Hub’s new House of Blues takes a place on top of the world

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Hub’s new House of Blues takes a place on top of the world
February 24, 2010
By James Reed
boston.com

A month before the new House of Blues opened on Lansdowne Street last year, concert impresario Don Law made a lofty prediction. As president of the New England division of Live Nation, which owns the House of Blues chain, Law said the venue could book as many as 300 shows its inaugural year, making it far busier than the space’s previous clubs, Avalon and Axis.
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He came close - it hosted nearly 250 shows - but he did not foresee the latest news: Boston’s House of Blues sold more tickets last year than any other club in the world.

According to Pollstar, the concert industry’s trade publication, the House of Blues sold 314,597 tickets in 2009, restoring luster to the city’s diminished nightlife scene since Avalon and Axis closed in 2007 and outdrawing well-established venues in New York (Hammerstein Ballroom), San Francisco (the Fillmore), and Washington, D.C. (9:30 Club).

“Part of it is that location has been successful for 40 years, going back to the Tea Party,’’ Law said of the No. 1 ranking, which is even more impressive considering that the House of Blues - which debuted Feb. 19, 2009 - was not open the entire year.

The Pollstar report, which gauged ticket sales only, does not mean the House of Blues was the world’s most profitable club. Still, it is an impressive feat for the music hall, whose tiny charter location (capacity: around 150) opened in Harvard Square in 1992 and shuttered 11 years later. The new House of Blues, which can accommodate 2,400 people and scale down to 1,000 for smaller shows, is the largest of 12 franchises.

Live Nation did not release ticket sales figures for Avalon but did note that it typically placed in the top 15 on Pollstar’s chart. The publication defines a club as a live-entertainment venue with a general-admission floor, meaning that places such as the Orpheum Theatre and TD Garden do not compete with the House of Blues in the year-end tally. The Paradise Rock Club, one of the three other New England clubs to place in Pollstar’s top 100, landed at No. 53 with 72,289 tickets sold.

Boston is an unusual concert market, because it does not have many midsize venues. Booking agents often face a question of whether an act can sell 500 tickets or 2,500, because there is not much in between. (Beyond that, an act normally graduates to the Orpheum, Agganis Arena, or TD Garden.) The Middle East Downstairs holds 575 and the Paradise Rock Club 650. But if a band can sell 1,000 tickets, it will likely end up at the House of Blues, which gives the club more leverage than it would have in another city. And because Live Nation also books some of the area’s other key venues - including the Paradise, the Orpheum, and Comcast Center - it presents a ferocious challenge to smaller promoters who can’t match the company’s price for talent.Continued...

Another reason for the House of Blues’ success was the broad appeal of musicians who played there in 2009, from popular metal bands (Mastodon) to R&B legends (Al Green) to world-music acts (Gipsy Kings). It helped that one of the club’s chief competitors, The Roxy, largely dropped its concert programming last year before closing. (It is tentatively scheduled to reopen next month as Royale.)

“It’s a diverse place to see a show,’’ says Ken Casey, whose band, Dropkick Murphys, has a long history playing whatever venue has been at 15 Lansdowne St., including Avalon’s last show in 2007. “You can go down on the floor, and it’ll still be a punk show as raucous as Avalon ever was, but then you can go up to the seats in the balconies, too.’’

The notion of past and present still looms large in the debate on which is better, Avalon or the House of Blues.

“If you’re going there for Avalon nostalgia, I don’t think you’ll get it,’’ says Chris Harris, whose production company has been booking Epic Saturdays, the venue’s only dance night, since October. Already the gay dance party is attracting crowds of 1,000, which doesn’t match Avalon’s numbers but suggests the market was hungry for the return of that club’s popular dance nights.

Three young women who attended the new House of Blues’ first-anniversary party last week said the club’s open floor makes it better than a theater with seating for the shows they enjoy - alternative rock bands such as Taking Back Sunday and the Gaslight Anthem. “If I go to see music, I want to feel it and get up and dance,’’ said Aliza Arevolin, 24. “If you try that at the Orpheum, they’ll tell you to sit down.’’

