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Second Saturdays at Blue Lamp is pretty funny.
Blue Lamp started slow as the evening started but once we passed dusk the folks started to stream in to check out the art and enjoy the music played by the DJ. The beer on tap tasted pretty weak and skanky but the bottled beer and the liquor drinks were pretty good.
This was my first time at Blue Lamp. I hadn't really ever been in the Alhambra area before and I enjoyed my time. I think I'll go again.
I went here on Sunday Reggae Night. It was chill and I liked the reggae music, but after a while you just get tired of it. And it's not like they're changing up the music because it's Reggae Night!
For some reason it was super dark when we went in, not sure if it's usually THAT dark. I could barely see anything...It's really annoying that they don't accept cards because it's such a small venue.
This place gave me the BLUES!
I had a college roommate for a few years that was from Sacramento. Made it seem like Sac was full of people like her. She was blonde, had a nose job, excellent body, drove a Mustang, talked like she was an idiot (she actually wasn't but she presented this extreme facade I don't know why). An L.A. Jr. if you will. She promotes at clubs and often recounted stories of crazy nights.
So, when I found out one of my favorite bands, We Are Scientists, was playing Sacramento, I was hesitant. I wondered what king of crowd would turn out. How I would be judged, and what type of establishment the concert was being held in. So, I got over my nerves and decided to go.
Blue Lamp often feature small bands that are making an extra stop between SF and Portland or Seattle. They are strict on their 21+ policy. The first of three bands wasn't of age, so they let them play with strict supervision near the stage, and then kicked them right back out. As the crowd started to trickle in, I noticed the potential douchebag looking dude, and the blonde Ed Hardy wearing girls. However, I was surprised at how well they treated the band. There was no pretentious hipsters in sight. Some big burly football player looking dudes even bought everyone in WAS a drink during their performance.
So, despite my hesitation about Sacramento clubs in general, this one not anything like I had heard, and I would go there again, but only when that random indie band decides to be there as well.
Lissen, when I ask if you have REAL GINGER ALE, do not say yes and then sell me some crap made with bitters you mixed behind the bar earlier that night. It's cool, I can drink something else if you don't have ginger. If you want, offer me the fake stuff and let me decide. But LYING to me about it? Very lame.
Best part is that I drank the first one, thinking it tasted off cause I had just brushed my teeth. The second one made me sure. When I went back to ask about it she kept saying "It's what you had last time.". Hey, just cause I gave you a second chance to make a decent drink doesn't mean its OK to lie to customers. The question wasn't "Do you have something you can pawn off as ginger ale." Luckily, I wasn't in the mood to get pissy about it at the time, but it definitely makes me think this place is totally low rent and they will be tipped accordingly.
I love a good dive and the Blue Lamp is a great dive. i have passed this place countless times, but i have never had a desire to go in. i went in last night though for Alex M. Alex had come to Sacramento again to DJ and honestly, i wondered what would happen after our adventure with the Fugu Lounge (Oshima) and the parking lot knife fight that finished off our evening last time.
To our surprise, nothing bad happened. the drinks were strong and reasonably priced, the sole bartender was competent and attentive and friendly, and the drinks were effing strong (also, the drinks were strong). Even the security guy was cool. There's a Starbucks across the street.
I liked it.
This place was off the hook when they had reggae on Sundays with $5 cover. For years, it was the one place you could hit up on a Sunday night and be sure to have a good time right till the very end. The only downside was that the bathroom had no air and smelled like month old urine.
They got greedy and bumped the cover up to $10 and people stopped coming. Then the bar became cash only and even more people stopped coming. Now, you can get your Sunday reggae fix from other clubs in Sac. I still have cool memories of those summer nights at the Blue Lamp tho.
I stopped by recently (I think they finally wised up and dropped the cover back to $5), but the place just ain't the same. There were only a handful of confused hipsters doing some synchronized dance to wack reggae. I drank my red stripe and cut out 10 minutes later.
Two Jameson shots and two bud lights came out to $17. I'm still trying to figure out how that breaks down.
As for the venue, it's your typical one room, shotty acoustics venue but they make due with what they have. The sound is better if you stand off to the side by the bar where the noise pollution cuts down drastically.
