A succession of sharp cries from women, the hasty shuffling of feet, and
the nervous tension manifest in every one, gave proof that a panic was
probably imminent. I called softly to the band, "Yankee Doodle!" and the
men quickly responded by playing the good old tune from memory in the
darkness, quickly following it with "Dixie" on my orders. The audience
began to quiet down, and some scattering applause gave assurance that
the excitement was abating.
"The Star-Spangled Banner" still further restored confidence, and when
we played "Oh Dear, What Can the Matter Be?" and "Wait Till The Clouds
Roll By," every one was laughing and making the best of the gloom. In
a short time the gas was turned on, and the concert proceeded with
adequate lighting.
In the desire to do especial honor to a certain foreign representative
during the World's Fair, I had a particular piece of music in which
he was interested arranged for my band, and agreed to play it at a
specified concert. The music was given to a member of the band with
instructions to copy the parts and deliver them at the band-stand.
The foreign gentleman was present at the concert with a large party of
friends, whom he had invited to hear this particular piece of music.
When the librarian asked the musician for the parts, he could not find
them, and a search high and low for the missing music was without
avail. Much to my chagrin, it was necessary to omit the number and send
explanations and regrets to the dignitary whom it was designed to honor.
At the end of the concert, when the men were packing to go home, the
player found the missing band parts stuck in the bell of his instrument,
where he had placed them for safe-keeping.
In a little Michigan town my band was booked for an afternoon concert,
and on our arrival the local manager assured us that we should have a
good house, although there was no advance sale. He explained this by
saying that the townspeople did not like to buy their tickets until the
last minute.
The theatre was on the second floor of the town hall, the ground floor
being given over to the fire department, the especial pride of the
community. Twenty minutes before the concert a large crowd had gathered
round the box-office to buy tickets when the fire-alarm sounded, and the
entire population promptly deserted the muse of music and escorted the
engine and hose-cart to the scene of action, leaving the band absolutely
without an audience.
A Tuneful Locomotive.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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