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A Monday Night at Vinnie's Open Mic in Concord

All photos: Seán Lightholder

Did you ever want to break a guitar out of prison? That was just one of many interesting experiences I had last night at Vinnie's Open Mic in Concord.

With its brick arches and wooden door, Vinnie's looks like a 1970s Italian restaurant from the outside.

Once you swing that first door open and push through the interior double doors into the cavernous room with wooden floors, you start to feel more of a club vibe. Immediately in front of you, a long bar with an impressive whiskey selection leads off to the right, where some genial folks were making good use of four pool tables. Around the bar in that direction is the door to Vinnie’s large outdoor beer garden/smoking area, which was buzzing by the time I left.

A cavernous room with wood floors shows a long bar with an impressive collection of bottles on the shelves behind it. In front there are ten stools with just a few patrons seated, spaced out from one another. A young, bald bartender is behind the bar, seemingly chatting with a patron
The bar at Vinnie's Open Mic in Concord

Four pool tables and folks playing pool are depicted in a carpeted room with high top tables and stools
The pool table area at Vinnie's in Concord, CA
But your intrepid author immediately turned to his left, where a well-lit area with a full stage was hosting a number of men in tie-dye, who seemed busily engaged in setting up for a night of music. One sported a headless cerulean guitar. A drum kit, keys, and also a sampler were set up and making noise for sound check. An impressively bearded man with glasses bustled about with an iPad cheerfully dialing in everyone’s sound.

Brightly lit room with a large, professional stage on richly textured wooden floor with lights and speakers hung from the ceiling, men mill about the musical equipment
Vinnie's open mic house band, setting up the stage before things kick off at Vinnie's Open Mic in Concord

Every Monday at Vinnie's Open Mic has a featured act, who plays for 20 minutes after the first four open mic’ers do their thing. The night I was there, the featured act was The Breedloves, whose what-if-jimmy-Hendrix-was-a-ukulele-player act I had first encountered at a San Francisco community park music event in 2022. I was looking forward to seeing if they would play on their own or enlist the powers of the tie-dye players as a backing band.

The open mic sign up sheet at Vinnie’s can be found on the pillar table closest to the stage: an 8.5x11 sheet folded lengthwise, cradling a blue ballpoint pen. Noting the second slot was marked, “1st Timer Only,” I scrawled my name into the slot, thinking about the drive home and my 6am alarm tomorrow. The list filled in pretty quickly, with nonchalant participants quietly taking seats at some of the low tables scattered around in front of the stage.

A printed page header reads 'Open Mic Sign-Up Sheet 2 songs each!'
The open mic sign-up list at Vinnie's Open Mic in Concord
The writing in the margins of the sign up list at Vinnie's reads, '1st Timer only' with an arrow pointing to the second slot
The open mic sign-up list at Vinnie's Open Mic in Concord

I was bemused to find the two red and blue neon signs stage right contained actual guitars. Yes, I actually had to walk over to check. Upon verifying there were actual guitars shackled into a neon Budweiser beer prison, the younger me (who had to save up to buy his first electric) kinda wanted to bust them out of their cage and give them to someone who would actually play them.

A blue stratocaster with a Bud Light logo on the body and headstock is mounted on a backing board and outlined in blue neon next to a larger, illuminated BUD LIGHT logo sign mounted on the wall
Bud Light Neon Beer Sign with guitar at Vinnie's Open Mic in Concord
A red stratocaster with a whammy bar and a 'B MUSIC' logo on the body is mounted on a backing board and outlined in red neon next to a cursive version of the word 'Budweiser,' also in red neon and underlined by a blue neon swoosh. You can see the power cords extending away from the sign up to the ceiling
Budweiser Neon Beer Sign with guitar at Vinnie's Open Mic in Concord

Two pro Vinnie’s venue tips: the towels for drying your hands are OUTSIDE the bathrooms on the bench. Also, parking for Vinnie’s is easy to find on adjacent streets, the plaza, or the large free parking garage immediately behind the venue.

