New Lansdowne St. [Archive]

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statler

04-21-2007, 08:28 AM

Club owner has new vision for Lansdowne St.
Proposes sprucing up Fenway area, adding new restaurants

By Thomas C. Palmer Jr., Globe Staff | April 21, 2007

Boston club king Patrick Lyons has told the city and his Lansdowne Street neighbors he wants to replace two of Boston's most famous nightclubs with a modern entertainment complex that would include restaurants, sidewalk seating, and a terrace looking toward Fenway Park.

Taking inspiration from Wrigleyville, the friendly entertainment district associated with Chicago's Wrigley Field, Lyons said he wants to turn Avalon and Axis into a cutting-edge facility that would enhance Lansdowne Street and complement the area's main attraction, Fenway Park.

"Our last significant renovation was 12 years ago," said Lyons. "Our dream is changing the climate from all the intensity of nightclubs to more diversity -- restaurants, dining, and dancing."

Lyons said that if city officials and neighbors including the Red Sox approve, he will spend about $14 million to build a 2,500-capacity club with a larger stage, better lighting, more amenities -- such as dressing rooms and showers for the artists -- and a sound system "as good as we've had" or better.

He is proposing to start construction this summer and finish early next year. It is tentatively named "Lansdowne Street Music Hall."

Mayor Thomas M. Menino, who has been briefed on the Lyons plan, yesterday called it "a good idea."

"He's going to remove that old structure in keeping with what the Red Sox are doing," said Menino. "These buildings are barns. His vision is to make Fenway a pleasing place to go."

Located in a popular but dingy area dominated by the ballpark, the buildings have a long, storied history. One was built as a horse barn over a century ago and used by Boston Globe founder Eben Jordan, who also owned the Jordan Marsh department store. Later used as warehouses, the buildings have been music clubs since the late 1960s, with names including the Boston Tea Party, 15 Lansdowne, Boston Boston, Metro, and Citi.

Artists including Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, and Carly Simon have played there, and more recently Taylor Hicks and Fall Out Boy. Elvis Costello is lined up for May 15.

Lyons commissioned architects Cambridge Seven Associates Inc. to create a modern venue on the site, next to his two other clubs, The Modern and Embassy, which would also undergo renovation.

A new, two-story building would be about 20 feet taller than the current 32-foot-high industrial building, Lyons said -- but shorter than the 90 feet or so that the city zoning allows. A second phase, including function space on the third floor, could come later, he said. He may retain some of the old buildings' structure, especially the historic facades on Lansdowne.

Lyons said he would add a 125-seat "popular-priced" restaurant and a 75-seat room for fine dining. Restaurants would extend the periods that visitors come to the area beyond the current late-night club hours.

"There's virtually never been food on this street," Lyons said. This week he opened La Verdad Taqueria Mexicana, a takeout and sit-down restaurant with tacos, fresh tortillas, and margaritas, at 1 Lansdowne St.

Lyons spoke in his cluttered office above the clubs, stuffed with memorabilia that includes a 1970s J. Geils "Showtime" album poster, a 1995 photo of Lyons with Aerosmith's Steve Tyler, and an advertisement for what he said was Boston's first AIDS benefit, in 1984.

Lyons came to the district in 1977 when Avalon was 15 Lansdowne, and now he owns or co-owns that and several other Boston clubs and restaurants, including Kings bowling lanes and Jasper White's Summer Shack in the Back Bay, and Lucky's Lounge in the Fort Point Channel area.

He has been concentrating recently on opening entertainment complexes in other locations, including Atlantic City and Mohegan Sun, the Connecticut venue that features gambling.

But he is moving now on Lansdowne Street because the Red Sox have made a firm commitment to stay at Fenway Park and the city of Boston has encouraged local property owners to clean up the area. About two years ago the city and landlords put thousands of dollars into widening the sidewalks to 12 feet, planting trees, and installing antique-style streetlights.

"All the owners said, 'Let's change the makeup of the street,' " said Lyons. "These clubs -- they're part of the fabric of the town."

Lyons said the changes are being made in part because live entertainment has become increasingly important at clubs since about 1980 and because 2,500 seats is an optimum number for many groups. His two clubs, Avalon and Axis, hold about 2,100 and 1,100 respectively, but can't currently be combined.

The new club would also be able to accommodate smaller concerts and would have more VIP or "opera box" seating, in addition to standing room.

Thomas C. Palmer Jr. can be reached at tpalmer@globe.com.
Link (http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/04/21/club_owner_has_new_vision_for_lansdowne_st/)
http://cache.boston.com/bonzai-fba/Third_Party_Graphic/2007/04/21/1177139438_5885.jpg

ablarc

04-21-2007, 08:44 AM

A new, two-story building would be about 20 feet taller than the current 32-foot-high industrial building, Lyons said -- but shorter than the 90 feet or so that the city zoning allows...
...he hastened to add!

(Wouldn't want it soaring over the ballpark.)

kz1000ps

04-21-2007, 09:03 AM

Going for the Bladerunner/Tron aesthetic, eh?

http://cache.boston.com/bonzai-fba/Third_Party_Graphic/2007/04/21/1177139438_5885.jpg

Bobby Digital

04-21-2007, 09:47 AM

ahaha KZ... yea thats pretty weak. So they are getting rid of one of the clubs and creating a new bigger one/restaurants? sounds good but they shouldnt get rid of the club altogether cuz boston needs these places for shows.

i wonder what "popular priced" food is next to fenway.... so it'll cost JUST my left nut?

jass

04-21-2007, 07:08 PM

Hm. I got to Avalon/Axis around 6 times a year for various concerts (never been there as a nightclub).

On one hand, I like the current arangement because it offers a small (and smaller!) venue for concerts, so different bands might prefer different rooms.

By enlarging it, theyll be removing some of the fun that comes with being so close to the band....but itll also be slightly easier to buy tickets.

As long as this renovation doesnt involve closing the entire place for a few months....I guess it's for the best

statler

06-01-2007, 06:50 AM

Lansdowne Street clubs to become concert hall
City backs bid, which owner sees as part of larger vision for area

By Keith Reed, Globe Staff | June 1, 2007

Nightclub owner Patrick Lyons won city approval yesterday to build a $14 million , 2,500-seat concert hall on Lansdowne Street across from Fenway Park.

The board of the Boston Redevelopment Authority unanimously endorsed Lyons's proposal to combine his two existing Lansdowne Street clubs, Avalon and Axis, into one posh entertainment complex. Lyons said the larger scale of the new venue is necessary for Boston to attract top-tier music acts in an era where live performances are more important than ever for artists.

"There's been a change in the music business because of digital music and the fall of CDs, where the only way artists make money today is touring. The 2,500-seat or 3,000-seat venue is the sweet spot for those tours," Lyons said, adding that Boston currently doesn't have such a facility. "This will keep us ahead of the curve," he said.

Lyons also revealed more of his ambitions to transform Lansdowne Street from a drab party strip into a swanky, illuminated entertainment and dining district anchored by his new club and five restaurants that he controls. Two of those restaurants, Game On and La Verdad Taqueria , are already in operation, and Lyons plans to renovate two of his other clubs on the street -- Modern and Embassy -- into eateries.

He also has designs on another restaurant, which he said should open before the start of baseball season next year. He declined to disclose the location or concept behind that restaurant.

"We've made a significant investment in the transformation of Lansdowne Street into a restaurant row," he said.

That area of the city may be further transformed by other significant developments on the books. Developer John Rosenthal, for example, has proposed building a 1.3-million-square-foot complex, with two residential towers, on Massachusetts Turnpike Authority property a few hundreds yards west of Lyons's Lansdowne Street holdings.

Lyons said his music hall project should be completed within a year. Currently, Avalon and Axis can hold 2,100 and 1,100 people respectively.

