Jonathan Richman and drummer Tommy Larkins begin their four-night residency at the Make-Out Room tonight. The club gave Mission Mission a small block of tickets to give away to readers, and we decided to do it contest-style. Tonight’s winner is Joel, and here is his entry:
Probably by most accounts I don’t deserve to go to this show. I’ve never knowingly heard Jonathan Richman. However!–at a formative time in my life (late high school), Craig Mitchell’s MyBoot.com and its flagship unfinished novella, My Girlfriend Hates My Futon, firmly impressed upon me how incredibly worthwhile one of his concerts would be. For the last 9 years or so I haven’t had the chance to find out for myself, but this seems like perfect serendipity. This is that chance. Now is the time.
For reference, or on the off chance that you have no idea what I’m talking about, said novella is only available on the internet archive. I’ve gone to great trouble to find the pertinent chapter for you: [link]. While you’re at it, try giving the rest of the story a read and just see if it’s not the sort of thing that would have given high-school-aged you some ideas about music.
Well we have kind of a short attention span right now, so we’ll get back to you about the novella, but we certainly like the idea of reminiscing about high-school aged us, and we like serendipity. Congrats, Joel!
Oh, gosh, I should have worked on something to put my hat in the ring for those tickets. Jonathan no longer looks like a cute little boy, but considering that he is pushing 60 he is still very youthful looking. We always knew he’d grow up to be a handsome, albeit still fey, man.
oh man! thanks for posting an updated link to craig mitchell’s writings. i read some of “she hates my futon” back in the day and enjoyed it immensely. parts of it still comes to mind now and again. i dont know that i ever made it through all of the chapters, and now i can start all over again!
I’ve got to publicly thank this blog. The concert was awesome, and served as a wonderful introduction to a man whose discography I am now busily downloading on iTunes. Keep up the great contests!