California's infrastructure was mostly built between 1940 and 1960. At its peak in 1950, the surge of postwar optimism decorated the western landscape with contemporary architecture, and parking-forward strip malls sprang up just about everywhere, fueled by the West Coast's car culture.
As someone who grew up in the Bay Area's suburban landscape, seas of asphalt in front of single-story, low-slung shopfronts feel nostalgic.
There are many places, in San Jose especially, where it seems like little has changed in the last 60 years. The strip mall housing Three Flames — "Carriage Square" — is one of those places.
This particular strip mall is not without whimsy: there's a playful ornamentation to the mid-century signage out front that resembles an old-fashioned carriage with lanterns at each end.
Even as my car door closed with a "thunk," I reflected that I'd certainly missed open mic sign-up. Little did I know how the evening would progress.
Inside, there was a good crowd and the first performer, Mark B, was making his way through his set.
After confirming the sign-up sheet was full, I set to taking a few photos of the place for this blog. Three Flames Open Mic is held in the venue's bar area — the restaurant is on the other side of the building — and with its green leather chairs and large wooden bar, this steakhouse bar feels evocative of another era.
The open mic had a flyer posted requesting that folks order at least two items to support the venue.
I ended up over by the bar and got to chatting with Jeff Ochoa, who has been running Three Flames Open Mic since 2023. I moseyed my way over to him as an audience member stood up and went over to the soundboard to twist a few knobs. I asked if that was his sound person.
"Well, everyone is a sound engineer, right?" Jeff grinned.
"But that guy actually runs sound at City Folks Open Mic on Fridays, so I trust him."
Mark B, for his part, finished an original song that made multiple mentions of a sparrow hawk before closing his set with a rendition of "City of New Orleans."
Erik K was up next, wearing a sea-foam green hollow-body Taylor T5. His first song was a humorous piece dealing with the invocation of demons. Then he explained that his next would be "Horizons" by Steve Hackett — a tune with an impressive amount of harmonics. He held up a piece of paper:
"This is actually the tablature for this song from my guitar teacher when I was 15!"
Rey took the stage next with "What's Your Name" from 1950s doo-wop stars Don and Juan.
As I stepped over near the stage to snap a photo, someone tapped my shoulder.
"Are you from Niles?" It was Juliet McDonald. She said she had seen me at the last Sunday showcase at the Art Freak in Niles and shared that she was eager to hear me play.
Flattered, I explained that I had left from the Tri-Valley a bit too late to get on the list, since I wouldn't be able to stay until the end. She looked alarmed and said,
"Well, hold on," and flitted across the room to chat with someone in another booth.
For my part, I was perfectly content being an audience member for the evening.
Meanwhile, the next performer, Michael Lusk, was joined onstage by David. The duo trotted out "I Feel Fine" by the Beatles, followed by a very new original about the prospect of an inadvisable love affair, provisionally titled "It Would Be So Easy."
The stage was next inhabited by Erel, who sat and treated the room to a fingerstyle Brazilian piece. Grinning as he introduced his next song, he said:
"I gotta do a switch — roll the language bar. This next song is also by Antônio Carlos Jobim."
Doug and Lynn of Second Story Duo were next.
"Our stuff is on Spotify," said Lynn. "These are songs that aren't out in the wild yet — they'll be on our next album."
The songs were moody and introspective, punctuated by well-coordinated harmonies. A line from the last one stayed with me: "It's a bad morning already. Maybe it's a me thing, maybe I'll get it right this time."
To my surprise, Juliet came back at this point.
"It's all sorted," she said.
"I really am okay not playing tonight!" I protested. Juliet was not to be deterred. When I went over to Jeff to check in, he said that as a rule he never adds people to the evening's list after sign-up, but that everyone involved had said they wanted to accommodate me.
Out-gunned, I tuned up and determined to play just one song (performers that evening were doing three).
But as I finished "Baghdad by the Bay," the crowd asked for another, so I gave them "Think of You," which I've been working on lately with my soul band. Both songs went down well.
Mike Busch brought a sweater vest and a Stratocaster to the stage, along with a very serviceable rhythm hand. "This is a traditional song done by Rod Stewart," he said by way of introducing his rendition of Curtis Mayfield's "People Get Ready." Mike's playing was fantastic — he made excellent use of that Strat.
The final performer I was able to catch had been onstage earlier with Michael Lusk: David R. He immediately engaged the crowd, and I regretted I couldn't stay for his full set.
Three Flames Open Mic is perfect for anyone who loves steak and mid-century vibes and is looking for a friendly, relaxed evening out with local San Jose performers.
Click on any photo in this post to see the full, uncropped version.