Under the new plan, the clubs would renovated into one 35,000- square-foot facility, to be called Lansdowne Street Music Hall.

It would have a stage that could be moved to accommodate the props and sets of various bands and new dressing rooms for performers.

Renderings of the proposed hall show several boxy additions somewhat taller than the existing low-level structures, but with the facades of the existing buildings preserved.

During the meeting yesterday, BRA board member Christopher J. Supple questioned whether Lyons was certain the existing facades could be saved, and was told by architect Gary C. Johnson, a principal of the firm Cambridge Seven, that the company would make every effort to do so.

Lyons's plan also has the support of Mayor Thomas M. Menino, who released a statement lauding the development.

"The addition of this new music venue will enliven the ever-popular entertainment district, and the much needed restaurant space will give people more options when they attend a concert or Red Sox games," Menino said.

Keith Reed can be reached at reed@globe.com.
Link (http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2007/06/01/lansdowne_street_clubs_to_become_concert_hall/)

I'm not a club kid so this won't really affect me, but generally speaking, isn't a bunch of smaller clubs preferable to one gigantic club?

vanshnookenraggen

06-01-2007, 10:19 AM

JoeGallows

06-01-2007, 11:54 AM

I saw The Decemberists a few years back at Avalon (or Axis) and it was really intimate. I saw them again at a much larger place last November and had I not been in the front row I would have defiantly lost that intimacy. I personally prefer smaller places but I know that the market demands larger ones.

I was at both those shows too. I've loved every show I've seen at the Avalon thanks to it's smallish size and great sound (never been to Axis). The audience interaction The Decemberists always managed at the Avalon was great (sending members of the band into the audience loudly banging drums and the guitarist's failed stage dive a few years back) thanks to the smallish venue.

The three shows I've seen now at the Orpheum (which is the larger venue you speak of) were much worse, unless, as you say, one were in front as I was for one such show. The sound at the Orpheum sucks at best and the staff just anger me (except that that ~60 year old hippie guy, he just makes me laugh).

The Orpheum currently has about 2700-2800 seats, so this new Hall will be in about the same league. It would sounds like that it will be a seated venue now as the article constantly mentions seats. Seats at a rock concert just don't work in my mind. For the Pops, sure, but not a rock concert.

While I'm all for the improvement of this area, I would love to see a smaller, non-seated venue continue to exist. What kind of similar sized venues still exist in the Boston area with a capacity of about 1200-2100 persons? It seems like many are slowly disappearing.

jass

06-01-2007, 03:11 PM

Seats? SEATS!?!!

Dear God no, that means all the rock concerts will be at the Worcester Palladium. Ive been to Avalon 6 times and Axis once for concerts and theyre perfect. This is BS.

Benhamin

06-01-2007, 03:55 PM

Seats? SEATS!?!!

Dear God no, that means all the rock concerts will be at the Worcester Palladium.

Bring it on, this is good news for me! lol.

singbat

06-01-2007, 06:53 PM

Seats? SEATS!?!!

Dear God no, that means all the rock concerts will be at the Worcester Palladium. Ive been to Avalon 6 times and Axis once for concerts and theyre perfect. This is BS.

don't you mean 'gigs'? i'm pretty sure 'rock concerts' involve seats and/or picnic blankets... ;-)

kennedy

06-01-2007, 08:24 PM

that is really shitty design. this is fenway. not, i dont even know, tokyo? is there like a..sports bar/brick+rafters style nightclub round fenway?

vanshnookenraggen

06-02-2007, 01:35 AM

JoeGallows

06-02-2007, 09:15 AM

Yeah, the Orpheum sucks. I saw Interpol there and I don't remember a thing. Although, it was Interpol.

Nice, I went to that show too. Not much stage action with them. Basically you get an exact replaying of the songs as heard on the albums. No surprises. The sound was better up on the balcony rather than the orchestra-level-under-the-balcony-overhang, which is where I was for The Decemberists. Third row from the stage with Franz Ferdinand, however, left me without my sense of hearing for almost 8 hours.

I've never been to The Middle East, but that's (really) tiny, right? The Roxy is okay for shows, I could go back there. The Paradise Rock Club isn't bad, the stage is low, so it has a cozy feel, except for that huge column right in the middle of the floor. Are those some of the only smallish venues we have left for smallish tours now?

Also, I don't know if anyone caught it, but in one of the BostonNOWs that came out maybe... Thursday or Friday, there was a small Lansdowne St. rendering.

jass

06-02-2007, 01:40 PM

callahan

06-03-2007, 08:54 AM

There's still The Paradise Rock Club up on Comm. Ave. It's not as big as Avalon, but it tends to get similar bands.

I'm wondering about this "movable stage". Maybe that will be a plus?

Ron Newman

06-03-2007, 09:18 AM

If this new stage is intended to replace the Orpheum for theatre-size shows, what will happen to that venue?

callahan

06-03-2007, 09:33 AM

Actually, I just reread the article. Lyons is going to build a 2,500 person capacity club. Then I googled Avalon's capacity. Here's what I got:

AVALON Nightclub Boston is a 2,000 plus capacity multi purpose venue and regularly plays host to both the world's top DJ talent as well as the world's most popular touring rock acts.

So, it's not going to be that much bigger. Basically, it sounds like he'll join Axis and Avalon together. That's fine. I've seen many shows at both venues and it would have been nice to have had more room. I think it will still attract the same bands.

ablarc

06-03-2007, 11:30 AM

If this new stage is intended to replace the Orpheum for theatre-size shows, what will happen to that venue?
Boston's theatre and music scene seems so tenuous...

jass

09-08-2007, 02:29 PM

Oh crap, it closes Oct 1
Dropkicks to be last show. I suddenly want to pay 30 to go

ChitchIII

09-10-2007, 09:57 AM

We are completely sold out for this show, it soled out in less than 5 minutes. The Dropkicks have advertised the show as "come help us tear the place down". Anyways I've had to bring back a lot of our old security for that one show. I'm sure it's going to be one of the best shows I have ever worked.

Avalon Axis and all of the clubs on Lansdowne St. have meant so much to me over the past 4.5 years. I'm very sad to see it come to an end. I don't even think I has fully hit me yet.

jass

10-01-2007, 07:43 PM

Its closed. An era of music in Boston has ended. General Admission for medium bands is dead.

All the bands that would go to Avalon are now going to Worcester

http://www.tickets.com/venue_info.cgi?vid=3802

rayray07

10-01-2007, 11:52 PM

No, Jass..........They are going to the Roxy over on Tremont street

Ron Newman

10-02-2007, 07:42 AM

Why not to the Paradise or the Middle East?

ChitchIII

10-02-2007, 09:47 AM

Unfortunately most of them probably wont be going to the Roxy. The Roxy has had their capacity cut down to around 750 because of 13 pages of violations over the last year.

Capacity crunch could force Roxy cancellations

By Michael Marotta | Wednesday, September 26, 2007 | http://www.bostonherald.com | Local Coverage
The Roxy?s capacity is on the rocks, which means some of the big-name acts booked to play there this fall may have to cancel.

The Herald reported yesterday that the Roxy?s usual 1,300-person capacity made it the logical venue for concerts that normally would have gone to Avalon and Axis, the two Lansdowne Street clubs soon to be closed for renovation.

But Mayor Thomas M. Menino?s office said yesterday the Theater District hotspot is currently allowed less than 800 people. In May, the city put the Roxy on probation and lowered its capacity by more than 500 for all public events.

?They?re not allowed to have any more than 775 people in the club,? said Dot Joyce, the mayor?s spokeswoman.

Joyce said the crowd limit will be reviewed when the probation ends in November, but it?s not likely to be increased.

?It?s not in the foreseeable future that the capacity will change,? Joyce said, citing 13 pages of incidents at the club in the past year, including assault and battery charges within the club and unruly crowds along Tremont Street after 2 a.m.

