A free Wednesday evening is a rare thing in my life. CaliCeltic has been rehearsing weekly on Wednesdays since 2017, but Paddy's season can be a strange thing for an Irish band: sometimes you bolt on extra rehearsals or play so many shows in a row that it disrupts your normal schedule, as it did this particular week. The resurrected Bay Area Open Mic Calendar had only been live for a few weeks, so I had a look and found Pinot's Acoustic Open Mic Listening Room seemed opportune.
Thus it was I found myself staring at the hand-painted sign outside of the venue:
Pinot's is a high-ceilinged room with a sealed concrete floor speckled with paint and a long row of lockers, cubbies, and painting supplies along the wall to your left, with multiple benches and seating arranged throughout. Portraits of what I assume are people's pets adorn the walls alongside other subjects, and a tidy little stage with permanent speakers is tucked off to the right.
Head straight ahead, past the stage, to find the sign-up sheet at the end of the bar — where they serve wine, beer, and other refreshments along with a limited food menu.
There's not much room at the benches, so you're encouraged to either head down the hallway to stow your instrument in the somewhat freaky blacklit storage room, or use the series of guitar hangers over the cabinets near the front of the place.
Really, as especially the pictures of performers you'll see as you scroll down show, the lighting in Pinot's is psychedelic. I couldn't help but reflect, sitting below the actual paintings, that every photo I snapped took on a painting-like posterization — as if it wasn't possible for photos taken in that environment to look like anything but artwork.
Your charming host of the evening, John Iacono, doesn't do social media, so you'll have to come in person if you have any questions for him, or just contact Pinot's directly.
The night I was there I was surprised and delighted to find a number of familiar faces: Stevenson Proffitt, Steve Faria, Biff, and the esteemed Richard Lappin all chatting away. One of the unique things about this event is that there are A LOT of auxiliary players sitting around just offstage waiting to accompany you. The host holds court on his cajon (making it handy for him to play along with acts), Biff was parked at a bench in front of the stage surrounded by his bongo/conga setup, a keyboard was at the ready next to the stage, and a couple of guitar and bass amps were set up indicating the players weren't far away, should they be needed. I signed up for the third slot, but as no one signed up before me, I ended up going first.
Performers at Pinot's Acoustic Open Mic Listening Room get three songs each. Given the Paddy's week that was in it, I chose a few Irish songs off the new CaliCeltic West of Shannon album: A Pub With No Tunes, Leaving Athlone, and The Humours of Whiskey. They went down well, and I even sold the first copy of the album to Steve Faria after my set. The house sound system is good — John is on top of the mix and the speakers are excellent. It's easy to hear yourself.
While I didn't engage with the crowd of auxiliary players that night, it quickly became apparent that a) they are part of the draw for a lot of people at this event and b) these guys just really like to play and have their instruments out and ready to join in if you give them the nod. It's not quite band-e-oke, but I have to say the night I was there all the accompanists were very seasoned players with a fairly astonishing level of skill. They're either retired pros or simply have decades of playing under their belts and live nearby, making it easy to mosey down on a Wednesday night and provide studio-quality accompaniment to whoever signs up. Most acts took advantage of the players available, as you can see:
Directly across the street from a mid-century strip mall boasting the venerable 24-hour Donut Wheel (there were definitely some donut holes being passed around when I attended) and a laundromat, Pinot's is well-positioned to attract folks looking to pass the time while they munch on pastries or wait for their laundry to finish.
Pinot's Acoustic Open Mic Listening Room is definitely a spot for folks who appreciate having three songs to do their thing and enjoy it when there is a room full of able players looking to back them up.
Click on any photo in this post to see the full, uncropped version.
