House of Blues - Music Venue

I've been here before for a concert in the main hall for a band I like, but it's fun to just visit on a random night with local lesser known bands playing! I had lots of fun last Saturday night!

My hub and I came here because one of our good friends was playing in a band performing in the Voodoo room. We were excited to see him on stage and even better was he gave us free tickets to get in! We didn't only get to see his band, but a little bit of the band before his and the whole session of the band after him. There was also something going on in other small rooms and the main hall, just so much music happening all at once! The amazing thing is how each room was built and situated so there was no "cross-contamination."

The place was kept clean. The staff were friendly. Drinks were standard downtown pricing. $10 a beer, $15 a mixed drink. I had way more fun here than some dim-lit clubs in the area - no drunk people, no puking, no clogged toilets and wet floors, no aggressive people! I haven't been a fan of Gaslamp because my past experience had been more negative than positive, but this is a really neat place to check out for some dancing and music fun! Not sure what regular admission would cost?

There was an ACE parking lot at the corner of 6E which charges $17 to park between 2 and 10 hours. Not bad if you decide to be out for the whole night. The machine had problem running our card but luckily we got exact cash.

Very fun night! Wouldn't mind to come again!

House of Blues in San Diego is a great place to see a show but better yet are the people who work there who have made each experience I've had there tops.

Was just at a show the other night to see Marky Ramone and went upstairs to look for seating. I was greeted warmly by Marin Davis who it turned out was the VIP lead host. I had no idea of her position until later when I asked her because she was so great trying to help me get seating, I had brought my twelve year old son, and was talking to her about watching the concert. She was so kind and attentive to our needs. I DEFINITELY will be going back now to more shows because of how awesome she was at helping us out. When you hire good people, it really makes patrons want to keep coming back. Again thank you to Marin, House of Blues has a real winner there.

As far as the Voodoo Room goes, the sound is hideous. Even though the room is small (just a few hundred people) the sound was muddy and unclear. Without enough highs and midrange, the lead singer's voice got buried in the mix. Even between songs when he would speak without competing music, it amounted to an unintelligible muffled mumble.

The speakers mounted on the wall look to be ancient and probably need an upgrade. And the mixing engineer might need a hearing check up.

I did recently attend another concert at a larger outdoor venue and it sounded great. The band was using a simple QSC double line array on each side of the stage, plus some bass reinforcement. The QSCs filled the space with fantastic sound even though they're incredibly compact, approx. 3 x 2 feet.

Bummer that a local cover band playing a free concert in a park sounded WAY better than an up and coming buzz band on a national tour at the venerated House Of Blues. The HOB should consider stepping up their audio game.

I've been going to shows all over the US and Europe since 2003 and have never in my life had such a negative experience at a venue. A girlfriend and I drove down to San Diego for a show and had nothing but bad experiences with the staff members. There was one kind bartender when we got out liquid deaths since we are sober girlies, so
Kudos to him. They make you feel so unwelcome. I was enjoying the show and dancing and a staff member made a rude comment about how I was in someone's way and how I should have known better and should move (I'm a kind person and if I'm
Standing somewhere I shouldn't be, I will kindly move but I was standing where everyone else was)
And security makes you feel like you are trying to smuggle drugs. They tried taking away my eyebrow pencil and asked me "why is it shaped like that, it could be used as a weapon, you know." Well shoot, I don't work at the makeup company and I don't know. And gave me a hard time about my tea bags I carry around for when I'm at work because it's a natural mushroom tea (bought at Whole Foods) I understand asking questions but to make someone feel so poorly and accuse them of having weapons and drugs is a little too much. Would never attend a show here again. It's not worth it to be treated so poorly by the staff there.