At 775 patrons, the Roxy is only slightly larger than the Paradise Rock Club and considerably smaller than Axis, which held roughly 1,000, or the 2,100-person capacity Avalon.

Steven Frumin, the Roxy?s director of events, said the club was optimistic it would get its licensed capacity back up to 1,300 by November. If not, the restrictions ?will definitely affect? future shows and possibly force cancellations.

The club is shifting its focus to live music and will eventually phase out its DJ-run dance parties. ?We?ve never been written up for a rock show,? Frumin said.

Shows currently scheduled to play the Roxy this fall include Of Montreal, Spoon and Bad Religion.

Article URL: http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/general/view.bg?articleid=1034131

Now on a more upscale note, I have been asked to work on this new building!!!! I'm psyched.

BostonObserver

10-02-2007, 11:11 AM

Are there any pictures of this development or a web site?

lucky

10-02-2007, 01:45 PM

Are there any pictures of this development or a web site?

I can't find anything. Isn't it something that a 2500 person capacity entertainment facility is being built and so few details and or renderings have been released?

Guess Menino approves, and that is all that matters!

jass

10-02-2007, 03:56 PM

Why not to the Paradise or the Middle East?

Paradise is way too small, and is set up strangely.

Avalon:

---Stage
GA-GA-GA
GA-GA-GA
GA-GA-GA
GA-GA-GA

Thats normal.

Paradise:

GA-GA-Stage-GA-GA
GA-GA-GA-GA-GA-GA

Ive never been to the middle east, but I think it's also too small.

Palladium really is the only place similar to Avalon in terms of capacity, general admission and layout.

Luckily for me, the MBTA train from Worcester leaves at 12:30, usually right after a show ends. On the downside, its now a $15 round trip instead of $12.

lexicon506

10-02-2007, 04:38 PM

The last time I checked, clubs weren't a nonrenewable resource. If there is that much demand in Boston for medium sized venues, new ones will open. There is much more money to be made in Boston than in Worcester, so I don't see why everyone is treating this like the end of live music in Boston. After all, Roxy, Avalon, Axis, Paradise, etc were all new at some point.

jass

10-02-2007, 11:39 PM

BostonObserver

10-03-2007, 09:26 AM

look how fast Lyons got this new club approved. If he wants to build new ones i'm sure his buddy the mayor will let him

stellarfun

10-26-2007, 04:38 AM

Sox eye restaurant sites. Look in and out of park
By Scott Van Voorhis | Friday, October 26, 2007

The owners of the Boston Red Sox, already involved in far-flung ventures ranging from a Scottish golf resort to NASCAR racing, are now poised to build a restaurant empire around Fenway Park.

Janet Marie Smith, the Sox architectural and development chief, is drawing up plans for a bar and grill inside Fenway, while eyeing other restaurant locations on streets around the ballpark.

The moves come after last year?s opening of Game On! at the entrance to the ballpark at Lansdowne Street. The team is also the landlord to the Baseball Tavern, a longtime Fenway establishment that moved into a Boylston Street building the Sox also now own.

When it comes to their new ventures, the Sox plan to lead off next season with the Bleacher Bar. A bar and grill concept, it will take shape behind the garage door in the centerfield wall. The door will likely be lifted to give a view inside the park, though not during games, Smith said.

But that is just one of four possible eatery locations on the team?s radar screen, Smith indicated. The team would prefer to give local restaurateurs a crack at the new locations, rather than the big chains.

?I don?t know if it?s a hard and fast commitment to say no chains, but it?s certainly not where we have been looking. We have been looking at local, unique restaurants.?

The Sox have hired a brokerage firm to seek out operators interested in opening a restaurant in the old WBCN building on Boylston Street, now owned by the Sox. The team is also interested in putting a restaurant into part of the Town Taxi garage site.

Sox executives have also expressed interest in buying a parking garage near the top of Lansdowne Street next to the Cask n? Flagon. While calling that a ?perfect location? for a restaurant, Smith said that idea is too long-term to discussion now.

Still, encouraging local restaurants is just part of a larger development plan by the Red Sox to preserve the older buildings around the ballpark and prevent an influx of modern high-rises, Smith said.

?I guess they are not your typical real estate developers,? said Carl Koechlin, head of the Fenway Community Development Corp.
http://www.bostonherald.com/business/general/view.bg?articleid=1040559

ChitchIII

10-26-2007, 08:59 AM

The Bleacher Bar, is also a Lyons group venue. I did a walk through with Patrick and the Architects about a month ago an let me tell you. THIS PLACE IS GOING TO BE AMAZING!!!!

PaulC

10-26-2007, 11:42 AM

link to 1265 Boylston Street pfd
http://www.dartco.com/3092

stellarfun

01-22-2008, 04:31 AM

from today's Herald
Desolation row: Construction delay on Lansdowne leaves bands and fans in the lurch
By Michael Marotta Monday, January 21, 2008
http://multimedia.heraldinteractive.com/images/6c5dcb7263_22land1.jpg

When Lansdowne Street?s biggest and busiest clubs, Avalon and Axis, shut their doors for a major renovation last September, owner Patrick Lyons said the construction would be finished in ?world-record time.? He said a new Lansdowne Music Hall would be finished in early spring - right around the time the Red Sox (http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/baseball/red_sox/index.bg)play their opening-day game.

Forget it. Not going to happen. Construction of the planned 2,500-capacity concert venue hasn?t begun, leaving the once-vibrant Lansdowne Street nightclub row desolate and music bookers without a 1,000-1,500 capacity venue for touring acts.

Saturday night, UK post-punk band the Editors played to a sea of empty seats at the 2,800-seat Orpheum, an inappropriately large theater. A week earlier, tickets to see red-hot French dance duo Justice, who are playing Madison Square Garden in New York, immediately sold out at the too-small 650-capacity Paradise.

Both acts would have benefited from a mid-sized general admission venue, a void that was supposed to be temporarily remedied by utilizing the Roxy in Boston?s Theater District. But the Roxy is in an ongoing battle with city authorities over capacity limits and currently is limited to audiences of 775 rather than its 1,300-person potential.

Now comes word that the much-hyped replacement for Avalon and Axis won?t be ready until ?mid-to-late fall,? according to Lyons spokesman Alan Eisner. The $14 million facility with a retractable stage appears to be nearly a half-year behind schedule, leaving touring bands and their fans in the lurch.

?(Lyons) doesn?t want to talk much about (the construction),? said Eisner.

?It?s a complicated process with a lot of moving parts, lots of different contractors and pieces. He?s trying to get all his ducks in a row.?

The delay has sparked rumors that Lyons is seeking a partnership with a group such as the House of Blues to oversee the operation of the new Lansdowne club, and that he may be looking to walk away from the music business to focus on his growing restaurant empire. Lyons is already in the process of selling the Paradise Rock Club, a longtime Lyons Group holding, to local bar owner Joe Dunne and concert giant Live Nation.

?The Paradise is on his mind, and he wants to unload that altogether and have it off his plate,? Eisner said. ?That?s in the process, but it?s not a done deal. It hasn?t been transferred yet.?

Sources confirm that the inside of both Avalon and Axis have been gutted, with all furniture and fixtures already sold at auction. When construction will begin in the vacant spaces remains unknown.

?Obviously he?d like to get it done as soon as possible,? Eisner said. ?He wants it done right.?

That leaves Lansdowne Street unnaturally quiet, even with Jillian?s and Tequila Rain and the Lyons-owned Bill?s Bar, Jake Ivory?s Piano Bar and La Verdad Taqueria Mexicana carrying on.

La Verdad manager Brian Roche believes that not having big touring acts to draw crowds to Lansdowne Street for almost a year won?t affect his business, which is based primarily on feeding hungry Red Sox fans. But construction during the baseball season could push customers to the Yawkey Way side of Fenway?s perimeter.

