I don't really get it.
The old cartoons, such as Looney Tunes, Disney, and Fleischer, from the 1930s to 50s used to have orchestra soundtracks.
They were made to be played between movies in theaters, and were targeted towards adult audiences, which is why they were so good.
The cartoon animals in the foreground are drawn in the style of Fleischer or Disney cartoony animals. Fleischer art examples https://trettleman.medium.com/the-talkartoons-ranked-767155266860
A more recent work that uses that era's cartoon aesthetic are the Cuphead videogames https://store.steampowered.com/app/268910/Cuphead/
That era's aesthetic can be strange and surreal at times, almost psychedelic.
So maybe the musician on the comic panel is feeling uncomfortable with playing this kind of gig due to the strange atmosphere, even though as any working class professional musician should say, any paying gig is good.
I believe it's referring to a barn dance They were popular at the time of the strip, except in this case, the band booked a barn dance with actual barn animals. I think the drawing style looks different because this is an early one, 1981.
