Another Saturday night concert at the ‘warehouse of music and fun’ otherwise known as “The Chamber”. The strobe light from the second floor window signaled the venue was “open” and show time would soon begin! Summer nights at the Chamber drew a nice sized audience and we were grateful to have our own venue with a regular crowd, exposing them to our music, allowing us to gauge their reaction to what we were playing to hone our songwriting and performance skills.
A big part of the Chamber’s unpredictable popularity (besides the free keg of beer) was its location, conveniently bordering the cities of both Kenmore and Buffalo. It had generous free parking in the lumbar yard next to the warehouse and a 24-hour Convenience Store across the street for munchies and more beer! Many friends from nearby came to join us on a Saturday night to drink a few beers and hear a couple of live bands play original music …and drink they did, among other things!
Tonight, we had a local band called Axemen, playing guitar heavy material to the delight of the crowd. John McGovern ran the sound on this night which guaranteed both bands would have the best sound possible from what little P.A. we had to help amplify the vocals and instruments. Parousia was loud and tight and tonight was no different.
Offstage, a blank notebook was left out at every show in an effort to capture within its pages the true thoughts and feelings of our audience… a notion that is both inspirational and frightening, I dunno, you decide… here it is if you dare:
I played Gerry’s (North) kit back in the mid 80’s when my band Axmen played their room on Kenmore !!!