?The only problem I see is if there?s a construction zone (on Lansdowne),? he said Roche. ?That would be a pain in the a--.?http://www.bostonherald.com/entertainment/music/general/view.bg?articleid=1068138

jass

01-22-2008, 01:30 PM

Im surprised more acts arent going to the Roxy (which even with lower capacity is better than Paradise) or the Middle East (although they are usually booked).

As I predicted, the Palladium in Worcester has bands almost every night, many who have come to Avalon before, and would certainly tour there again.

ckb

01-22-2008, 02:07 PM

Saturday night, UK post-punk band the Editors played to a sea of empty seats at the 2,800-seat Orpheum, an inappropriately large theater. A week earlier, tickets to see red-hot French dance duo Justice, who are playing Madison Square Garden in New York, immediately sold out at the too-small 650-capacity Paradise.

This doesn't have as much to do with the lack of a mid-sized venue as it does the vagaries and unpredictability of booking live music acts.

The Roxy isn't an ideal live music venue, either ... and I think they are in a battle over capacity limits and other issues for their nightclub/dance nights moreso than for their live music events.

Isn't the Wilbur theater still vacant? And the club underneath? If there was really this pent-up demand for a mid-sized live music venue, wouldn't this be perfect? Take out the seats downstairs, replace the mezzanine and balcony seats with VIP couches/lounges (these could be made inaccessible for shows which wouldn't warrant their use).

"Theater District" shouldn't have to just mean "touring Broadway shows and Celtic Woman productions."

unterbau

01-23-2008, 08:59 AM

I've seen the Orpheum packed to the gills every time I've been there, so I'm guessing the Editors simply have no draw in Boston.

ckb

01-23-2008, 09:43 AM

Also, the proposed Lansdowne St. music hall is scheduled for capacity of ~2500, compared to the Orpheum's 2800 ... not so big a difference, except for seats vs. no seats.

jass

01-23-2008, 04:29 PM

Also, the proposed Lansdowne St. music hall is scheduled for capacity of ~2500, compared to the Orpheum's 2800 ... not so big a difference, except for seats vs. no seats.

Except all the early articles mention "seats" versus capacity.

Im still hoping they wouldnt be stupid enough to put in seats

Corey

01-23-2008, 05:24 PM

Never noticed this thread 'til now. I saw Velvet Revolver at the Avalon in May and thought it was a pretty nice place. We were right up to the side of the stage but even at the back it would have been pretty close. I agree about how seating wouldn't make any sense.

ChitchIII

01-25-2008, 07:19 AM

Your fairly close in regaeds to the capacity, but don't worry...... We are not putting seats throught the entire project. I'll see what I can do about getting you guys some interior pics.

jass

01-25-2008, 03:05 PM

Your fairly close in regaeds to the capacity, but don't worry...... We are not putting seats throught the entire project. I'll see what I can do about getting you guys some interior pics.

Seats like the Palladium (booth style near the bar at the back) is fine by me. Any other seats, no.

Also, Avalon had a private upper area. Any news on this being expanded and opened up? Palladium also has one, but Ive never seen it used.

ChitchIII

01-28-2008, 07:40 AM

Seats like the Palladium (booth style near the bar at the back) is fine by me. Any other seats, no.

Also, Avalon had a private upper area. Any news on this being expanded and opened up? Palladium also has one, but Ive never seen it used.

Yes, there will be a priviate upper stadium seating.

jass

01-28-2008, 12:33 PM

Yes, there will be a priviate upper stadium seating.

So the upper floor will have seats, and the bottom will be GA standing?

This I approve of.

I hope they also add small tiers/steps for those who dont want to be in the pit, but want to have a good view.

stellarfun

01-29-2008, 03:40 AM

Lyons exits, is it stage left or stage right in this instance?

House of Blues hits Lansdowne

Patrick Lyons sells clubs now under renovation as music chain returns to area

By Thomas C. Palmer Jr., Globe Staff | January 29, 2008

Boston entertainment prince Patrick T. Lyons, in the midst of a multimillion-dollar renovation of his Lansdowne Street clubs, has sold them to the House of Blues chain.
Lyons will concentrate on restaurants and other entertainment spots he has opened in Boston and elsewhere. He had closed the popular music venues Avalon and Axis, adjacent to Fenway Park, to turn them into a bigger, flashier complex called the Music Hall.

And the House of Blues, which started in 1992 in a small house on Winthrop Street in Harvard Square and closed a decade later, will return to its roots in the Boston area - though in a venue some 10 times the size of the original.

"We know a little bit about the DNA of the House of Blues," said Lyons, a cofounder of the first House of Blues club. "They have the ability to book shows and bring in talent. We feel very comfortable with them taking over this asset that's so near and dear to our hearts."

Going with the demographic flow, Lyons, 55, is moving out of the music club and show business, which he entered in Buffalo in the early 1970s. He moved to Boston as manager of 15 Lansdowne St. - later called Avalon - in 1978.

Lyons is selling his company, That's Entertainment Inc., which operates the clubs, to House of Blues Entertainment Inc. No price was disclosed.

House of Blues Entertainment is owned by Live Nation, which was spun out from media giant Clear Channel Communications Inc. (http://boston.stockgroup.com/sn_overview.asp?symbol=CCU) in 2005. The company, in partnership with Boston and Dublin restaurant operator Joe Dunne, purchased the Paradise on Commonwealth Avenue from Lyons late last year.

Avalon and Axis closed in October and are scheduled to reopen by the end of the year as an expanded $14 million complex that will include a music venue to accommodate 2,500, a 350-seat lounge and function room, and a 125-seat restaurant.

Work is about to begin on the plan by Cambridge Seven Architects Inc. that Lyons and a partner commissioned, and Lyons will continue to oversee design and construction.
"The only thing that has changed is in place of a sign that says Lansdowne Music Hall, it will say House of Blues," Lyons said yesterday. He will continue to own the real estate and will be landlord under a long-term lease to the House of Blues, which will book and operate the club.

The House of Blues, with a larger capacity than Avalon and Axis (formerly known as Boston-Boston, Metro, Citi, and Spit), is expected to be able to attract bigger-name acts.

Aidan J. Scully, senior vice president of House of Blues development, said, "I'm a Boston boy. We're coming home - I'm very excited about it." Scully, raised in Malden, was general manager of the House of Blues in Cambridge for about 15 years. He also worked in other Boston clubs and knows Lyons.

"He understands the business well enough to put together a multifunctional facility," Scully said of Lyons. "What he envisioned wasn't that far off from what we would want."

Scully also said Boston's new House of Blues, with about 50,000 square feet, limited seating, and VIP boxes, would be unique. "Historically we have created these venues not to be cookie-cutter," he said.

But, he added: "When you walk in you're going to know it's the House of Blues."
The House of Blues has about a dozen locations that use the HOB name, and it operates other entertainment facilities as well. It also operates a nonprofit foundation that teaches public school students about the history of American music.

Lyons said he would focus on his restaurants and other establishments, including Game On with its three locations, including Fenway, Lucky's, also with three locations, and Summer Shack restaurants, with four locations co-owned with Jasper White.
Lyons will also soon open a 250-seat restaurant, as yet unnamed, under the bleachers at Fenway Park.

He is currently partnering with chef Lydia Shire in Scampo, an upscale restaurant to open at the new Liberty Hotel in the former jail on Charles Street. And Lyons operates restaurants in Atlantic City, plus a nightclub and two restaurants at Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Conn.
http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2008/01/29/house_of_blues_hits_lansdowne/

I had thought that Lyons and the owners of the Red Sox had done some coordinating on the re-development of Lansdowne St. No mention of Mr. Henry in the article.

