The new House of Blues in Boston
Lansdowne Street in Boston - tucked away behind Fenway Park’s “Green Monster” - is a place of legend in Boston’s music scene. Where the Paradise (now known as the Paradise Rock Club) was the entry way for many music acts into not only Boston but the United States market, playing a room on Lansdowne was the next logical step up the venue ladder. For many bands, this is where they remained while monsters like U2, and Radiohead simply moved into the arena and stadium realm.
I went through my ticket stub stash (I love keeping ticket stubs - they are very much a reminder of a moment for me) and found the stub for the first show I ever saw on Lansdowne back in 1994 when I moved up here from Connecticut. The band was Quicksand.
A few years ago, when I re-located into the Fenway, I moved into a loft at the top of Lansdowne. Being able to walk to the Avalon or Axis was a convenience in its own right, but unfortunately, Lansdowne shut down for renovations as quickly as I moved in. The renovation was not simply a rehab, but a full tear down gut job of the old Avalon and Axis rooms to build one unified, 3000 capacity venue, which included seating on the third tier.
The venue, now known as the House of Blues, has just re-opened. I was lucky enough to see Thievery Corporation with my good friend Seth, last Tuesday. The new venue was worth the wait. The sound, size, art, and the spacious nature of the venue make it a very pleasant place to view a show. It reminds me much of the Paradiso in Amsterdam with a main floor and two mezzanine teirs of standing room and seating.
But like all new affairs, HOB needs to work on handling the door entry better, and should consider removing the second check with their metal detector wands. How many hippies go to a Thievery Show strapped? And what happened to the draft beers? Bring them back, please.
Boston needed Lansdowne to open again, and with more than 300 shows a year scheduled for the House of Blues, business is back. Welcome.