We hit the Jackpot! Found out Jackpot was playing a special sunday afternoon show at the Blue Lamp on Alhambra. Lets see...mow the yard or drink some beer and watch Jackpot? Jackpot beat out the red Snapper lawn mower with ease. The choice is clear. Whenever I can see Rusty Miller and the boys play in Sacramento I'm usually there. Lawn be damned on this sunday afternoon. It's Jackpot.
The Blue Lamp is roomier and less claustrophobic since the renovations. The ceilings have raised and the walls have expanded. I've been here when it was the Club 400. Popcorn ceiling. Striper named Candy Melons with some humongous American breasts. I think tassels too. I STILL would rather see Rusty Miller belting out Windshield Wipers over Missy Melons and her swinging tassels. It's very close, though.
We ordered a round of drinks and grabbed a seat on a comfy leather couch in the back of the venue while the opening bands played. The place is dark but not dreary. Good mixed crowd.
We got our butts off the leather couch and wandered up front as soon as Jackpot hit the stage. They did Chemical Reaction, Divine and a couple Neil Young cover tunes. We got our Jackpot fix.
Jackpot at the Blue Lamp is a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon in Sacramento.
Boo to the Blue Lamp for over selling the Devil Makes Three show. It was so freakin packed people were leaving just because they couldn't handle the sheer volume of folks packed in there like sardines. The music was amazing, but hard to enjoy with druken people shoving, and pushing and using me like a piece of furniture. Don't be greedy folks, only sell as many tickets as you can accomdate.
Four stars for consistently booking great shows. I've seen a lot of amazing shows at this little… Read more »
Kinda seedy. Kinda dive-y. Kinda dark. Perfect for Jungle shows!
My only complaints are:
- Cash only bar (ATM in-doors however)
- Sound system needs more 'umph'
Otherwise, I'm a fan. Drinks are good, the bartender is good looking (and can make a drink), has a stage and a good dance floor. Thumbs up.
Perhaps I'm one of the few that liked the Blue Lamp before renovations better. Now that it's so open (higher ceilings, fewer walls), the space just seems to have no character whatsoever and there are always major bottlenecks in people traffic while trying to navigate to the stage, bar, tables, or restrooms. You would think it would be difficult to open up a space and actually create more obstacles, but somehow, it happened here.
I also found out the hard way that you should NOT order a dirty martini at Blue Lamp. Not only will it not come in a martini class, it won't be drinkable. After a few courageous sips of perseverance, I passed off my drink to a male friend of mine, known to swig most anything handy, and even he abandoned the drink and labeled it crap. The draft beer seems to be safe though.
If it weren't for a few good bands that I refuse to miss, I'd probably never end up at Blue Lamp. But, as long as these bands and Reggae Basement with DJ Wokstar continue to play on Sunday nights, I know I'll end up here at some point. I'll just have to remember to order a beer.
just saw jason isbell and the 400 unit here last week and had a great time. drinks were cheap and holy shit....strong.
nice, small venue and the tickets were cheap. there were some a-holes in the crowd but you'll get that anywhere.
two star deduction for only having one stall in the women's restroom. tsk tsk.
Went last night for the first time since the renovation. Wow! What an improvement. The sound quality is better, and you can see the stage from any point in the now very large room---a definate plus for a vertically-challenged person such as myself. The bar is about the same, so there's a little bit of a clusterfuck there which can make moving about difficult at times.
Minus one star because, like the Press Club, why oh why do all those improvements and not address the bathroom situation? Not so good. And my tip for you all: Don't stand on the outside of the men's room door. Every time it opens the strong scent of urinal cake wafts out. Unless you like that kind of thing.
I love Blue Lamp because they always have amazing bands, and who doesnt love Reggae on Sunday nights?! Can't wait to see the Black Lips there next month!
The drinks are overpriced. The layout is strange. The bouncers are jerks.
I've had a friend sexually harrassed, and the security staff didn't do a thing about it.
Another friend was denied entry because her driver license had expired. That's just bad policy.
Attention all bands: please stop making me drive out the Boardwalk in BF Egypt, I mean Orangevale, and just play this venue. Please.
PS - There is a huge, 24 hour Starbucks across the street to waste time in while waiting for your favorite band to start.
