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November 30, 2006
House of Blues?
It's too much, you're too late, too much, you're too late
In today's Post there's an article about House of Blues planning to open in DC. Naturally, Seth Hurwitz is not too happy about this. I'm not quite sure how I feel about this yet.
My initial inclination is there would be 2 venues of the same size going against each other, perhaps with HoB being slightly larger. But the 9:30 Club is not just any club - it is beloved by both its clientèle and its artists. There are a number of bands who would rather do several nights at the 9:30 than one night at a larger hall. I don't necessarily believe that a new House of Blues will directly steal acts from the 9:30. But HoB could take acts away from IMP, Hurwitz's promotion arm. IMP presently books a large number of acts in Constitution Hall and the Patriot Center. A large enough House of Blues will be in direct competition for those kinds of acts, and there are a lot of them.
My personal feeling is that DC needs a real dedicated mid to large size concert venue. Constitution Hall, while pretty and acoustically inviting, is loathed by touring bands for it's tiny stage, pedestrian sized doors that prevents sets from being rolled in, and complete lack of backstage beyond the pipe & drape setup. The Patriot Center, while being hope to the fantastic GMU Patriots (the only college basketball team I have any interest in), is too far out from the city. Furthermore, I personally object to the traffic and lack of parking each concert generates. But I suppose that's a personal pet peeve.
The other question is, would a large HoB in the District be Union? Most houses in the city are, with the 9:30 Club being a notable exception.
I'm not sure how this would play out. Certainly if 9:30 loses some acts, they will pick up bands that might've otherwise played the Black Cat. Then the Black Cat would grab bands that would've played Rock N' Roll Hotel or Warehouse. And then those halls suffer. But I'm not convinced that the 9:30 would lose anything at all. But the DAR better start making some alternate plans for Constitution Hall if this complex goes through.
Posted by MikeSager at November 30, 2006 12:00 PM
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