This is it, the end of summer.  How do I know this?  Growing up in Bethlehem, PA there is a weeklong festival that takes over the main street and the surrounding streets with food, drinks, out-of-towners, and music.  I am speaking of Musikfest.  A festival that surprisingly is the nation’s biggest free music festival.  I will not say what my thoughts are of this festival, but I will say, while growing up in Bethlehem as a kid, when Musikfest hit you knew summer was winding down. You’d also see how all your schoolmates turned out before class started in a few weeks.  To me, it was a sign that summer was coming to a close.

Even though there was one stage that you had to pay to see bands, all other stages cost you nothing at Musikfest.  I would always make sure I made my way down for one band during my younger years.  Local ska punk band, Royal Noise Brigade.  They brought so much energy and excitement to the streets of Bethlehem.  I couldn’t believe this was a local band.  They had a pretty strong following, but in 2004 the band split up and went their separate ways.  I always thought they were ahead of their time.

After their break up, Musikfest soon became a festival that came and went to me.  Maybe I was getting older, but it just didn’t have that spark anymore.  However, little did I know, my one friend was actually related to the lead singer of Royal Noise Brigade.  It was then mentioned that he had a new band in New York called Fright Barker & Sons and they were going to playing Musikfest 2013.  Well, I had to go.

With little knowledge of what his new band sounded like, I decided why not help an up and coming band and capture them in their element.  Even though the show was a seated show, the band played with just as much energy as Royal Noise Brigade did.  Matt, the lead singer or Ugly as he goes by, still had the same theatrically stage presence.  Their set included originals, covers, and since they had an hour set time, to fill the gaps plenty of jokes.  Also, I should add that the horn section were fill-ins at the last minute.  For learning their stuff in two days, they did a swell of a job.

The best way I can describe Fright Barker & Sons is saying they are a mixed of Royal Noise Brigade, but also add a little bit of Big Bad Voodoo Daddy and Cab Calloway.  Links are below to check out what little music they have.  Let’s hope there is more to come.

We ended the night at a local bar where we joked, told stories, and enjoys each other’s company.  I felt good about the show and the photos.  The band did also, look on their Facebook.  Moving forward, there are a lot of shows coming up and I hope I can hop on one or some of them.  If not, it is going to be quite for awhile.  School starts, work is busy, and I think I will officially start my other website, Hold That Sound Photography.  More on that later, but look above and watch for new links coming up.  I am trying to make this site more user-friendly and easier to find past posts.  Until next time, enjoy summer, because autumn is creeping in.

https://www.facebook.com/FrightBarkerAndSons
http://www.reverbnation.com/frightbarkerandsons