Back in the Eighties when glam was king and music was vibrant, colorful and fun the east coast had a huge array of talent. One local band stood out above many others and that band was PHAROAH. These guys pulsated and oozed greatness. On September 18, 2010 PHAROAH returned to the stage for and outstanding comeback show.

The night started with MAXIMUM AMERICA. Fellow RockEyez staffer Mark Balogh and I had never seen or heard these guys but they were most impressive; good vocals, killer harmonies and songs of pure pop pleasure. The general consensus on these guys was a thumbs-up. I enjoyed their set and at times they made me laugh. Keyboardist Mike Fury makes a hell of a spectacle of himself. He was wearing some kind of hair-type netting that kept falling off and singer Max Huber had a ‘do rag on and it came off too. His answer was so I’m fucking bald! Mike, it didn’t matter you were bald you guys kicked ass. This band is totally focused on giving the fans a show and they brought it.

Next up a band I photographed back in the Eighties, WICKED SIN, which included a good friend of mine Scotti from PRETTY BOY FLOYD on drums. Just a quote from frontman Rage before the show “We go on at 10pm SHARP”. I love that quote, it’s a club show you know they never go on time try 11pm but regardless it was good to see these boys back on stage after 20+ years. All the boys kept their chops up and delivered a great set of tunes from their latest release "Strictly for Pleasure" which is available on CDBaby and iTunes. For me it’s like tunnel vision seeing these guys back in the day and seeing them in 2010. Back then Rage would come running on the stage like a maniac swaggering his ass at the girls but today it’s a little different. Watching him you can see he wanted to move the way he did and did try but it could be that the Mrs. was near the front of the stage! I really enjoyed the set and I am told that there will be more shows to come but in the mean time you can check GEORGE (aka RAGE) out in his side project 10 MINUTE LINCOLN. Good to see these boys back again after so long.

Next up at about 11:45 was THE WORLDS FAMOUS SKULLS, a three-piece coming out of NYC. These guys bring back the raw sounds of the underground with past memories of CBGB’s and The Dirt Club (here in NJ). They are a cool band to see with lead guitarist and singer Charly Pip being the main focus. These guys play a style of dark punk music that could ultimately benefit from a little diversity. But with Charly wearing a hat ala Slash and second guitarist Pauli Brimstone looking like a rockin 'Cousin IT' from Amish country, these brought the attitude! Even though at times Pip was looking hard and nasty, when the lights dimmed after each song I saw a smile from ear to ear and he always said “danke” after each song. One thing I have to admit these guys had a ton of energy, which made their set enjoyable.

After their set I got a tap on my shoulder and it was none other than my photography mentor and good friend, the famous Frank White. He is working on a new book that is coming out soon about the legendary Brooklyn, NY rock club L ‘Amour, so please look out for that. Frank and I once worked on the movie called “Get Thrashed” together and it’s always great to see him.

Well finally it was time for the ultimate flashback! I photographed these guys back in the Eighties and they are back after 20 years. It was finally time for PHAROAH to re-take the stage. I wasn’t sure what kind of crowd or stage show they would bring after all these years but it was way more than I expected; capacity crowd and an even better show than I can remember from the past. PHAROAH brought back memories of those killer days when a band actually had a stage show. Everything from the past and more was on display… smoke, lights, videos screens, girls, and the fun that has been missing from the scene for so long. PHAROAH was just unbelievable as each member was beyond expectations. Karl DeKira was amazing and you could tell he enjoyed every moment. Rikk Fabio was so stylish with his pink pants and that famous pucker, Scott Archer the only member to still have that memorable black and blonde hair which PHAROAH was famous for Dennis Lords with his slicing bass lines and the time-keeper Nelson Pop rounding out the band. They were all phenomenal. I was expecting a good show but never thought the chills would run down my arms with excitement. If you have a chance to see these guys it’s a must because you will have one of the best times at a show you would ever have thought. Even when DeKira holds out a church donation basket (which looked pretty full) you could tell many of the girls had their donation between the towers! I mean what more can you expect? With the production, these guys gave the fans, it was just amazing. Come out and see these guys as they will be playing more shows coming up and get to see this spectacle that could possibly revive the New Jersey music scene because God knows it needs it!