A wooden bench with a 'Vinnie's Bar and Grill' logo hosts two paper towel dispensers at each end
The paper towel dispensers outside the bathroom at Vinnie's Open Mic in Concord

Eventually The Killers playback was turned off and host Joey Nunez announced from behind his keyboard, “we’re gonna get weird to kick things off.” The lights went down, colored lights came up (rendering the tie-dye into monochromatic patterns), and the house band oozed into a swaying, lugubrious interpretation of Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams.” I reflected the weird comment was certainly on point.

Massive speakers both on a richly textured wooden floor and hung from the ceiling frame five musicians under colorful blue and red onstage lights: from the left, a long-haired man in a t-shirt and striped shorts plays a sampler pad; another long-haired man plays a headless electric guitar while looking down at a music stand; Joey Nunez, a bespectacled short-haired man with a goatee, sings while playing keyboard; behind Joey a drummer is partially seen; and on the right of the photo, a tall bass man in jeans and a t-shirt with short hair and glasses plays a six-string electric bass guitar
Sabertooth Unicorn, the Vinnie's open mic house band, on stage at Vinnie's Open Mic in Concord

My name was called and, to my surprise, the band quickly vacated the stage as I approached with my acoustic. Expecting a band-e-oke event, I’d brought some charts to share. I was able to catch the the bass player mid-exodus and asked if he’d stick around, which he did, making good use of his six strings through my two-song set of All On Me and Haphazard Emotions. Funny enough, I was so discombobulated when the band left I accidentally capo’d on the wrong fret and played my first song a half step higher than the charts I’d handed to the bassist - something the very able player took in stride. It was fun to sing through a big system on a Monday night.

A rapper in sunglasses and a Golden State Warriors-branded baseball cap, jacket, basketball shorts, high socks, and shoes raps into a mic under the blue and pink lights
Concord rapper Tony Y Not onstage at Vinnie's Open Mic in Concord
After my set, Tony Y Not, a Concord rapper resplendent in blue and gold Warriors drip, took the stage. Tony brought his own backing tracks and delivered a tidy couple of original pieces. Some diligent searching didn't reveal any web presence for Tony Y Not - if you have it, drop me a line.

True to a Bay Area music event, there was some dancing involving colorful flags and a hula hoop during the performances. Now that I think back on it, it's not so much an open mic event, but the entire state of California that should qualify as a free-creative-expression zone. Right on. :)

An image of a woman in a black outfit with fishnet tights and shiny military boots facing away from the camera spins colorful rainbow flags, which blur with motion, while a nearby man leans back while twirling a hula hoop with both bands
Dancers at Vinnie's Open Mic in Concord

An African-American man with a bald head in a black t-shirt and brown pants holds a mic passionately while singing with his eyes closed
An open mic performer sings at Vinnie's Open Mic in concord
As a karaoke version of Radiohead’s Creep came over the speakers for the next performer, I was surprised when, after singing the first verse, the performer busted into some rap. He followed it up by giving the same treatment to Marilyn Manson’s version of Sweet Dreams. Then it was time for The Breedloves, who had no need of the house band, having arrived as a four-piece ensemble. Jay was in great form, opting to shred on a red Ibanez for the band’s first song. Unfortunately, I could not stay long enough to see the emergence of his unique ukulele shredding, but as I took my early-morning carcass out the door, I noted the place had really filled up and folks were chatting happily, drinks in hand.

A man in a black leather cowboy hat playing a red electric guitar looks down at his pedals while a seated woman next to him behind a microphone with long dark hair and wearing a white cowboy hat looks over at him while strumming an acoustic guitar
Jay and Barbara Breedlove of The Breedloves band onstage at Vinnie's Open Mic in Concord

Vinnie's Open Mic in Concord delivers true eclectic, creative Bay Area vibes. While open to everything, this open mic would be perfect for bands who need to pressure test a couple of songs through a big sound system.

Click on any photo in this post to see the full, uncropped version.

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