Ron Newman

01-29-2008, 07:25 AM

how will they re-establish the atmosphere of that Harvard Square club in a space ten times its size?

statler

01-29-2008, 07:30 AM

unterbau

01-29-2008, 08:10 AM

how will they re-establish the atmosphere of that Harvard Square club in a space ten times its size?
From what I understand, the Harvard Sq club was one-of-a-kind and none of the other locations are run in the same way. Most HOB locations are run more like traditional clubs with big acts coming to them, and have a completely different atmosphere. More like your average rock club.

bdurden

01-29-2008, 09:52 AM

I've never been much into the club scene but it seems to me that a HOB's isn't going to attract the same crowd an Axis/Avalon did.
Does HOB do DJ/dancing/hipitty-hop shows that all the young whippersnappers are into now-a-days?

Yes--in fact the HOB's in Orlando (yes, I know) is popular among locals for its industry night and break dancers. It is one of the more popular venues in town for smaller acts, but that HOBs is also smaller than the Lansdowne space. But I agree, this is Boston and the loss of Avalon/Axis will be taken out on the new owners.

stellarfun

01-29-2008, 09:54 AM

You can check out House of Blues band and artist bookings here (this page is for the Atlantic City club):
http://www.hob.com/tickets/searchresults.asp?vregion=NOE

stellarfun

01-29-2008, 10:01 AM

Excerpted from today's Herald:
The new venue will hold roughly 2,500 music fans in a general admission setting. It will include a mezzanine level with seating, not unlike the balcony of the old Avalon Ballroom. The building will be expanded into the adjacent Modern, Embassy and Rocket Bar spaces, which will be converted into the House of Blues restaurant operation. ?The whole package was put together as one property,? Curry said.

House of Blues was purchased by Live Nation last year, and currently has 10 venues under that name around the country, including one at Disney World. Unlike the pint-sized original Cambridge club, which closed in 2003, House of Blues venues no longer focus on blues and roots music, but present the same wide variety of pop and rock acts formerly presented at Avalon.

The purchase of Avalon and Axis continues Live Nation?s expansion, which includes a recent blockbuster deal to record and promote Madonna, and a tour promotion deal with Disney-rock band the Jonas Brothers.

A major force in summer concerts and amphitheater shows around the United States, Live Nation is looking to increase its revenues in cold weather months by buying small to mid-sized music venues. In the past year, Live Nation has been expanding its operation under the Fillmore name, taking over and renaming venues such as Irving Plaza in New York City and the Jackie Gleason Theatre in Miami.

News of the sale comes after Lyons agreed in December to sell the 650-person Paradise Rock Club on Commonwealth Avenue to a partnership between Live Nation and local pub owner Joe Dunne. Lyons did not immediately return calls seeking comment.

Lyons? remaining properties on Lansdowne Street include Bill?s Bar, Jake Ivory?s Piano Bar, Mexican eatery La Verdad and the Fenway Park (http://www.bostonherald.com/search/index.bg?topic=Fenway+Park) [map (http://www.bostonherald.com/maps/?data=fenwayPark)] sports bar Game On. Only Bill?s presents original live music.

http://www.bostonherald.com/entertainment/music/general/view.bg?articleid=1069704&srvc=home&position=4

jass

01-29-2008, 12:38 PM

I've never been much into the club scene but it seems to me that a HOB's isn't going to attract the same crowd an Axis/Avalon did.
Does HOB do DJ/dancing/hipitty-hop shows that all the young whippersnappers are into now-a-days?

They'll definitely have the same rock/pop/metal touring bands Avalon did. I have no idea if theyll operate a nightclub.

Avalon used to have concerts from 5-10pm and then the club would open from 11-2am. Youd see two completely different crowds.

HOB could bring back the nightclub, or simply start the concerts later (8 or 9pm instead of 5 or 6).

Ron Newman

01-29-2008, 01:24 PM

The Harvard Square club was the original House of Blues, so I'd hope that any new place with that name is able to copy some of its flavor.

Bos77

01-29-2008, 01:45 PM

I've never been much into the club scene but it seems to me that a HOB's isn't going to attract the same crowd an Axis/Avalon did.
Does HOB do DJ/dancing/hipitty-hop shows that all the young whippersnappers are into now-a-days?

I know some of the HOB in other cities do have the above mentioned type shows. The ones in Orlando, LA, Vegas are so big that they can have different venues within the venue, or operate on a schedule like Avalon did with shows early, and club later. It's prolly easier to do in those cities without the 2:00am curtain call.

02-18-2008, 04:46 PM

The sidewalk has been fenced off, so they might start tearing it down soon.

ChitchIII

02-19-2008, 07:34 AM

We are currently working on the asbestos abatement (just the old 1903 roofing material). Suffolk will be onsite midweek, demo to start March 10th. We need to get into the street first, BWSC broke the Fire Supression valve when they were attempting to turn of the system in the street.

Prior to demo, the existing front facing facade needs to be braced and cut away from the building.

Flashpoint922

03-24-2008, 05:04 PM

With the upcoming opening day in a couple weeks (can't believe it) what is the status so far?

Bos77

04-23-2008, 08:54 PM

Demolition of Axis started on Monday, and is well underway. They are working from the Pike side out towards Lansdowne, with only 1/3 of the building remaining.

They have not started on Avalon just yet.

04-25-2008, 11:26 PM

http://img410.imageshack.us/img410/7057/42508026ob0.jpg
http://img509.imageshack.us/img509/3600/42508020nh9.jpg
http://img183.imageshack.us/img183/9938/42508019cw0.jpg
http://img212.imageshack.us/img212/7770/42508021pv8.jpg
http://img254.imageshack.us/img254/9264/42508023pm0.jpg
http://img142.imageshack.us/img142/3663/42508024dp2.jpg
http://img410.imageshack.us/img410/2717/42508025nc1.jpg
http://img520.imageshack.us/img520/4863/42508016xg7.jpg
http://img91.imageshack.us/img91/1808/42508018dm9.jpg

vanshnookenraggen

04-26-2008, 12:38 AM

*tear* Good times were had in those buildings.

blade_bltz

04-26-2008, 02:16 AM

I only went to one show there, hated it, but this is still sad to see.

BigE

04-26-2008, 06:28 AM

I spent some time here in college in the mid to late 90's. Everything is changing and I am surprised Lansdowne St. took this long. I guess keeping Fenway Park open may have pushed for more gentrification of the area and I think it is about time.

tobyjug

05-01-2008, 01:03 PM

http://i298.photobucket.com/albums/mm278/tobydog_photos/L1070353.jpg

http://i298.photobucket.com/albums/mm278/tobydog_photos/L1070350.jpg

BosDevelop

05-01-2008, 02:35 PM

any idea when this project is supposed to be completed? Seems like things are moving awfully slowly for a project that was initially expected to take 6 months or less. We have to be looking at at least a year+ The Boston music scene (for nationally touring acts that don't have the draw to play the Garden or Tweeter Center) is really hurting these days.

kz1000ps

05-06-2008, 12:49 AM

http://img262.imageshack.us/img262/455/img5050ym5.jpg

http://img369.imageshack.us/img369/5144/img5051ux5.jpg

http://img369.imageshack.us/img369/6940/img5052sn5.jpg

http://img337.imageshack.us/img337/3995/img5054wd9.jpg

sidewalks

05-06-2008, 09:22 AM

they aren't really keeping those facades right? Please tell me that this is not a facadectomy.

Riverworks

05-06-2008, 10:11 AM

Yeah, I really dig the "carnival theme".... Let's hope not.

stellarfun

05-06-2008, 10:24 AM

they aren't really keeping those facades right? Please tell me that this is not a facadectomy.

That looks to be pretty solid bracing. I'll vote for a facadectomy.

kz1000ps

05-06-2008, 10:33 AM

Yeah, I really dig the "carnival theme".... Let's hope not.

Agreed. To me that street feels like a wild, wild west stage set, painted in gaudy colors for some hippie-era technicolor movie. I say ditch 'em all (with the exception of the Jillians building).

