Pete Kelly's Blues Page #2

- Yeah?

- Couldn't stand me.

I wish they'd play

"Roses of Picardy."

Wouldn't it be wonderful

to go there, Kelly?

Run off to some romantic spot.

Capri or the Dardanelles.

Some romantic place like that.

Have you ever thought of it?

I once spent a weekend

at the Muhlebach.

If I ever go to the Dardanelles,

I want you to go too, Kelly.

I'll get the horn.

Mr. Kelly. Phone call.

Mr. Pete Kelly.

Here.

- Phone call. Mr. Pete Kelly.

- He's busy. I'll take it.

Hello?

No, this is Joey Firestone.

Who are you?

Oh, well, I can tell you, Mr. McCarg.

The answer is no.

If he was here,

he'd tell you the same thing.

Go get a ticket to nowhere!

That's telling him, fat lady?

Come here, everybody.

Kelly's gonna toot for us.

- They're having too good a time.

- You're supposed to play.

I got ordered to a party,

not a concert.

- You won't play, so Johnny will play.

- Put down that horn, buster.

- I'll just play one tune.

- You'll play it off your tonsils.

- Give me the horn.

- We'll throw it in the pool.

Maybe the fish will play.

Give me the horn. Give it to me.

Don't catch cold.

Come on, Pete, get a bar in.

Now, calm down.

There's somebody following us.

He must have banged out right

through the windshield.

We'd better get up to

the road and stop a car.

You go that way.

Let's try to get to a phone.

He didn't bang out, he floated out.

- That sounded pretty good.

- Yeah.

How was it?

Think you'll like that.

I'll play it back.

Yeah, mac, let's hear it.

- It was a good chorus, Al.

- Thanks.

Can I talk to you, Pete? Outside.

Sure.

I was wondering how soon

you could spare me.

Never. Unless you're serious, Al.

And if you are, anytime.

Then I guess I'll mosey on.

All this trouble,

I'm not rested up for it.

It'll blow over.

You've been with

the band the longest.

You and I, what's it been?

Six, seven years?

It won't blow over.

You're playing with a cold deck,

but I don't blame you, Pete.

You wanna keep the band together,

you've gotta fight back.

You could hang on for a while.

No.

I'm older than the rest

of you. Lots older.

I've been through the band wars,

too many of them.

I was thrown out of hotel rooms

because I had an instrument case.

If it had been a machine gun,

it would have been all right.

But nobody wanted a

clarinet player around.

There was all that time trying to

get people to keep their word.

They'd book you in and

play you for a week...

and then say you were drunk

and dump you without a cent.

I've had too much trouble, Pete.

I don't want any more.

Where do you think you'll go?

East, maybe.

Thought I might try to

catch on with a big outfit.

Goldkette, somebody like that.

Paid up, you got train fare?

Well, I'll catch a

bus into St. Louis.

I ought to be used to it by now.

I bet I spent half my

life in bus stations.

Isn't that the dangest thing?

Sure wish you'd go along, Pete.

You would do good with

somebody like Goldkette.

Who's playing the horn there?

Bix, I guess.

I'm safer here, Al.

I'll see you around, Pappy.

Hope you get a good man.

Oh, I'll get someone, don't worry.

But he'll never sit all the

way down in that chair.

We're going right into town.

We'll give you a lift.

I'll thumb a ride.

Well...

We'll play one for you

every now and then.

Don't do that. I'm tired old folks.

Take five for me sometime.

That drummer of yours.

- So?

- We had words.

Do you know who that was?

- You're always asking if I know...

- Guy Bettenhouser. He's McCarg's.

I get the drift.

He made a grab for me.

- What happened?

- Joey took a beer bottle to him.

Joey, you're a fool, a real fool.

- Where's McCarg? How do I get in touch?

- Run an ad.

Operator, get me the 22nd Ward Club.

- What are you doing?

- Trying to call off the dogs.

Twenty-second Ward?

I wanna talk to McCarg.

Where can I find him?

Well, isn't there some way to

run him down? It's important.

When will he be back?

The minute he comes in, tell him to

call Kelly at Rudy's. It's important.

- It's not important to me.

- Go on home for the night.

- I get paid to play drums.

- You're not.

I'll sit at the bar. I don't start trouble,

but I ain't afraid of nobody.

- You remember that.

- You remember it.

- I need a favor, Cootie.

- I'm eating. Somebody left good meatballs.

I'll buy you dinner. Get out and hit

the clubs, dig out Fran McCarg.

You think I can find him, Pete?

You found some leftover meatballs.

I knew it was silly to send Cootie.

He had some savvy once,

but he got shell-shocked...

and after that, he couldn't set

fire to a bucket of kerosene.

He was our only chance, though.

Cootie didn't show up and

McCarg didn't call in.

It got to be 2:
00.

I thought we might make it.

We almost did.

- Hey.

- Joey.

On your way. I'll stop them here.

Joey, look out!

Clear the place. Get somebody

to help bring Joey in.

- What's the matter?

- It's raining on him.

Later on, they came

and took Joey away.

I cleaned out his locker

and started for home.

This is a single.

You got the wrong gutter.

I'm sorry.

Rudy gave me the address.

- What are you doing?

- Making tea.

Could I have some?

You won't like it, I'm using water.

I don't blame you for being mad.

I don't feel good. If you got tanked

up and lost track of the party...

go down to the street and start another

one but don't bother me, I'm tired.

- I came to apologize.

- You have.

And I was lonesome.

Were you ever lonesome?

It shouldn't be any trick for you.

Hire a stadium and fill it with people.

Wouldn't it be wonderful?

Except that's when you feel the most

lonesome of all, with so many people.

- You might try an empty stadium.

- Just two people.

That's the only time

you're not lonesome.

One time, when we lived on Bellafont,

there was a boy down the street.

- We built a cave.

- Yeah.

I wasn't lonesome at all.

Wouldn't you know,

it rained and ruined the cave...

and after that, he moved away.

Do you know what happened to him?

I couldn't guess.

He went to France and got killed.

When I read it in the paper,

I could have cried.

I only knew him a week or so...

but I could have cried.

You better have the

tea and wander on.

What's that?

What's it look like? It's a bird.

Well, isn't it beautiful?

A lady gave him to me.

She was potted.

It's beautiful. What's its name?

Fred.

What's that all about?

You're not mean, if you're

that nice to a bird.

I'm nice to him because I may get

hungry someday and have to eat him.

In a meantime, he can hit G above

high C, so I keep him around.

Doesn't he fly away when

you leave the window open?

- Doesn't seem to.

- Here's to us.

It's your drink.

I don't wanna leave. I'm like Fred.

Look, I never took Fred

by the seat of the pants...

and threw him down the stairs.

I know Fred.

He'd walk back up.

McCarg must've been pushing

hard with all the bands.

Because that night,

the word went out.

We were all gonna meet at a

roadhouse over on the Kansas side.

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