Since closing its doors at the Downtown Disney and Sunset Blvd location, California has been without the iconic House of Blues concert venue. But on February 28th, the House of Blues Anaheim will be reopening its doors at a brand new location. Moving away from its original destination in Downtown Disney, the new HoB will be moving down a few streets to the GardenWalk. The House of Blues is not just some gimmicky venue with a bluesy theme to it. There is a genuine love for music in the atmosphere, you can feel it the moment you step foot into the venue and you can see it in the Eastern Indian, American Folk, and commissioned art that will soon decorate the walls.
The venue is sized at 44,000 square feet, which is more than twice the size of the original Downtown Disney location. There will be four different spaces at the venue, all customized to fit different purposes, but all of them achieving the same goal: to entertain the customer. For instance, one of the smaller venues called the Parish. The spot is able to fit up to 400 and will be used for more than introducing emerging artists and rising stars. The Parish can be used for corporate events, parties, and even weddings. Like all the other rooms, The Parish will have art that celebrates culture and history. For instance, the that is on the wall of the center of the space is 100 years old and from the Founder’s personal collection.
Moving on to the atrium, the spot where you can get a drink before entering the massive U-shaped music hall that is able to hold up to 2,200 fans, from the ground floor up to the mezzanine, which will also have VIP boxes. The space is designed to be very intimate, bringing fans so close to the artist that they will be able to reach out and touch them. There will be tiered seating on the upper levels to maximize audience numbers. The VIP room, which had been dubbed The Foundation, has a capacity of 175.
Social Distortion will be the band to christen the opening of the House of Blues in Anaheim on February 28 and 29th. The Fullerton-based band (my hometown) has played a number of concerts at the two So-Cal locations. They currently have the highest residency shows and many consider them Orange County. Other artists that follow are Korn, Santana and The Pixies.
But House of Blues will be so much more than music. The location will also have comedy nights. And of course, their signature restaurant, which will have a capacity of 325, three large garage door walls which will pay homage to the Blues gods like Elvis and Chuck Barry.
The event was also to commemorate the drop of the Water Tower, a signature insignia of every House of Blues location. The previous location never had a water tower. So bringing it back was something very important to the House of Blues.
There was also a preview of the menu which had tasty dishes like the Nashville Hot Chicken Salad, Voodoo Shrimp, Fried Chicken Sandwich, Smoked Barbecue Ribs, and Banana Bread Pudding.
