EXTRY! EXTRY! READ ALL ABOUT IT!
LITTLE JACK MELODY CELEBRATES YET ANOTHER BIRTHDAY WITH BELATED ANNUAL BIRTHDAY GIG AT DAN’S SILVERLEAF IN DENTON! SUNDAY, JULY 23, 3:00 PM MATINEE—YOU DON’T WANT TO MISS IT!
–Dateline: July 11, 2023, Denton, TX–
Once upon a time, it was a dark and stormy night-
(No wait…)
Let’s try this—
Okay, so here’s the deal-
(oh yeah, much better…) [REFRESH.]
Okay, so here’s the deal.
Long, long, ago, in an anonymous magical suburban kingdom, Little Jack Melody was born late one night, under an assumed name. Minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years, and decades passed, and he grew and aged, and then aged some more.
Over time, he grew to be un-fond of his birthdays, because with every new iteration they seemed to demarcate the existential trudge of inevitable, inescapable mortality, chipping away at a previously-embraced childish illusion of immortality, a possible byproduct of his BabyBoomed suburban nascence.
What to do? How can a person make the most of an unwelcome birthday? Can one wear a Smiley Face button that day, or a “Hello, My Name Is” nametag on one’s tuxedo lapel, or brandish a bevy of perky birthday cake emojis in all one’s text messages on that occasion? Could any of these strategies reduce the bittersweet bittersweetness of the annual dread-ebration?
No. Existential science has proved that it just doesn’t work that way.
But.
Here’s the deal. I know a guy here in Denton, who’s a brilliant musician, raconteur, bon vivant, and Sultan of the Sartorial. In conversation, I learned that he also has birthdays. What to do? What’s the answer? How do you un-sting the sting of commemorating your aging process?
The answer: Play a gig on your birthday.
So: In the spirit of adopting his ancient wisdom and insights, I’m at peace with announcing that:
LITTLE JACK MELODY CELEBRATES YET ANOTHER BIRTHDAY WITH BELATED ANNUAL BIRTHDAY GIG AT DAN’S SILVERLEAF IN DENTON! SUNDAY, JULY 23, 3:00 PM MATINEE—YOU DON’T WANT TO MISS IT!
There. It’s official.
We expect that it will be a beautifully sunny afternoon for a musical adventure, with moderate temps hovering in the low-to-mid-80s, unseasonably unseasonable for July. (Optimism? From the darkly sardonic auteur of My Charmed Life, who imagined he could change the world with a wheezing harmonium? Really?)
Yes.
It is also expected that on this occasion, the LJM stable of stalwarts will comprise:
Brad Williams, harmonium and other keyboards
Norm “Chopper” Bergeron, trap kit
Dave Monsch, saxes, clarinet
Carl Kleinsteuber, tuba
Other expectations include:
Venue: Dan’s Silverleaf, 103 Industrial St., Denton, TX 76201
Date of gig: Sunday, July 23, 2023
Downbeat of gig: 3:00 pm
Fun Forecast: Very, very favorable
Fashion Outlook: Informal, comfortable
We really hope you’ll join us. We expect you to. Frankly, it’s not just every day I get to celebrate my entry as a four-, possibly five-, dimensional Sentient. (No, of course it’s not a noun.) (But it suits me, and it’s my birthday, and my poetic license doesn’t expire until the end of the month.)
Join us, please. We will really try to be splendid.
Thank you all,
and seeya soon,
and best regards,
Little Jack Melody
Denton, TX
Dan’s Silverleaf, 103 Industrial Street, Denton, TX, 76201, http://danssilverleaf.com/
