Exactly one year ago on Friday, two friends and I decided to meet in a Riverwest basement with our instruments and a few bottles of beer to make some noise.

And noise we made.

We recorded these early sessions and they are, at best, an anti-symphony of flat singing and fumbling fingers.

However, long story short, we kept meeting and we drank less and focused more. Now, the band, called Cackle, has a CD, a couple of gigs and yesterday we heard our song on the radio for the first time.

So, how should a scrappy, pagan-flavored post-punk band celebrate its one-year anniversary? At the Michael Jackson Laser Spectacular, of course! It's this Friday, Feb. 19, at 8 p.m. 

I scored these tickets for the love of Grant Gunn, Cackle’s guitar player, who is -- in my world, anyway -- the biggest M.J. fan of all time. His ability to pull off so many of Michael’s famous moves is impressive for anyone, particularly a fair-skinned red head.

I have fond early-MTV memories of Michael Jackson, including sneaking out of bed to catch his much-hyped, 14-minute "Thriller" video in 1983.

That said, I never thought I would find myself at a trippy tribute to the King of Pop. However, I  learned that life is a surprising unfurling of strange and wonderful events if you let it. And so, I'll be in the midst of lasers and moon walkers on a February Friday night. Maybe I’ll see you there.