First time visitor. Attended the Owl City concert with my teenage daugter early October. Arrived around 6pm for the 8pm concert and the line was already "snaked" around the buiding. Please note that this venue has two entrances: One for the bar/restaurant and opposite the building was for the concert. The line is most likely the concert line. Prior to the entrance, they will divide patrons into two lines: Patrons carrying bags (see thru bags only) and those without. Bagless line goes fast with minimal delay. You do have to go through a metal detector and may be wanded if needed.

General admission is standing room only so if you arrive late and you're short or a taller person is in front of you, the back of that person's head is all you will see unless you angle yourselves to the stage. For a few dollars more, you can pay for very limited seating (2nd floor or towards the sides of the venue). This place is LOUD like being inside a subwoofer. I noticed some folks wearing ear plugs =) Aside from the standing in line and in concert for like 3-4 hours, this was a great concert. Opening act was good as well. Tip: Bring comfortable standing shoes!

I have been to the House of Blues around 4 times over the past 3 years for concerts. Each time has been a really good experience. I like the venue because it is small and has an intimate setting. It's nice that you can actually see the artists performing! Even though they sell out shows frequently, I never feel to crammed in the venue. There is enough space to move around. Usually doors open at 7 for their Friday night concerts. If you want to be front row it's a must to get there early since it's standing room only. Drinks and food are pricey, but that's always expected at a concert and it's downtown. Drinks are nothing to rave about $15 for a single, $20 for a double. I usually just get a liquid death (sparkling water) and get drinks elsewhere.

Concerts I attended:
Noah Kahan 2021
Dean Lewis 2023
ARIZONA 2023

Overall, an intimate venue that's well worth it to see smaller artists!!

We went for an Indie Night event called Electric Feels. The bartender, Josh, was great upstairs! We got cups of pineapple juice that came with free refills all night long! There was a never a line for the women's restrooms which was nice. The dance floor was pretty big and the sound was amazing. You could feel the bass!!

I must have gone here for ages, for many things from concerts to dining experiences, they have different rooms to accommodate the audience sizes, bigger concerts required more spaces, but sometimes they gave the artists the front stage where you could watch it live right outside the venue. I have met so many amazing artists here, unfortunately the Covid years had slowed them down a bit and just recently getting more shows again, I like the venue because it's pretty compact and intimate for some performances. You get very up close to the performers, even though at some of their tour leg they got a bigger stage, but when they come to SD, they booked HOB, the security was also very organized, they had alcoholic bar inside the event, and sometimes people getting roundy, and the staff more than likely to resolve the problem professionally. I will start to come back here more often again

This place is pretty good. I've been to the music venue 3x already for Taylor Swift events. I come here taking the trolley and there's a station right in front on Fifth Ave. At night, this area can get shady with transients, so I recommend you either carpool with someone, get dropped off and picked up, or leave early if you're taking the trolley. Last trolley to go south passes at 12am so be weary of that.

The place inside looks really cool. I get there early so I can get a good spot in the front because if you get there later, it becomes so packed that people are hitting you while they're dancing. I haven't tried their food or bar but it's there for whoever needs it. They have complimentary tap water too if you get thirsty.

Maoli was awesome!
Staffs were friendly, good venue for a small concert.
Easy parking.

Parking: lots of garages in the area right across the street with good rates $10 or less. There is also a bus stop nearby as well and a trolley.

They have a restaurant near the venue but there are better places to get food.

Inside the venue also sells food and drinks as well. Fairly expensive but they had lots of options.

Lines go around the block for concerts here. I went to an Ava Max concert and the lines wrapped around the building. We were let in around 730 but the show didn't start until around 9 with two pre-performers. This venue is standing room only. Upstairs is VIP, walk down stairs to get to regular area. Makes it a pain when leaving.

Concert floor: It's basically a mosh pit. It was fine in the beginning but once the performance started people started cutting, squeezing themselves in. We were all crammed in people jumping, hitting, spilling drinks on everyone. Not what I was expecting. Not sure if it was just over sold but I definitely won't do another venue without seating again. It was hard to hear the performer, music was super loud. Recommend headphones for littles, saw lots of kids.