Still, they’re not completely satisfied. “I liked Avalon better,’’ said Erin Hayes, 24, who’s been to the House of Blues five or six times in the past year. “It was more intimate. When you went to Avalon, you were seeing a show. When you come to House of Blues, it feels like a chain.’’

“Yeah, and what’s up with the décor?’’ asked her friend Melinda Rossi, 25, referring to the colorful folk art adorning the walls. “It’s like Starbucks decorated it.’’

Elsewhere in the crowd, Ralph Maselli, 49, was on his second visit to the club. He was a big fan of the original House of Blues in Harvard Square but never stepped inside Avalon. He said the new incarnation brings in a wide range of acts he wants to see, such as reggae stars Toots & the Maytals. “Boston’s music scene needs a place like this,’’ he said.

Law suspected that long ago, but he is still surprised by how his latest crown jewel is faring in an economic downturn. “Opening a new venue can take a while, sometimes up to a year,’’ Law said. “The House of Blues didn’t take any time. This thing started off like a rocket ship and just never slowed down.’’

Another reason for the House of Blues’ success was the broad appeal of musicians who played there in 2009, from popular metal bands (Mastodon) to R&B legends (Al Green) to world-music acts (Gipsy Kings). It helped that one of the club’s chief competitors, The Roxy, largely dropped its concert programming last year before closing. (It is tentatively scheduled to reopen next month as Royale.)
Discuss
COMMENTS (53)
Acts that have played the House of Blues
Photos
Acts that have played the House of Blues
Mardi Gras at House of Blues
Photos
Mardi Gras at House of Blues

“It’s a diverse place to see a show,’’ says Ken Casey, whose band, Dropkick Murphys, has a long history playing whatever venue has been at 15 Lansdowne St., including Avalon’s last show in 2007. “You can go down on the floor, and it’ll still be a punk show as raucous as Avalon ever was, but then you can go up to the seats in the balconies, too.’’

The notion of past and present still looms large in the debate on which is better, Avalon or the House of Blues.

“If you’re going there for Avalon nostalgia, I don’t think you’ll get it,’’ says Chris Harris, whose production company has been booking Epic Saturdays, the venue’s only dance night, since October. Already the gay dance party is attracting crowds of 1,000, which doesn’t match Avalon’s numbers but suggests the market was hungry for the return of that club’s popular dance nights.

Three young women who attended the new House of Blues’ first-anniversary party last week said the club’s open floor makes it better than a theater with seating for the shows they enjoy - alternative rock bands such as Taking Back Sunday and the Gaslight Anthem. “If I go to see music, I want to feel it and get up and dance,’’ said Aliza Arevolin, 24. “If you try that at the Orpheum, they’ll tell you to sit down.’’

Still, they’re not completely satisfied. “I liked Avalon better,’’ said Erin Hayes, 24, who’s been to the House of Blues five or six times in the past year. “It was more intimate. When you went to Avalon, you were seeing a show. When you come to House of Blues, it feels like a chain.’’

“Yeah, and what’s up with the décor?’’ asked her friend Melinda Rossi, 25, referring to the colorful folk art adorning the walls. “It’s like Starbucks decorated it.’’

Elsewhere in the crowd, Ralph Maselli, 49, was on his second visit to the club. He was a big fan of the original House of Blues in Harvard Square but never stepped inside Avalon. He said the new incarnation brings in a wide range of acts he wants to see, such as reggae stars Toots & the Maytals. “Boston’s music scene needs a place like this,’’ he said.

Law suspected that long ago, but he is still surprised by how his latest crown jewel is faring in an economic downturn. “Opening a new venue can take a while, sometimes up to a year,’’ Law said. “The House of Blues didn’t take any time. This thing started off like a rocket ship and just never slowed down.’’

James Reed can be reached at jreed@globe.com