Chris

05-06-2008, 11:05 AM

Yup it looks like a facadectomy.

http://multimedia.heraldinteractive.com/images/6c5dcb7263_22land1.jpg

The two existing fronts are in white, I believe.

sidewalks

05-06-2008, 11:54 AM

I'd love to know whether this was preservationist zeal run amok or did the owner have some sort of nostalgic desire to keep the facades as a vestige of the old buildings. Either way, it is a bad idea.

Lrfox

05-06-2008, 01:55 PM

I don't know what's worse- The preservation of the old facades, or the styling of the new construction? Entertainment venues such as this tend to have to stay on top of trends to stay relevant, yet the styling looks straight out of the 80's. Worse yet, throw an Apple logo on that rendering and it could pass for an iPod Mini ad circa 2003 or 4. Hopefully, like the old Avalon and Axis, it's what's on the inside that counts.

pelhamhall

05-06-2008, 02:09 PM

What's most odd is that this is going to be part of the "House of Blues" mega-chain, and the exterior branding of those properties is always a rustic Disney-fied version of Louisiana Bayou/Mississippi Delta juke joints/shacks.

I would guess that the House of Blues corporate brand managers will change this exterior - and drastically. The rendering shown above was released prior to the agreement with the House of Blues, so I wouldn't count on it looking like that. My guess is once the HOB public relations campaign starts up, we'll see a faux-blues-house theme stuck onto this property.

kmp1284

05-06-2008, 02:30 PM

My guess is once the HOB public relations campaign starts up, we'll see a faux-blues-house theme stuck onto this property.

I think I would rather have a parking lot.

Ron Newman

05-06-2008, 02:32 PM

I thought House of Blues was a positive contribution to Harvard Square culture when it operated there. Why would this one be any different?

Lrfox

05-06-2008, 02:33 PM

If this rendering IS outdated, and they are going to do the tacky Bourbon St style facade, I'm curious as to how they're going to incorporate the existing facades into their signature style. The rendering above incorporates the facades from the existing buildings and from what I've seen of the construction so far, the facades are being preserved, so I'd think (or maybe, "HOPE") it's not going to be typical HOB decor.

I'm hopeful the final product won't look like that rendering, but if I had to choose between the "Disney-fied" Bayou theme and what's in the rendering-- I'd go with the rendering.

underground

05-06-2008, 03:22 PM

I think I remember a previous descusion when the HOB relationship was announced that HOB has allowed some "signature" venues to more or less do whatever they want.

pelhamhall

05-06-2008, 03:29 PM

Ron, the HOB in Cambridge was the original, once it took off and became a nationwide chain, they kept growing larger with more amenities for corporate-based entertainment and they became increasingly more theme-park like. For example, I was at a real estate conference in Orlando and two major banks held an event at the House of Blues Orlando with the Steve Miller Band as entertainment. The huge venue was made to look like the inside of a barn.

A quick google image search for "House of Blues" shows you the corporate look - I would imagine something similar is coming to Landsdowne:

HOB Myrtle Beach
http://www.mikecorrado.com/images/hobmyrtlebeachsc.jpg

HOB Los Angeles
http://www.losangeles.com/house-of-blues/gifs/houseofblues-exterior.jpg

HOB New Orleans
http://www.showclix.com/venue_pictures/hob%20new.jpg

Although - then I found this HOB in Atlantic City that is very modern - so I could be completely wrong (wouldn't be the first time)
http://www.actourism.org/images/HOB-Image.jpg

My guess is the renderings released pre-HOB contract will be amended to incorporate HOB corporate brand standards. I would bet they are going through the approvals process as we speak to change the exterior from what was proposed. Again, I could be wrong this is just a guess.

commuter guy

05-06-2008, 06:44 PM

Chicago's House of Blues is part of Marina City complex and it adapted to the design of the complex:

http://www.danheller.com/images/UnitedStates/Illinois/Chicago/Buildings/house-of-blues-3-big.jpg

kz1000ps

05-18-2008, 07:24 PM

5/14:

http://img340.imageshack.us/img340/2285/img6864si1.jpg

http://img340.imageshack.us/img340/8826/img6867yv4.jpg

kennedy

05-18-2008, 07:30 PM

The facades look like the damn Alamo.

tobyjug

05-18-2008, 07:57 PM

Yeah, after the Sant'ana heavy metal redesign.

05-20-2008, 07:35 PM

Something's missing...
http://img171.imageshack.us/img171/7712/yes018lz6.jpg
http://img254.imageshack.us/img254/5884/yes019ln3.jpg
I thought they were saving both facades.

itchy

05-25-2008, 12:49 PM

This still needs to be confirmed, but I drove past this site on the Pike on Friday night, and it looked like both facades were gone -- there was no sign of anything standing. Again, it was night and I was driving past at 60mph, but I didn't see any trace of either facade...

BarbaricManchurian

05-25-2008, 01:48 PM

Well if this is true, it's great! The useless old facades will only serve to clutter up the ultramodern new club facade, showing confusion of what they want the area to be. It should be a modern club zone, not an areaq stuck in the 20th century.

05-25-2008, 02:20 PM

Yes, they're both gone now.

kennedy

05-26-2008, 06:30 PM

Thank god. Now hope they don't rebuild them.

disturbanist

06-06-2008, 01:04 PM

I walked by yesterday evening on my way to the new Bleacher Bar and everything is now torn down.

Btw, the Bleacher bar is awesome! Highly recommended. I never thought I'd be watching a game from underneath the bleachers.

Here are some pics (i didn't take them)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v102/kimcinvb/RED%20SOX/tmpphpVFBFV2.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v102/kimcinvb/RED%20SOX/tmpphpjemWCP.jpg

Ron Newman

06-06-2008, 01:31 PM

I thought they were not going to allow that because it interfered with the "batter's eye" ?

pelhamhall

06-06-2008, 01:45 PM

it's not a window, it's a grate. I sat on the first base line two nights ago and the bleacher bar "window" looked exactly as it always has - as a green grate. My friends who were in the bleacher bar earlier that evening didn't even realize that is what they had been looking through - it blends nicely with the center field wall.

disturbanist

06-06-2008, 01:50 PM

I thought they were not going to allow that because it interfered with the "batter's eye" ?

They'll kick you out if you use flash photography, though.

Ron Newman

06-23-2008, 12:15 PM

An article in this week's Boston Courant says that Lyons wanted to save the facades. Unfortunately, after the rest of the buildings had been demolished, the facades turned out to have insufficient structural support, so they had to come down as well.

itchy

06-23-2008, 01:33 PM

^ Sounds like they did a bang-up job doing their homework ^

briv

06-23-2008, 02:05 PM

I'm sure they knew exactly what they were doing in failing to save those facades. They must take us for idiots.

Not that I really care. The decision to preserve those facades always puzzled me. I have no idea what they were thinking in the first place. They looked very awkward in the renderings, as well.

BarbaricManchurian

06-23-2008, 02:19 PM

vanshnookenraggen

06-23-2008, 02:28 PM

I've seen so many preserved facades engulfed by modern buidlings and they almost never work, making the old facade look completely out of place, having lost all context about why it should be saved in the first place. I'm glad they didn't keep them.

pelhamhall

06-23-2008, 02:44 PM

Oh, they "tried" to save the facades but in the end, they "couldn't" - yeah right!!!

As soon as House of Blues signed onto the deal it was obvious that we could expect a major HOB-Disnification of the exterior and should be ready to see something completely different than was approved.

So it's no surprise that all of sudden - oops - the facades "had" to go. The next step is a press release that says "well, now that we tried-but-couldn't save the old facades, we thought to ourselves, now is a good time to rethink the whole design of the exterior - with the help of the corporate branding team at HOB - we think we came up with something really great!" and then cue the picture of an Orlando or LA-style House of Blues transplanted onto Landsdowne.

