Nothing says weird like Parousia performing at a Polish Cultural Center for St. Patrick’s Day. Especially against a panorama of the Matterhorn.
This was the biggest stage we had played on to date… it was awesome. We had an on-stage light show (just some colored flood lamps back then) and a professional follow spot from the balcony. We had flash-pots, a fog machine and a small but powerful P.A. system. The back-drop on stage was an enormous cyclorama of the Matterhorn that looked very cool with stage lighting.
The girls from Tops Friendly Markets on Kenmore Ave. made us a “good-luck” cake. Special thanks to Paula Saber, Darnell, Robin & Judy.
We had to employ several roadies that night:
- Lenny Krucenski – Stage Lighting & Pyrotechnics (Courtesy of RMS Sonic Laboratories).
- Gregg Filippone – Live Sound Production
- Mark McDaniels – Follow Spot & General Road Crew
- Jeff Mang – Fog Machine, Special Effects and General Road Crew.
We had a great show that night, but were inexperienced at using an industrial fog machine. We had so much fog at one point; it was hard for the audience to see us and for us to see them and it became impossible for Barry or John to see their effect pedals on the stage… Or for any of us to see the set list that was taped to the stage floor. Add to that Lenny’s over-stuffed flash-pots filling the air with smoke and it was like performing in a cloud bank, which is why many of the photos shown here appear a bit ‘hazy’. We learned a lot from that experience.
Photos of Parousia at the Polish Community Center (1081 Broadway, Buffalo, NY 14212) – March 17, 1978
Parousia ‘Good Luck Cake’ from Paula, Darnell, Robin & Judy – A Sweet Gesture (literally)!
Parousia Business Card 1976-1977
Roadies in Gregg’s car: Left – Mark McDaniels (Spot Light); Right – Gregg Filippone (Sound); & Patt Connolly in the back seat. 03.17.78
Left – Lenny Krucenski (Lights & Pyrotechnics) Right – John McGovern (Lead Guitar)
Lenny Following the Equipment Truck. U-Haul driven by Steve Soos (Notice Lenny’s Parousia hat in the mirror)
Business Card for Parousia Head Roadie – Lenny Krucenski Lights, Sound & Pyrotechnics 1978-1979
Setting up the big stage. Left to Right: Steve Soos (keyboards). Barry Cannizzaro (guitar, vocals). John McGovern (guitar, vocals). Patt Connolly (flute and vocals). Jeff Mang (road crew). Kaye Cedar (road crew), Bob Lowden (bass). Front of stage: Gregg Filippone (sound engineer).
Sound checks. Front – Jeff Mang (Fog & Effects), Patt Connolly, John McGovern & Barry C. in back
Live concert at the Polish Community Center – March 17, 1978, Buffalo, NY from the psychedelic perspective.
Patt, John & Barry performing at the Polish Cultural Center in Buffalo NY
Patt dons the celebratory St. Patricks Day hat. Polish? Irish? Who cares, let’s drink!
John McGovern – Lead Guitar
Bobby Lowden – Bass Guitar
Barry Cannizzaro- Guitar and Vocals
Gerry Cannizzaro – Drums
Steve Soos – Keyboards
Patt Connolly – lead singer, front man and flautist extraordinaire
Patt & Gerry
Patt Connolly- Lead Vocals, Flute
Bob & Gerry setting the rhythm
Bobby Lowden – Bass Guitar
John McGovern – Laying Down Some Tasty Lead Guitar
John McGovern – Lead Guitar
John & Barry
Barry Cannizzaro – Fender Telecaster Guitar
Patt Connolly – Flute, flute and more good flute!
John McGovern – Lead Guitar (hey look, they let him sing too!)
Bob Lowden – Iconic Bass Guitar
Somewhere behind those Drums – Gerry Cannizzaro
Steve Soos (Keyboards) & Barry (Guitar)
Dom Polski Polish Community CTR. 1081 Broadway Buffalo, NY 14212
Polish Community Center contract March 17, 1978. Nowadays that would be 15 pages of legal mumbo jumbo. Back then, you just needed something a little more than a handshake. Somewhere between our generation and now, Americans lost value in trust. Thanks, litigious attorneys.
Hello pilgrims! Yeah; this is the dimwitted guitarist talking to you again players! I’m here to give you my comments about a specific event that occurred when our band Parousia played Buffalo’s Polish Community Center March 17, 1978.
Previous to this gig I believe my brother (or someone else in our band) had made friends with a very unique individual named Paul Meyers who lived in the section of Riverside; in Western New York. This man had frayed; dried out long hair that just “begged” for some conditioner; any conditioner as a matter of fact. He also loved playing the game “Dungeons and Dragons”, and Paul kind of modeled his fantasy like life after this game. I remember how he used to salivate over his self made bologna and peanut butter sandwiches which he consumed on a fairly regular basis. He offered to make one for me to eat; which I quickly replied back to him “Are you nuts; Dragon Boy”!
Anyway; getting back to our “gig” at the Polish Community Center; Paul was helping to roadie for us that night; and he asked me if he could do something special for us when we played the song “Don’t Fear the Reaper” by Blue Oyster Cult. Now I didn’t want to seem like a “putz”, but I was a little leery in not knowing EXACTLY what he had in mind; due to his “high level of strangeness.” Therefore I specifically asked him and he replied “you’ll see; but it will be nothing unsafe or dangerous to you or anyone else. It just will look cool as hell.” I guess I was pretty trusting (naïve is more like it) back then; so I gave him my O.K. to “do his thing.”
To that end our band soon started our performance at the center; and then we proceeded to play “Don’t Fear the Reaper.” The next thing I remember is standing on this HUGE stage facing the audience playing my guitar; and then all of a sudden I saw what looked to be Paul Meyers dressed up in a Grim Reaper outfit carrying a sickle walking diagonally across the floor of the center from our soundboard area. He walked from one (corner) of the floor to the other; and then back again waving his sickle passionately in the air at the audience as he made his passes. Let me tell ‘ya “dogs”; he and this whole experience was a real “trip!
The crowd roared with delight.
I never forgot “good ‘ole Paul”, and even to this day; every time a see a “horror flick with a Grim Reaper looking fellow in it; I still think of my very strange but entertaining friend; Mr. Paul Meyers. “Nuff said; now go and rock your world for a while pilgrims! Peace out!
“Barry ‘da dimwitted guitarist”