It is a place where you do not have to depend on canned background music or flat screen televisions for entertainment. Before you resort to ungenuine small talk, the band shuts you up. Dining out is no longer on autopilot once that PA system is on. Performers will interrupt your conversation with their startling sound.

And after they get going, your voice and your thoughts attempt to make it over the noise. You will start yelling at your partner, your colleague, or your relative and they just shake their head at your attempts. Their eyes are directed towards the stage and their feet will start bobbing. Once your shouting ceases and you let the pillar of sound overcome the clamor in your mind, the world lifts itself off your shoulders.

Stockton’s own Whirlow’s Tossed and Grilled is the escape that performers and consumers seek alike. Before his act began, acoustic guitar player, vocalist, and father Anthony Keesee said he performed at the restaurant because “it’s an easy gig with good food that’s not high pressure.” Keesee has performed at multiple places in Stockton and still does to this day at places such as El Toro Loco and the Brick House Restaurant and Lounge. “It keeps the blood pressure down,” Keesee said.

He describes the Miracle Mile as a “place that’s always been dead.” He recalls downtown Stockton as being lively back in its heyday. Back when it was safer for people to wander the streets. Back when crime was less of a concern and people could truly let their cares free. Keesee says, “Whirlow’s gives people my age a place to come to, to feel safe.”

It is also a place where he can scope for musicians to perform in his own band. Just about every day of the week at Whirlow’s is an event. Karaoke on Tuesdays, jazz nights on Fridays, and live local bands every Saturday. On Thursday evenings, the restaurant holds free jam sessions that attract people of every age. A trend that Keesee has seen is an increasing amount of students coming in from Delta College and the University of the Pacific.

It pleases him to see students spending their own time to come to these free jams because it gives them “experience with performing, which usually freezes people up.” Here, they are put into a situation where they do not have a piece of sheet music to fall on. Improvisation is a skill on its own that must be learned on its own time. Student performers also gain access to the aid of elder musicians. Business cards also might get swapped if they’re especially impressive.

Keesee playfully laments: “If only I would’ve known places like this existed in high school!”

Lisa and Mike Whirlow, owners of the restaurant, provide support for musicians as well as the entire community. Just recently, they collaborated with the Delta College music program for a fundraiser aiding the Stockton Animal Shelter. They also hold events monthly for the non-profit organization West Coast Songwriters.

For how much this restaurant does for its community, to say they are “proactive” is an understatement. In a city where the night brings about feelings of insecurity, this place is a haven. Whirlow’s is proof that you do not have be afraid of your own community. You ought to be able to revel in the night instead of hiding away from it. Stocktonians, whether they decide to perform or dine, are guaranteed a night of unity and mellowness at Whirlow’s.