For the record, I'm glad to see the old facades gone myself - and have no problem with a HOB-Bayou theme park motif. The Orlando HOB is a great place for corporate events and to see live acts - far better sightlines and amenities than the old Avalon.

Ron Newman

06-23-2008, 02:45 PM

I wish the Courant was online. I'll try to type in some quotes from the article tonight or tomorrow.

commuter guy

06-23-2008, 02:46 PM

I'm sure they knew exactly what they were doing in failing to save those facades. They must take us for idiots.

Your pretty much right based upon the info I heard. According to someone somewhat high in the chain of the command with the Lyons Group, he/she indicated that the effort (a half hearted effort) to save the facades was a gesture to appease what he/she referred to as the "historic preservation authorities." The contractors refused to work around the poorly stabilized and obviously unstable walls due to safety concerns, the contractors complained to the property owner, who then complained to the historic preservation people. The facades were then allowed to be demolished

cden4

06-23-2008, 02:58 PM

It goes with the old mantra "It's easier to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission": "Can we take down the old facades?" "No." "Oops the facades fell down. My bad."

mcus29

06-23-2008, 03:02 PM

It goes with the old mantra "It's easier to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission": "Can we take down the old facades?" "No." "Oops the facades fell down. My bad."

That'd be great if a 1000 ft tower could be pulled off that way.

Ron Newman

06-23-2008, 03:19 PM

Did any historic preservationists actually ask for these facades to be preserved? I don't think the buildings were protected landmarks -- they've been altered too many times over the decades.

Beton Brut

06-23-2008, 03:25 PM

Did any historic preservationists actually ask for these facades to be preserved? I don't think the buildings were protected landmarks -- they've been altered too many times over the decades.

A ham-handed gesture, most likely, and disingenuous to boot.

I'll miss Avalon, for all the great acts I saw there "in my youth." The real abomination, however, is the loss of the Rat.

cden4

06-23-2008, 03:46 PM

I found out recently that a neighbor of mine built an illegal third-story (this was before I was his neighbor). He only had a permit for internal demo. Of course, the city didn't make him take the addition down. He just had to pay a fine and make some other concessions.

That would be quite amusing if a 1000 ft tower went up... "Oops sorry, I thought I had the right permits!"

Suffolk 83

06-23-2008, 06:44 PM

Good, the old facades looked awful on the new modern facade in the renderings. Hopefully now it will look like a true modern club street, not some half-assed attempt looking back in history instead of forwards. For clubs, I'm sure everyone prefers more modern (at least for the facades), for other things, not so much but finally this half assed appeasement "failed" (yeah like that's what really happened ^.^).

Who cares about what the OUTSIDE of a club looks like? Why does it have to be "modern"? Tons of clubs are old factories, warehouses or old homes. You go in and then its all crazy and modern with the glass bar lit up red and whatnot. "Everyone" knows you dont always judge the place by the outside. Clubs are highly overrated anyway. But I'm glad they didnt save the facade it looked like shit.

BarbaricManchurian

06-23-2008, 08:32 PM

^^Well, some people like jazz clubs, some people like classical, some people like more modern music and partying, so i'm pretty sure not everyone likes modern clubs. Anyway, of course when people say "everyone" its a figure of speech, I meant given a choice, the vast majority of people would support a more modern vs a more ancient facade, and definately not a shitty looking mish-mash of the two. On that, we agree, at least they didn't go with the shitty original design and made the facade at least look consistant.

kz1000ps

07-09-2008, 01:07 AM

http://img521.imageshack.us/img521/1861/img4430wo5.jpg

http://img521.imageshack.us/img521/8748/img4431uz3.jpg

jass

07-09-2008, 03:04 AM

Wasnt this a 6 month project?

PaulC

08-19-2008, 08:00 PM

the House of Blues complex, which will include a 2500-capacity theater, will now likely open in February, say sources at Live Nation, the exclusive booker. When Patrick Lyons?s Lansdowne Street clubs were shuttered, and the lease bought by HoB, the company was hoping to open the theater/dining complex by the end of 2008.

http://thephoenix.com/Boston/News/66406-Club-to-theater-update/

JimboJones

08-19-2008, 10:38 PM

I'm AMAZED!

No, not that completion has been delayed, but that someone still reads the Phoenix.

kz1000ps

08-20-2008, 01:41 AM

Forgot about this one... from 8/4:

http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/4379/img6864uj6.jpg

PaulC

08-20-2008, 05:15 PM

I'm AMAZED!

No, not that completion has been delayed, but that someone still reads the Phoenix.

I only read it online(free) and seldom make it past the first screen. I did pick up a few copies this spring to use as weed guard under the mulch. Gonna be kind of weird when some future archeologist excavates and finds all those adult ads.

JimboJones

08-20-2008, 07:37 PM

Ha ha, you know I was joking. Next up we should try to find someone who still reads Harper's ... or the Atlantic.

PaulC

08-20-2008, 08:11 PM

Ha ha, you know I was joking. Next up we should try to find someone who still reads Harper's ... or the Atlantic.

I know you were joking, someday I'll have to master emocons:)

Ron Newman

08-20-2008, 09:53 PM

I read all of these publications from time to time, as well as the New Yorker (which I subscribe to)

kz1000ps

09-05-2008, 07:51 PM

http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/6915/img9349km3.jpg

http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/6149/img9364cx0.jpg

http://img525.imageshack.us/img525/2618/img9365rj8.jpg

http://img501.imageshack.us/img501/4017/img9367cf5.jpg

jass

09-18-2008, 04:04 PM

I just dont get the floor plan. How is this a concert venue?

(note the train)

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y17/jamesinclair/IMG_6200.jpg

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y17/jamesinclair/IMG_6201.jpg

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y17/jamesinclair/IMG_6202.jpg

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y17/jamesinclair/IMG_6203.jpg

BosDevelop

09-18-2008, 05:39 PM

I just dont get the floor plan. How is this a concert venue?

having been to many of the House of Blues venues (including Las Vegas and New Orleans) it looks like this venue, like the Las Vegas venue in the Mandalay Bay hotel, will have a large general admission floor area (with perhaps the ability to add seats for the rare sit down concert that may be held here) and then a large and rather steep balcony area with reserved seating.

Ron Newman

09-18-2008, 06:44 PM

I hope the developer has given some thought about how to deal with the impact of home runs on the facade.

Suffolk 83

09-18-2008, 07:41 PM

... F-ing RAMIREZ.

They probably have insurance for home run damage and more broken windows probably gives TV exposure to the club, especially if they're historic.

jass

09-18-2008, 08:02 PM

having been to many of the House of Blues venues (including Las Vegas and New Orleans) it looks like this venue, like the Las Vegas venue in the Mandalay Bay hotel, will have a large general admission floor area (with perhaps the ability to add seats for the rare sit down concert that may be held here) and then a large and rather steep balcony area with reserved seating.

The avalon had a small area on top, which was almost never used. I think maybe the band manager got to sit there.

The Palladium has a large balcony area (maybe with seats) and they never open it, even for sold out shows.

So it seems weird that theyd want that here.

Id much prefer a "pit" at a grade, and with small levels, like the palladium, which provides the best viewlines.

BosDevelop

09-19-2008, 01:21 PM

The avalon had a small area on top, which was almost never used. I think maybe the band manager got to sit there.

The Palladium has a large balcony area (maybe with seats) and they never open it, even for sold out shows.

So it seems weird that theyd want that here.

