The Boston orchestra is playing Beethoven's Ninth.
In the piece, there's a long passage—about 20 minutes—where the double basses have nothing to play. Rather than sit around feeling stupid and useless, the two bassists decide to sneak out, go to the pub across the street, and grab a pint.
After a few beers, one looks at his watch and says they should head back. The other laughs.
"No need to panic. I thought we might need extra time, so I tied the last few pages of the conductor’s score together with string. It’ll take him a few minutes to untangle."
A few minutes later, they stagger back into the orchestra. At that moment, an audience member notices the conductor looks flustered and points it out to her companion.
"Well, of course he’s flustered," says her friend. "It’s the bottom of the ninth, the score is tied, and the bassists are loaded!"