I dropped into Rhino Records on Saturday for the festivities, managing to miss the in-store bands who performed earlier and later. Too bad, as during the noon set by the soul-inflected Eli “Paperboy” Reed and the True Loves, an incident occurred.

“Local town color Ray Collins (of Frank Zappa’s Mothers of Invention) interrupted their set to tell them that they sounded great, but the horns were too loud,” general manager Dennis Callaci said. “I don’t think that is going to happen in the aisles of a Circuit City anytime soon.”

At least Collins didn’t say they needed more cowbell.

Despite missing that scene, I shopped happily, traded some discs and enjoyed the day’s 10 percent discount. So did everyone else: It was Rhino’s busiest day of 2008.

I picked up Van Morrison’s new CD, “Keep It Simple,” which is the best I’ve heard from him in 20 years. My other purchases, which I haven’t had a chance to play yet, are CDs by new bands Vampire Weekend and Los Campesinos and best-ofs from bluesman Jimmy Reed and R&B singer Ruth Brown.