Here’s an audio track that is a favorite of Parousia fans. A cover of Alice Cooper’s “Second Coming/Ballad of Dwight Fry” recorded live at Melanie’s Pub.
The Archangelic Psychedelic PAROUSIA 1980
October was a very busy month for Parousia and it all started on Friday, the 3rd at Frank’s Casa Nova in Buffalo. The next night, on Wednesday, October 8th the band performed at the Pardi Bar in Cheektowaga, NY and then on Thursday, October 9th it was out to Holland, NY to perform at the Holland Willows, (where at the end of the night, Barry’s foot was crushed when the equipment truck backed into it against the loading dock). You can read all about that fiasco here: https://parousiabuff.com/shows/4500
The band rested on Friday October 10th, and on Saturday the 11th, Parousia played a horrible gig at the South Towner in Orchard Park which was fraught with so many problems it has earned the title of “nightmare gig” in the annals of Parousia history.
Now, it was Sunday, night and we were back at Melanie’s, a familiar space where we could expect a receptive crowd. It was just what we needed to shake off the South Towner gig.
Back Stage Productions presents: PAROUSIA at Melanie’s. Sunday, October 12, 1980.
Friends and fans came to see us perform the band’s “Good vs. Evil” show-set which brought into reality a unique compilation of original and cover material adding costumes, props and special effects.
For example, during the song “Hymn 43” we had a six-foot wooden crucifix on stage with a window shade across the horizontal arm. On Cue, we would pull the shade down to reveal a large bingo card. Man did we piss a lot of Catholics off with that one, but people who make it a point to see live bands really liked it.
The actual demented prop used in Parousia’s cover of ‘The Ballad of Dwight Fry’
The “grand-daddy” of the show set was Parousia’s cover of the Alice Cooper song, “The Ballad of Dwight Fry”. In this song, the band used dry-ice to blanket the stage and then Patt would crawl out in a straight jacket drooling green liquid and holding a doll that he stole from a four-year old (pictured above).
At the right moment, Patt would clutch a brain in his hand and then launch it at the audience to the words, “See my lonely mind explode, Blown up in my face”. We kept a bunch of brains in the prop box because the fans kept them. Parousia’s rendition of the song is immortalized in the audio track posted to this page.
The eclectic electric PAROUSIA will haunt your dreams.
The show-set featured music from different genres, including original songs, like “Cotton Holiday” and “Lucifer’s Lament” as well as cover songs by Jethro Tull (“Locomotive Breath”, “Cross Eyed Mary”, “Hymn 43”), Kansas (“The Portrait”), Blondie (“One Way Or Another” and “I Know But I Don’t Know”) and “White Punks On Dope” by the Tubes.
The building where Melanie’s stood at the corner of Main & Transit is still standing today only now, it’s called “the Buffalo Brew House”.
Farewell Melanie’s on Main and Transit. We knew thee well…
Wow, what a blast from the past. I remember seeing Parousia at Melanie’s, they were like the house band for a while there. Great times, always entertaining.
Most of what I wanted to say about Melanie’s has already been said by the above. Except I used to love performing my Ian Anderson routine and wearing my beard, black top hat and my pointer/cane during the Jethro Tull song: “Cross Eyed Mary”, as well as wearing my mafia like overcoat and hat during Hymn 43. Our “Good and Evil” show set really went over big with the audience there; especially the ECC North student crowd. They were always pumped up, especially on a holiday. We literally could have played a rock version of “Mary Had A Little Lamb” and the crowd would have “lost it.” What excellent memories and such a fantastic place to play. It was my privilege to play there for all our fans and friends
Flashbacks to a good time.
This was the high point of old Parousia in retrospect. We were doing what we wanted to do the way that we wanted to do it. With extremely cheap props, the show set “Good vs Evil” actually packed this bar week after week. People would cheer when the old man came out and read from the Bible. The show set made sense. All the songs told a story. We thought we were hot shit, and that attitude became our downfall. It was that last time we played when it happened. The owner of the bar asked us to turn it down, since there was some important sporting event on TV and the patrons couldn’t hear. We said we would but didn’t, and I was continually getting notes telling us to turn it down. My on-stage persona asked the audience, “Do you want us to turn it down?” “Nooo” was the reply. Well, that was the last time we played there. After that, our management booking people only had access to bars way out in the sticks, and we were “advised” not to play the show set because these rural people wouldn’t understand it. We never played the show set again.
Always enjoyed watching Parousia! I recall a gig at Franks Cassa Nova!
i loved it, was there many times
The late 1960s; 1970s; and some of the early 80s was a time where many “show bands” dominated the stage ( 805; Rodan; Pegasus; Fayreweather;Cock Robin; Moonlight Drive; Molkie Cole/Paul Pope; and of course my old band Parousia; along with many others. It was like a musical version of the old vaudeville era. Truly; “a modern day musical renaissance.” Probably never to be duplicated AGAIN ! So glad I and many others had a chance to play; live through and experience those uniquely creative and imaginative era; and one of a kind days. TRULY AMAZING !
One of my favorite songs
ive gotta get outta here!!!!!!!!
Definitely one of my favorites!!! Along with Lucifer’s Lament/10 Minutes to Breathe.