Playing It Cool At The Stone

On Tad’s second ever trip to New York City (the first being earlier this year), he and Ellen planned to go to the Stone to hear Gyan Riley and Julian Lage play selections from "John Zorn's Bagatelles."

I thought there was no way they would get in, the show prominently featured in the latest New Yorker. 

They arrived an hour early and were the first ones in line so took front row seats.  A guy who they’d struck up conversation with invited them to meet John Zorn, owner of the Stone and legendary composer.  Tad said he looked a lot younger than he knew him to be, dressed in t-shirt and army pants.  “They came all the way from Wisconsin.”  Zorn was friendly, but did not pursue conversation. 

“I don’t think it meant as much to him as it did to me,” Tad assessed. 

The show was "mind-blowing" and Tad jumped to a standing ovation.  “Looked like Marc Ribot was getting up, so I went for it.”

Zorn was taken aback.  It was the Stone’s first ever standing ovation.  Zorn asked them to play an encore.  They had nothing else prepared, so they played one of the bagatelles again.