First Gig at Fast Annie’s, Hamburg N.Y. – “Battle of the Bands” Spring Jam, March 15, 1981
This show was another shining star in the galaxy of Parousia…
As you can see in the flyer, Parousia was scheduled to be the last band on a long night of musical acts starting at 3:00 pm and ending with us at 2:00 am. Our booking agent Dave Buffamonti approached us at about 11:30 pm and asked us if we wouldn’t mind swapping our last place performance slot with Crossroads. Well, Dave was pretty good to us and we didn’t want to say no to him, but we knew Crossroads put him up to it… Crossroads, (aka: the Beez), thought they were slick. They assumed that if they were the last band to perform it would make them look like the “headliner”. They planned to end the show on a high note using their explosive set of heavy rock to blast away the lingering memory of any bands before them such as ‘Crash Cadillac’ and ‘the Hostages’. Both were good bands, but ‘Crash’ was a 50’s music act and ‘the Hostages’ were on the mellow end of the rock music spectrum. The audience wasn’t satisfied. Late in the evening; the audience became well ‘lit’ and ready for something more intense. That ‘something’ would be us as we found out…
Parousia graciously accepted the swap and took the second-last position giving Crossroads what they wanted, the final time slot and the ‘last note’ of the evening. Then Parousia took the stage and the crowd went wild! We were loud, lively, interesting and very well received. It was perfect timing for us… the audience was ready for a classic round of alternative rock and Parousia was set to deliver. We didn’t disappoint them.
I recall us belting out a version of “Hocus Pocus” by Focus that really won the crowd over… we did the full version of the song with the yodeling and the flute plus all the amazing drum, keyboard and guitar solos. People were flipping out… in a good way.
I remember while we were performing the song “Cross Eyed Mary” the people in front were ‘high-fiving’ Barry as he strutted along the edge of the stage wearing that “Ian Anderson” beard with his hat and cane.
The people loved all the music and props that made up our presentation of this short but powerful show-set, especially the last tune… the angry and passionate “Won’t Get Fooled Again” by the Who, a favorite among local music fans. The crowd went wild, waving their fists in the air, pumping to the beat. This was the perfect anthem to reflect the angst of our condition in Western New York. Most people were broke and struggling since the mid 70’s and into 80’s recession and this song certainly commiserated with those feelings.
Parousia had another lucky moment on this same night. Dino, the manager of a local rock club called Dad’s Café was in the audience and heard our set of classic alternative rock tunes and just fell in love with it. He hired us to perform the exact same show-set at his club on Clinton Street in Buffalo. We ended up playing several shows at Dad’s and it became one our all-time favorite places to play.
The Fast Annie’s Spring Jam Line-up, March 15th 1981
Parousia’s first gig at Fast Annie’s March 15th, 1981
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Second Gig – Parousia Winter Show at Fast Annie’s December 5, 1981
Barry has a good story about security guard dressing in white smock for Myron.
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Third Gig – Parousia Returns to Fast Annie’s March 21, 1982
March edition, Buffalo Backstage advert for Parousia 1981
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Fourth Gig – One Last Time At Fast Annie’s April 10, 1982; the end of Parousia (for now).
**** Parousia’s last Gig with Barry, Garth, Bob, Patt & Gerry as a band.****
The sad truth is, the band was too big (and too expensive) to continue. Producing and performing the show sets was a massive effort and we were exhausted. We were sick of playing the same cover songs and wanted to play more originals but couldn’t take the cut in pay. (At the time, the night clubs in Buffalo did not pay bands to play their own music… sure we could work in a few of our own tunes here and there, but not many if you expected to please an audience in the clubs we played at). All of the money we earned went to the road crew, the equipment truck, the rehearsal studio and to repair or replace equipment. Finally we had it… we let the giant monster of a band lay down and retire. What we did next was very surprising…
Parousia – Buffalo Backstage advertisement. Last Gig at Fast Annie’s April 10, 1982
Yes folks, my brother Jerry (the drummer) is “correcto mundo” when it comes to his very accurate depiction/description of the performance of our band Parousia at Fast Annie’s on March 15th 1981. It was a performance to remember pilgrims! We had the crowd literally eating out of our hands that night; whether we were the last band to play or not (in this case not, we were the 2nd to last switching places with Crossroads that night). Man, the people were into us; we could do no wrong! We played a “killer set” performing songs by Supertramp (School; Dreamer) sang by myself and Kim Watts respectively. Pat Connolly (our lead singer and flute player) “killed” the song Hocus Pocus by Focus with his amazing yodeling, vocals, and searing flute skills. I think this song almost sounded better than the original version that night. I remember the crowd high – fiving me at the edge of the stage as I sung Cross Eyed Mary by Jethro Tull with my Ian Anderson garb on (beard, hat, and cane). I remember Parousia closing with the song, “Won’t Get Fooled Again” by the Who, as all our band members stood perfectly still as if frozen in time during the keyboard interlude with our black lights, fog, and mirror ball like lighting. We then sprang to life along with a flash pot explosion right at the end of the keyboard solo as we all came in on that most powerful A chord, with Pat singing “Meet the new boss; same as the old boss.” SO COOOOOL PLAYERS!
I also remember a gentleman by the name of Dino (the owner at Dad’s Cafe, a tavern/bar off of Clinton street in Buffalo) coming up to us and saying “bravo; excellent”! “I want you guys to play at my bar doing the EXACT SAME DYNAMITE SET you did tonight, understand?“. Needles to say, we were all too happy to say yes my brothers and sisters, and then proceeded to play at Dad’s in the not too distant future. It was at Dad’s Cafe that someone from the crowd actually walked up to me after I sang ‘Freebird’ by that famous southern rock band we all know and love, and actually gave me a $10 dollar tip. Man was I flattered.
Back at Fast Annie’s and before we came on stage to play, I remember circulating through the crowd and as I passed the girl’s bathroom one lovely lass pulled down her top and asked me to comment on her “frontal anatomical protuberances” (yeah, her tatas). I just borrowed a line from one famous Blues Brother actor stating they were “marvelous bordering on spectacular“; which they really were. She had her ego trip for that night!
When we performed at Fast Annie’s again on December 5th, 1981, we played one of our original songs called “Myron”; written by our bass player Bob Lowden. This song had to do with an incontinent free-thinking young person being carted off to a mental institution because of his “insane ways”; thus all the band members wore white smocks as if we were mental health professionals (or escaped patients) or something. Yeah, right! I remember being shocked out of my “gord” when I saw the big bouncer who was at the door come wandering and dancing in front of the stage with a white smock on (this was probably an extra one we had in a bag by the door). Man, what an unexpected laugh riot players! It was so cool to have the bar employees get into it so much that they had to become part of the show. Hooray for Hollywood!
Stay tuned, “same Bat time, same Bat channel” for future Parousia comments by “yours truly.” Peace out!
Barrymannia