Following the band’s well received debut gig at the Fast Annie’s Spring Jam back in March, we anticipated having a good time tonight for our long awaited December ‘solo show’, where unlike the Spring Jam, Parousia would be the only band on stage playing three full sets of music.
We hoped for a decent sized crowd as a benefit from Parousia scoring free press in the December edition of Buffalo Backstage Magazine advertising the band’s show at Fast Annie’s, December 5, 1981. The ad featured Patt’s mug as Buffalo’s “Number 1 Rock Flutist” (his name misspelled as Pat Connelly).
Buffalo’s #1 Rock Flutist
At the Buffalo Backstage Music Awards show (BMA) in November, Patt Connolly was declared, “Buffalo’s Number 1 Rock Flutist”. 
Patt Connolly was also nominated for “Best Male Vocalist” but lost to Jeff Cosco of Cheater and runner up, Bob Maggio from Fat Brat. Parousia as a band was nominated in the category of “Best Show Group” and lost out to Talas and runner up Cheater.
We had a good show and found that many members of the audience there tonight had seen the band play Fast Annie’s in March at the Spring Jam. …Cool! We made some new fans who like our rendition of classic bands songs Jethro-Tull, Yes, Genesis, The WHO, Aerosmith, Alice Cooper, Cheap Trick, The Cars, Doors, Beatles, Stones, Kinks, etc…
Parousia 1981: Patt Connolly, Garth Huels, Gerry & Barry Cannizzaro, Robert Lowden. Eric Scheda
BUT… for some weird reason… the management at the club was not digging the band and I remember a conversation with a guy working with the Fast Annie’s stage crew and he thought our band was a joke. …That was very off-putting.
What was really going on? The house crew didn’t care for Parousia’s dark and sarcastic sense of humor. When the band was Backstage, the range of conversation generally had little to no respect for anything, (ourselves included), in that way we were always consistent. Everybody and everything was fodder for the band’s demented sense of humor. The workers at Fast Annie’s did not appreciate that vibe. Too bad, I always found a dark sarcastic sense of humor to be a sign of intelligence.
I remember when we played 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