Up The Creek Records might be the coolest shop in the East Bay.
Ostensibly a record shop, Up The Creek Records definitely caters to the skate/punk crowd: colorful decks in wire racks are scattered around the shop, there's an enticing skate ramp out back, and a skate counter sits just inside the entrance with trucks and wheels on display under glass in a small workshop area.
One of the unique things about the shop is something they call "Local Showcase." Solo performers are invited to sign up using a form on their website for any one-hour slot during business hours and perform for shop patrons during the week. These mid-week performances are NOT in the back on the main stage, but right inside against the front window where the performer can be heard by everyone in the shop.
It was early enough when I arrived Sunday: Vince Lay was still pulling chairs out for the event.
As I pitched in to help, he shared that he has been running the Up the Creek Open Mic for about a year; Nic, the owner, is an old friend. As soon as the chairs were out, Vince gave me a micro tour of the performance area, showing where, with the recent rains, the show the night before had almost flooded out the shop.
"There will be some improvements to the building coming up soon," he explained:
the walls would be coming in a bit and the area outside the stage — which currently houses board games, a 1980s arcade game, and a table and chairs for tabletop gaming — is going to be enclosed and doors will be added to give the performance area more separation from the shop.
"But did you ever see the old place?" he asked.
I indicated I hadn't.
He smiled and raised his eyebrows, gesturing expansively to the small 65-seat room: "the WHOLE shop was only about as big as just THIS room!"
Needless to say, the current shop on Diablo Blvd is greatly expanded in footprint and functionality at its new location. It boasts not just a tidy stage for shows and events, but plenty of room behind its sinuous, swooping, mid-century-modern shopfront for Up the Creek to add neat little touches like a stickers and pins table, the skate workstation described above, and comfy listening areas with turntables and headphones for folks wanting to audition potential vinyl purchases.
Speaking of which, I took the opportunity with Gordon and Kevin at the counter to drop a couple of my own Lightholder vinyl records into their local artists section. I got the question I always dread, but which is absolutely necessary for a record shop to put some vinyl in a bin: "what genre is it?"
Pretty happy with where we landed: "Indie Rockers.""
Just as I finished that up, it was time for the open mic to begin. Performers had wandered in and set their guitar cases around the place. Vince took the stage, cautioning everyone into the microphone: "This was all set up for me last night, so while it may look like I know what I'm doing,
I assure you, I do not...I cannot give you reverb."
Vince didn't leave the stage without first treating us to a fantastic social commentary song entitled "Toilet Goddamn Toilet." The title is patently giggle-inducing, but the song itself was sharp and made apt use of the metaphor.
I had signed up for the second slot. As I plugged in my guitar, I realized that the two songs I'd picked — "The Ballad of Lou McKenzie" and "Wanting to be Clear" — were the exact same two I'd recently played at Swirl Acoustic Open Mic w/Gabe Duffin, another Sunday-afternoon open mic. Maybe it's the time of day? In any case, despite Vince's claims of ineptitude, the sound was good onstage, and a couple of folks even complimented me on my guitar's sound.
After I'd finished up, a patron who had also showed up early and chipped in with chair setup took the stage: Mike Kohn. "This is my first time onstage in 15 years," he began, before treating us with two original songs expressing romantic longing: "Living with Your Ghost" and "Friday Blues."
Up next was another open mic newcomer (this being her very FIRST open mic ever): Aubrey Whitburn. Leaning into the mic, she shared, "I'm nervous,."
The friendly crowd immediately responded with clapping and encouraging shouts:
"You're awesome!"
"You got this!!"
Aubrey was excellent, delivering a couple of incisive covers: Watermelon by John and Jane Q. Public — a fictional band (comprised of Emily Skeggs and Adam Carter) from the indie film Dinner in America — followed by Scott Pilgrim vs my GPA by Mom Jeans.
Next was Ron Corrick, who hit us with a couple of original political songs. "I was at the Sun Valley Mall for No Kings last week," he explained, before launching into "March in the Streets" (written for the march that happened last year) with lyrics like, "'Woke' like it's an evil thing...I'll be damned before I ever kiss the ring." He followed that with another entitled "Breaking News:"
My patience is wearing thin,
It's getting harder to force a simple smile.
My sneakers are wearing thin,
They stop those sneakers, our very lives are at stake.
Uphold our constitution or our country dies!
Following Ron was Gerald Trumm, who put his slim-body Ovation to good use, finger-picking his way through a cover of Fleetwood Mac's "Never Going Back Again."
Before playing his second song, he shared an experience he had at a popular open mic the week before: "I was 56 of 57 on the list of performers at Starry Plough Tuesday Open Mic to play one song.
So I high-tailed it to Rellik Open Mic and played three songs!"
The cost of two songs and a long wait is, apparently, a drive from Berkeley to Benicia.
I suppose it just goes to show what happens when an open mic is a victim of its own success. In fairness, back in the 90s when I was a college kid and a regular at Starry Plough Tuesday Open Mic, it was much the same: you went to The Plough to be a part of the scene, not so to get much time for yourself as a performer.
Steve Scherchenko began the next set by giving thanks to Vince Lay for running the event.
"It's my 2nd time here," he said, then delivered an impassioned version of "Momma Knows" by Sister Sparrow, followed by "Let Her Cry" by Hootie & the Blowfish.
Vince took the moment before the next act to introduce Jesse Reeves: "one of the best whistlers I've ever heard. His band Fooling Marie is pretty good too, check them out." Jesse cranked out a couple of songs, even spontaneously delivering an impressive whistling solo in honor of Vince's request.
I didn't catch the names of the songs (nor could I find a published discography), but I believe the first was "Helpless in Your Glow" and the second might be "I Love Her More Than I Should" — which featured the amazing whistle solo.
"Hiyati is my solo name. It's a reference to my Middle Eastern heritage," began Hiyati. "I have an evening of solo stuff on Sunday April 26 at the Make Out Room in the city with two other women artists.
I'll be playing with pedals and synths at that show."
Her first song, "Embers," was dark and brooding with imagery of fire and blood. The second, "Seas of Tears," explored themes of separation and struggle.
Which brought us to our final act of the evening, Michael Wheeler. A last-minute addition to the list and somewhat out of breath, Michael started by saying, "it's been planes, trains, and automobiles to get here — an Uber ride, a BART ride, and another Uber ride...anyway, I made it!"
I'll tell ya folks, what some people will do to get to an open mic!
His band, Michael Wheeler and the Silver Lining, just released a new album, "White Collar Red Neck." His first song was Living on Borrowed Time. The second was dedicated to what he called "honky tonk queens and chicken-picking princesses."
But wait — things weren't over yet. Fresh from behind the Up the Creek retail counter was Lily.
All business, she left her post at the register at Vince's behest and strode to the mic: "Vince loves making me sing at these things," she explained, before launching into the Cowboy Junkies' "Fade Into You."
An appropriate ending to the afternoon.
The Up the Creek Open Mic is perfect for anyone who wants to support scrappy, independent concert venues, digs the skate/punk aesthetic, and never says no to a chance to flip through a vinyl record collection.
Click on any photo in this post to see the full, uncropped version.
