and Scrap Livingston, a cellist/guitarist virtuoso who switches instruments and reads questions for Mike from the infamous “Question Jar.” Filled by audience members before and during the show, the question jar contained notes ranging from research-paper-esque inquiries like “Who are your major musical influences?” to several non-questions including robot drawings and cootie catchers (those complicated folded fortune-telling items that “only girls know how to make,” according to Doughty).

As you’d expect at a sold-out show, the Lizard Lounge was packed—and hot. Going down the stairs into the low-ceilinged, red-walled and red-lit space after walking outside in Boston winter was almost akin to entering hell; fortunately, the show was much more enjoyable than that. The whole evening felt extremely—but appropriately—informal, with Doughty inviting audience members to sit on the floor in front of the stage, creating a “cross-legged scene” of Doughty devotees. Though Doughty broke a string early in the show, and messed up at the beginning of a few songs, the music was well-played and enjoyable overall. Scrap’s cello work was impressive, and the Lizard Lounge vibrated with poppy acoustic folk all night long. Most of the songs were uptempo and jovial, but Doughty and Livingston slowed it down for a few gorgeous ballads. The setlist included many songs from 2005’s Haughty Melodic and 2000’s Skittish, as well as some old school Soul Coughing favorites. In addition to answering many personal questions, including boxers or briefs (boxers, though he likes the word “brief” very much), cheese fries with or without gravy (with), favorite poets (Alan Dugan, Jack Gilbert, Paul Celan), favorite classic book (The Grapes of Wrath), favorite children’s book (Go, Dog, Go!), and best bands to tour with (Low and Redman), Doughty revealed that Boston was where fans first sung along at one of his concerts. This exciting event occurred at the Middle East in 1994 or 1995.

Mike and Scrap also exchanged some fun banter, including Scrap’s astute observation that tuning is “a song every band plays,” and Mike’s desire to see Jeff Goldblum’s house featured on MTV’s Cribs. The crowd was a little more Dave Matthews Band than one might expect from Doughty’s more alternative Soul Coughing background, but pretty much everyone was adorably into the music, often dancing wildly off beat to undanceable tunes. One tan-clad hipster in tight jeans and Chuck Taylors managed to sway to all songs in such a way that he obscured the view of everyone behind him simultaneously. His swaying only intensified when Doughty finally played “Where Have You Gone?”, the song the hipster had been requesting all night in between bouts of swaying. All told, Mike Doughty’s Question Jar Show is an amazing way for major fans to get to know a favorite artist a little better, but it’s also enjoyable for Soul Coughing aficionados and even those pretty new to Doughty’s work. Most songs are simple and catchy enough that you’ll be able to sing along to some, and others are sufficiently dreamy to just enjoy in a musical trance. From the melodic “White Lexus” to the rocking, Soul Coughing-esque “Put It Down,” Whether Doughty’s claim that his next album will be German dance music is true or not, a Question Jar Show is a definite must for any Doughty or Soul Coughing fans—if you can still get tickets, that is.

The Question Jar tour is leading up to the release of Doughty’s new album Golden Delicious on February 19, 2008. Judging from the tracks played at the show (“Put It Down,” “…Blue Dress…” and “Ford Hood”), the new album promises to be as fun as anything Doughty’s put out in the past. Definitely keep this disc on your radar to buy when it comes out. Setlist The Only Answer Bustin Up a Starbucks Looks Rising Sign Janine Ossining Soft Serve Thank You Lord, for Sending Me the F Train Put It Down White Lexus 27 Jennifers Madeline and 9 Navigate the Stars at Night Circles 40 Grand in the Hole Gray Ghost? Your Misfortune Unsingable Name Tremendous Brunettes Where Have You Gone? The Pink Life Ford Hood Sunken- Eyed Girl I Just Want the Girl In the Blue Dress to Keep On Dancing True Dreams of Wichita The Gambler Encore Is Chicago, Is Not Chicago Looking at the World from the Bottom of a Well