Last night, about 150 people drifted in and out of Midtown’s La Guaracha. And they weren’t there for carne asada fries.

The taqueria was completely packed. The staff looked startled, overwhelmed. Then Andru Defeye (full disclosure: a freelance writer for SN&R under the name Andrew Bell) stood up on a chair.

“Some of you guys know what’s going on right now. Some of you have no idea,” he said. “You have now entered the performance arts dojo of Sacramento.”  

It was #TheMostOpenMicInTheCity, a new guerrilla-style open mic drawing all kinds of artists—spoken word poets, rappers, singers. Even the Element Brass Band showed up. Someone performed, everyone cheered, and suddenly another person filled the silence. There was no moderator, no list, no concrete way of going about things. But it worked.

Monday marked the third iteration of the flash mob. The location was spread by word of mouth. Attendees were told to descend at exactly 8:08 p.m. And week after week, the open mic has gotten more and more massive.

According to Defeye, the open mic will find a more conventional home in March at the Brickhouse Art Gallery in Oak Park. But participants will only congregate there every other week—the rest of the time, they’ll continue taking over new spaces around Sacramento.

“I like this better than an actual venue,” said Danté Pélayo, a local poet who performed several times over the course of the night. “It’s artists supporting local businesses.”

Watch the video above to hear Pélayo and get a feel for #TheMostOpenMicInTheCity, and head to www.zfgpromotions.com for updates on the next location.