Tues. Jan. 13

 One of the weird things about meeting celebrities - in the course of doing my job - is relating stories about them that don't sound self-serving or self-important. Neither, do I want to go, "Aw shucks, it was nothing. Spending an hour with Pete Townshend in his New York hotel room discussing music, art and heroin addiction. Yeah, that was all right." But I will tell you of the one celebrity intro where I fumbled the conversational football - and if you follow this tale to the end you'll see how it relates to a gig at the Milky Way Tuesday Jan. 13. Anyway, back in the 1980s Johnny Cash and his wife June Carter Cash are touring, and I'm covering it for the Globe. It's at the South Shore Music Circus. Johnny Cash was the first musician I ever saw in concert, at age 13, right after "Folsom Prison Blues," "Live at San Quentin" and "A Boy Named Sue." I loved the blackness, the edge, the implied danger, the voice, the rhythm guitar, the humor (supplied by Shel Siverstein) and just the whole Man in Black vibe. That fashion sense has affected me, well, ever since. Anyway, I'm backstage after the show in a line of people waiting to meet the Man, and I'm practicing what I might say that goes a bit beyond, "I love all your work!" So, I came up with two things, both true. I said, "Hey, I met your step-daughter Carlene Carter when she played Boston and later your daughter Rosanne at a record release party and ... " Well, then I was stuck. What was I going to say? I didn't have any real anecdotes or stories or much to say about them, so I hemmed and hawed and probably mumbled, "I really love what you do," shook hands and moved on. His guitarist (the new famous) Marty Stuart came over, struck up a conversation and we actually spent most of the night talking Cash history and memorabilia. Marty even sent me a sealed copy of Cash's first Sun Records album. I opened it and played it, devaluing it immediately, but so what? It meant nothing to me wrapped up. I put it on the turn-table. It weighed a pound. It sounded great. I played "Ring of Fire" a hundred times, I'm sure. I swear it was bassier, richer than what I'd heard on that new-fangled polyvinyl chloride Columbia album I had.
This is by way of saying there's a tribute to Johnny Cash at the Milky Way you might not want to miss: DJ extraordinarie (and keyboardist for the Singhs) Brother Cleve is spinning classic C&W tunes, which he notes includes, "honky tonk, trucker, psycho-country and countrypolitan," and he says Slim Jim & the Mad Cows will be paying live tribute. There will also be a showing of some of a Cash documentary, including "Folsom" footage. Expect to hear Johnny sing, "I shot a man in Reno/Just to see him die!" Woo-hoo! It's called "Cash At Folsom: A Tribute to Johnny Cash." It starts at 9 and it costs $5.

401 Centre St., Jamaica Plain, 617-524-3730 www.milkywayjp.com