This was an all timer great show. I couldn’t be more pleased with how it went. From the quality of the performances to the turn out, and of course the overall warm, welcoming atmosphere, this was exactly the community gathering we had always hoped for.

(All of the good photos are by Christopher Bruno, and everything else was taken by me. Click them to see them at full size)

To thank for this pleasant and friendly vibe and the easy flow of the entire day, we have of course Alex Pergament and the entire Prototype 237 family who hosted us, worked wonders with the sound and lighting, fed the performers and shared with us their beautifully eclectic, art-adorned home. It proved to be the absolute perfect setting for a day of this kind of music.

We also have to thank all of the artists for making the trek and truly bringing their A-game to their performances. Everybody seemed to be tuned into the same joyous and peaceful vibe that permeated throughout the space, and you could feel it coming through in their sets. All of the generous help, support and belief from our volunteers, friends, sponsors and vendors produced this loving vibe while making the event be the best that it could be.

This is what magic, joy and fun that can happen when communities come together and work towards a united goal. You can do this where you are, too. Find your people, get to know each other and just start creating beautiful things together. This is the take away I want everyone who came to the festival and everyone reading this post here right now to have. Take a little of the magic and the warmth of this day with you, and let that seed germinate into more warmth and magic wherever you call home.

The day started with a light dusting of snow that coated the entire region. This set the tone for what would be a very cozy wintertime festival. David Bales, of whom drove up from Delaware for this event, was equally responsible for setting the tone for the day by opening the event with his stoic, subtle fingerpicked solo guitar set.

Swapping from electric to acoustic and back again, he played with the starkness, quiet and stillness of the season. Yet there was an undercurrent feeling of hope and light within his music, which, when coupled with his jovial stage banter, was met by a very warm reception from the audience.

Ernie Francestine took the stage next, and let me tell you, it was such a joy to finally get to experience his music in person. From cosmic guitar soundscapes to bouncy drum machine-based bops, his set felt like the entire festival was beginning to blossom into something ethereal and cosmic. The collective daydream was setting in.

One of the highlights of the day was getting to experience Mike Horn, of Seawind of Battery, sitting in for a song with Francestine. The two of them clearly emphasized the joy of the day’s theme of collaboration through their dual guitar interplay.

From there, Seawind of Battery held court and really put the daydream into Psych Ambient Daydream. Horn and Jarrod Annis continued the peaceful and laidback vibe of Francestine’s set, but further developed it with cruising waves of kosmische lap steel and meditative guitar loops. Later in their set, Francestine returned the favor and sat in for a particularly mellow “Above the Waves” jam (which has always been one of my favorite SOB songs), and it conjured the mood of watching bright oranges and reds of a vibrant sunrise slowly streaking through the skies of dawn. It felt as though we were being lulled into the festival’s spell, and we all succumbed to it cheerfully.

Meanwhile, on Prototype 237’s fourth floor, amongst amazing food and the lovely Crash Doll Vintage’s pop up shop, we had a Take Something Leave Something table, a theremin plugged into effects pedals that anyone could play and a station of tape players loaded with field recording tape loops for people to play in different combinations to create their own analog soundscape in real time, all set to a mellow playlist provided by Jon, the floor’s main resident, and a continuous projected psychedelic film loop that I had pieced together the week before.

We were very happy to be able to provide a lounge for folks to hang at away from the music that was still surrounded by fun, color and opportunities for creativity. Major thanks to Silk Cafe for operating a food station here, and for jumping in last second to fill in for a previous food vendor who had to cancel last minute. If you’re ever in Paterson, do check out the great folks at Silk Cafe for a stellar menu of diverse dishes and coffee.

Then, Jersey’s own The Royal Arctic Institute became the turning point, and added a very welcomed rock element to the day’s festivities. Their set, while still on the mellow side, picked up the energy a little and brought some jazzy post-surf rock that made you forget you were in a former factory in Jersey and not taking part in some Inherent Vice-esque California beach-side noir film. This set got people swaying and grooving, and from here, the energy would only continue to build and rise with forward momentum.

Following the Arctics, Brooklyn’s Emergency Group took flight and gave one of the tightest, most astral performances I’ve ever heard them play. With skronking Mike Ratledge-like keys, snapping motorik drumming and interstellar guitar that at times would venture towards Sharrock territory, these improv-heavy jazz jams RIPPED. Noodly Herbie Hancock and the Headhunters and obscure 70s German prog fusion vibes were mixed into something wholly unique and exciting for this set, and it jettisoned the entire 6-story building into the stars.

One of the moments I was most excited to witness was the debut performance of a new trio fronted by Drew Gardner, which included the great Bob Bannister on bass and Rob Smith on drums. They did not disappoint.

Gardner’s bluesy elemental guitar licks locked into the stoney groove that Bannister and Smith formed as a foundation, and they rang out with mystical reverb and drifted across the space like great Stratocumulus clouds passing over a vast open plain. Imagine if someone like Peter Green or John Abercrombie meandered through the mists of a particularly bluesy Dark Star with the Band of Gypsies rhythm section, and you might get near to the sound of this set.

After being able to zone out to the meditative grooves of Gardner’s set, Emily Robb woke us the fuck up with a truly seismic and jaw-dropping set of thunderous solo guitar.

Opening with a fierce and rabid Bo Diddley riff extravaganza and blazing through the night with uncompromisingly deconstructed rock jams that blurred the lines of noise, no wave and post-rock, Robb emphasized the textural and tonal (and atonal) qualities of her instrument and equipment. Her final jam of the night featured lots of grinding against the grain of her guitar strings and even taking a large bow to her instrument, which created walls of howling and shrieking distortion. It was like she was channeling the entire blown-out sound of The Velvet Underground’s infamous Amp Tapes recording through her single fuzzed-up instrument. We were stunned and beyond thrilled. If you ever get a chance to catch Robb performing live, do not sleep on the opportunity!

To cap off the evening, we were treated by a spectacularly strong set by the mighty Garcia Peoples. They immediately erupted into a cataclysmic jam before I even had a chance to introduce them on the mic, like as if their music was pent up all day and it just burst forth like an unruly fireball. This jam broke into a particularly propelling version of their classic anthem, “Feel So Great,” from their 2019 album, Natural Facts, the chorus of which I believe summed up the communal sentiment of the entire day:

“I feel so great today, because I’ve got you in my life.”

From there, the NY-based Jersey natives continued to play with an extreme tightness and intensity that launched into several new songs and jams that were punchy and oftentimes heavy with some impressive shredding. It felt as though Garcia Peoples have evolved into a new phase of their sound, and I am more eager than ever to hear whatever new record they might have in the works.

What a suitably exuberant and exciting way to conclude a full day of incredible music, friends and fun. I have faith that everyone went home that evening with the same buzz and joy that I felt from this and all of the other sets, the sense of found community and of course, Prototype 237’s unbeatable kindness and hospitality.

If you were there, please sound off in the comments about your impressions of the festival and the music. If you weren’t there, then hopefully this post will encourage you to join us in the fun and the celebration of music, art and life itself with us next time.

-Keith

Be sure to follow Prototype 237 on Instagram and to check them out at their site. If you’re free on the night of January 23rd, do not miss Bex Burch, who’ll be touring from Germany with a semi-improvised evening-long jazz piece, “as yet untitled,” with a standalone lineup that includes Joy on Fire’s Anna Meadors on sax and Nick Afflitto from Thieves in Paris on trumpet. The night will also feature poetry by John-Francis Quiñonez. Click here for tickets and more information.