Double Bass We don't do opera either

[Michael Ryle]

Several years ago, before she passed away, I had the pleasure of working briefly with the singer, Catherine Pierce, widow of Nat Pierce and mother of another great singer, Shawnn Monteiro.

Once at a rehearsal she told the following true story.

It was during the sixties and a jazz band was playing for dancers at a club somewhere in NYC.

One of the couples started doing The Twist to the music, and some guy on the dance floor called out to the bandleader, "Hey, look what they're doing -- play 'The Twist', you guys.'

He continued to shout out, "Play 'The Twist'!" for the rest of the set, and the band ignored him.

The band took a break, and as the bass player was walking by one of the booths, a man reached out and took him by the arm. It was the same obnoxious guy who had been calling for "The Twist".

"How come you guys wouldn't play 'The Twist' like I asked?" he said.

"Well, I'll tell you," said the bass player (whose name I don't remember). "Last night, right here in this very booth where you're sitting, there was a couple, and while we were on the stand they took off all their clothes and started *******, and, you know, we didn't play 'Tristan and Isolde'."

 

[mcnaire2004]

I'm not sure I get this joke.

 

[MonetBass]

Hilarious! Nice comeback.

 

[Michael Ryle]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tristan_und_Isolde

 

[Bruce Lindfield]

I'm not sure I get this joke.

Wait until you're a bit older...

 

[mcnaire2004]

Wait until you're a bit older...

I get what the people where doing. But I still don't get the overall punch line.

 

[Ron Lacey]

Hey, I didn't get it either and I'm definitely older. Just opera ignorant. It's a good comeback line once you understand the reference. Kind of a Dennis Miller thing.

 

[John Sprague]

As a side note, the other day my parents happened to mention that they were kicked out of some club on their honeymoon a million years ago, for jitterbugging. So they got in the car, crossed the state lines and jitterbugged something silly.

Those crazy kids.

 

[Michael Ryle]

Hey, I didn't get it either and I'm definitely older. Just opera ignorant. It's a good comeback line once you understand the reference. Kind of a Dennis Miller thing.

For God's sake, please don't compare me with Dennis Miller. Anything but that.

I'm beginning to be sorry I brought this up.

It isn't a joke, but a true story. The bassist is telling the man that the band doesn't play Chubby Checker for a couple to dance to, nor do they play music from Wagner's highly erotic opera, Tristan und Isolde, for a couple to get it on to. The one is as absurd as the other.

Terrible explanation, but it's the best I can do.

Guess you had to be there.

 

[Bruce Lindfield]

No need of apology or explanations - it was perfect as you told it originally and the joke definitely made sense - as in, if we paid attention to everything that was going on in the audience, it would be a very strange set!

 

[Ron Lacey]

Sorry Michael, I didn't mean to imply a comparison to Miller. It was meant to be self-deprecating. Even though I have advanced college degrees and work as an engineering professor, there are many, many things in which I'm woefully uninformed, opera being one of them. Many of Miller's jokes go right past me too.

Still, it's a great story now that I understand it.

 

[Marcus Johnson]

I did a gig with Dennis Miller... he was as cool as could be. But man... a lot of his stuff went flying way over the tops of most of the audience. A lot of very arcane references. That was a good band; Danny Gottlieb was the drummer! I remember a security guard coming back into the dressing room, saying to the musicians "Get out! you can't be back here!.." and Dennis just cut him off, saying "**** you! They're with me, ***hole!" The guy looked like he wanted to cry as he backed out the door.