When 2008 ended, so did Ticketmaster's contract with Live Nation as the concert giant's exclusive ticket-vendor. For its major venues -- which includes Raleigh's city-owned Time Warner Cable Music Pavilion at Walnut Creek -- Live Nation is taking its ticketing in-house.

So when Walnut Creek starts putting its 2009 shows on-sale, you'll still be able to get tickets at the venue box office just like before. But online orders will go through LiveNation.com rather than Ticketmaster.com. And for phone orders, call 877/598-8698 (a number that covers all Live Nation venues throughout the Southeast: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, North/South Carolina, Louisiana, Mississippi, Virginia, West Virginia and Tennessee).

Also, some Blockbuster stores will be Live Nation ticket outlets. No word yet on which Triangle-area Blockbuster stores this applies to; but it should be sorted out by next week.

ADDENDUM: Here are the Blockbuster stores that will have outlets, starting sometime in the second half of February:

Raleigh -- 4112 Pleasant Valley Road
Cary -- 2030 Kildaire Farm Road
Durham -- 3438 Hillsborough Road
Durham/Chapel Hill -- 202 NC Highway 54