SF has it so good, with a number of smaller music venues that are set up correctly, and know what they're doing sound-wise. It's too bad that this Sacramento place isn't better, because everyone deserves to hear music presented well; it's no fault of the bands playing here that hearing music at this venue sucks. And it seems that there's no reason it should suck because the space isn't that unique, layout-wise. But suck it does. The sound is very muddy and indistinct, and the sound guy has problems getting the mix and levels correct, and feedback occurs way too frequently.
As for the non-musical aspects of the venue itself, the staff is decent and friendly, and there's a nice long traditional bar that serves decent drinks.
Hands down my favorite place to see live music in Sac. Decent prices to get in and consistently showing a diverse group of solid musicians. The last two times I have seen a show here I was going spontaneously with friends to see bands I didn't know, and both times I was thoroughly impressed.
I stepped into the Blue Lamp on Thursday night for the first time since the mid-90's and the Club 400 days. Kendall, Janine, Ariel and I came down from the east side to check out the Light Rail set and we were not disappointed. Good sized cool-kid crowd, some friendly faces from the old days, and a sweet barkeep that put up with my tilited ass. They could work on the decor a little, but that doesn't really matter much in a venue like this. Good times.
I saw a show here for the first time the other night. The drinks were overpriced, but ehh I got past it. I liked the intimacy of the place. It was small, but at the same time it didn't feel claustrophobic. The sound quality was decent and the overall vibe felt personal, but not that "crappy local show" feeling. They get a nice cross-section of bands as well. I also liked the artwork towards the back. Plus, it's worth mentioning that parking for a weeknight show is good...
R-E-G-G-A-E on Sunday nights take me back to amazing memories.
I've been to the Blue Lamp a few times now and while I always have fun, I think the acoustics are shit. The sound bounces around in insane ways and makes everything sound muffled and crappy. The bartenders are nice and make good drinks though (which may have something to do with me enjoying myself despite the sound). I am going to have to check them out for dancing. The space seems like it would be better for that than for seeing live music.
I've only been here a couple of times, in spite of the fact it's in my neck of the woods. I make a point of looking at the marquee when I pass by to see whose playing that week. They host a good variety of bands, both local and from out of town. It seems like its gotten pretty trendy. I like the vibe inside the Blue Lamp, though, and the cool city skyline painted ceiling. But it's true you can't really drink for cheap there. I'd just go to hear the music and then go somewhere else to have drinks.
Newly renovated, Blue Lamp is a great spot to hear live music. The drinks aren't watered down and overpriced, the vibe is cool, and the bands are too. Every Wednesday they have a function there called Good Times where the djs spin hip hop, a little bit of rock, some old school r and b, a little dancehall, and a few mash-ups for good measure. The cover is like $3. If you can't afford that, no point in even leaving the house! They also have a reggae spot there every Sunday that is pretty dope.
Basically a big open, black-painted space with a medium sized stage at the front, the Blue Lamp is a good enough venue to see a band. The pros: strong, cheapish drinks (and they had Fernet behind the bar). The cons: the place is a cement box, and unless it is filled with a decent handful of people, the sound is pretty dreadful. In short, this is one of those places that is as good as whatever is happening there, but probably not worth going out of the way for.
Not that cool. The acoustics are pretty awful and the drinks are too expensive for what little alcohol are in them. I haven't seen it since the remodel, but don't really care to, because every night at the Blue Lamp always ends up fairly lame. Not to mention most of the bouncers are huge jerks.
Blue lamp. Lordy. Quaint venue, in the loosest of terms. Not pricey.
overpriced drinks, crappy sound, but i did like the intimacy and set up of the venue. i am impressed by the acts that perform there... i guess my problem is my friends suck and don't wanna roll out with me there!
The only, and I say ONLY reason why this place got three stars is because my favorite local band places there alot. If it wasn't for 2ME playing there, I would never have known about this place. It's pretty much a crap box with a stage. All I have to say is thank God for the Starbucks across the street to keep people entertained.
Hoppy Hour Daily 3-6pm &…
Sacramento, CA
Happy Hour Every Day 4PM-7PM
Sacramento, CA
Sacramento, CA
Category: Bars
Sacramento, CA
Category: Music Venues
Sacramento, CA
Category: Bars
Sacramento, CA
Category: Art Galleries
Sacramento, CA
Category: Bars
"clubs" that are really dive bars, and other…
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