Id much prefer a "pit" at a grade, and with small levels, like the palladium, which provides the best viewlines.

the way the balcony was built at the Las Vegas House of Blues, you are right on top of the stage when you sit up there. In fact some of the seats on the side of the balcony area are actually adjacent to the stage, The balcony is a great spot in terms of sight lines and sound and it has its own bar up there. Maybe I am just getting old but when it is so packed on the floor that you can barely move, I rather be in the balcony with plenty of room and a bar and bathroom steps away. The balcony at the Vegas H.O.B. is not at all comparable to the balcony at Avalon and the Palladium or any other music venue I have been to in the Boston area. It's more of a circular balcony than your typical concert venue balcony. I hope they do the same with the Boston one as the set up in Vegas is great (except for the bathroom attendants which are totally unnecessary at a concert, if not everywhere.

jass

10-21-2008, 11:45 PM

From last weekend

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y17/jamesinclair/IMG_6419.jpg

czsz

10-23-2008, 04:46 PM

What's with the fake pediments? It looks like they're building a Lowe's and Home Depot there.

BarbaricManchurian

10-23-2008, 05:10 PM

^^They're probably going to do a very bad-looking imitation of the old facades, I just wish they went all new, at least it won't look like disjointed crap.

ChitchIII

10-24-2008, 07:19 AM

^^They're probably going to do a very bad-looking imitation of the old facades, I just wish they went all new, at least it won't look like disjointed crap.

Durring the Article 80 Review by the BRA, the Boston Landmarks Comission wrote a Provisional Notice of Determination which stated that the historic street facade must be saved or the Owner face review under Article 85, which would have been a major delay.

At the time the facade was going to be save, however once demolition started it was found that the wall of the structure were built in 3-4 foot cold poured virtical lifts with absolutly no vertical rebar. The entire facade was like a set up unfasened buiding blocks. It had to come down.

As far as why the facade stayed, it was because they were trying not to have the bulk of lets say the Mandorin. The set back on the Intermidate level provides a bit more of an open feel to the street.

jass

10-31-2008, 04:15 PM

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y17/jamesinclair/IMG_6523.jpg

jass

11-05-2008, 04:15 PM

From election day

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y17/jamesinclair/IMG_6551.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y17/jamesinclair/IMG_6552.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y17/jamesinclair/IMG_6553.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y17/jamesinclair/IMG_6554.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y17/jamesinclair/IMG_6557.jpg

ablarc

11-05-2008, 04:39 PM

World class?

Boston02124

11-05-2008, 06:33 PM

I'll wait till it's done ,so far I like the roof lines.

vanshnookenraggen

11-05-2008, 07:34 PM

Wild West shoot outs will occur at 12, 2, and 5:30 Mon-Thursday and every hour Fri and Saturday.

Lurker

11-05-2008, 07:48 PM

Brings new meaning to "Cowboy up"

tobyjug

11-06-2008, 01:28 PM

The Landsdown tumble used to come after the weed.

Boston02124

11-06-2008, 02:34 PM

^ thanks for the laugh!

Bubbybu

11-06-2008, 03:33 PM

Please don't make fun of these photos........downtown Detroit needs all the investment that it can get.

tommym96

11-07-2008, 12:54 PM

i think it's gonna look friggin terrible. although, it didn't look particularly good before. i don't get the canival theme the lyons group seems to love.

Lurker

11-07-2008, 01:29 PM

It's a cruise ship without the water, waves, weather, the sketchy serial rapist and murderer crew, bacteria laden buffets, bubbly blonds in bikinis, and crooked gambling. But hey, at least you can still buy overpriced booze, get hit on or return the favor to way too old or to young drunk people, play pool, bowl like a fricken' god, listen to really loud music, and dance like a moron on slightly uneven surface.

For the 'premiere' nightclub district in the city Lansdowne is a joke. I sincerely hope the existing garages and souvenir stores are removed soon for more clubs. It would also be nice if something was done to make Ipswich street not look like a chop shop alley in Dorchester.

Ron Newman

11-07-2008, 01:39 PM

It's difficult to do much with Ipswich street when one side of it is hard against the Turnpike.

Lurker

11-07-2008, 03:15 PM

I meant the two level parking garages and auto repair places that follow the street edge from Arts/Fenway H.S. down.

If the Shell Station was closed and the school moved elsewhere, Ipswich St could be re aligned with Park Drive to cut out the double intersection. A gateway building on the corner, with a stretch of restaurants and housing/studio space above along Ispwich could draw people down to Lansdowne. A replacement of the current TransNational building, with housing facing Gaston Square on Boylston street, and some sort of lower level entertainment venue facing Ipswich, could eliminate the dead stretch between Jillian's and Charlesgate.

PaulC

11-07-2008, 03:31 PM

There are plans to move the school to the theater district:

http://www.archboston.org/community/showthread.php?t=2339

There's too much money to be made for these parcels to remain vacant or underutilized for too long.

jass

11-07-2008, 03:50 PM

JimboJones

11-08-2008, 10:34 PM

Isn't it ...

Gloucester
Hereford
Ipswich
Jersey
Kilmarnock

Lurker

11-09-2008, 09:10 AM

West Chester Park (Now Massachusetts Avenue) broke Arthur Gilman's lettering scheme and you are also forgetting Charlesgate East, West, and whatever the stretch on the original Boylston Bridge where the Bowker Overpass is now, was named. Ispwich, Jersey, and Kilmarnock originally had different names and alignments on Olmstead's plans. At some point they went from planned generic Yankee names to the finally laid out Scottish/Welsh.

Audubon Road was also renamed to Park Drive in the 1930s when Arthur Shurcliff's changes to Olmstead's Fens eliminated most of the marshland and greatly curtailed the width of the muddy river in the park. The addition of formal parkland at the cost of marshland and waterway displaced a large number of birds. I guess someone at the Audubon Society thought trashing an unofficial bird sanctuary for a formal park made it necessary to take Audubon's name off the abutting road. When a travel lane was removed in the 1980s, to add additional street parking and the road was changed to one way, it really changed the feel of the parkway. Also cause a number of really bad accidents from people forgetting the changes and driving the wrong way into oncoming traffic.

Gaston Square, Boylston Square, the Westland Entrance, Huntington Entrance, Louis Pasteur Entrance, Tremont Entrance, and probably something else I forget, we also renamed, eliminated, or obliterated for traffic control changes around Fenway since then.

/Lurker loves renting to old ladies and responsible grad students on Park Drive

FrankG

11-09-2008, 12:15 PM

I've noticed that the naming scheme continues as Lansdowne, Marlborough, Newbury, Peterborough, Queensberry. Was Van Ness St. supposed to begin with an O?

Lurker

11-09-2008, 06:38 PM

Newbury and Marlborough were former names of segments of Washington Street. When Arthur Gilman planned the Back Bay grid he adopted those names to make up for their loss on the renaming of Washington Street to make it longer.

All of the Fenway was planned with lots the size of Back Bay, that's why the original two mansions in West Fenway, corner of Jersey/Queensbury and Park, are the size they are along with developments along Hemenway/Fenway closest to Boylston Street. There are also one lot sized gaps on 'The Fenway', and by Charlesgate there are curb cuts with bluestone bollards to homes which never were built.

The development looks really haphazzard from 1900-Present with a variety of different styles and types. As a result it never really developed an architecturally cohesive character throughout the neighborhood as a whole. The side streets sometimes have real architectural oddities on them, Edgerly Road and a few streets off Beacon near Overland come to mind.

ChitchIII

11-10-2008, 08:27 AM

Does it help that half of the garage at the lower end of Lansdowne is to become a Red Bone's. Hey I know it's not much for the die hard City Planner's here, but I thought I'd try!!!!

mcus29

11-10-2008, 10:53 AM

Redbones as in the same Redbones in Davis Square? Love that place. Nothing like their Arkansas Rib. Good news.

Ron Newman

11-10-2008, 11:25 AM

What?! First I've heard of this. Tell us more.

JimboJones

11-10-2008, 01:02 PM

FrankG, you forgot "O" ... Oralsex Drive, in the Fens.

kennedy

11-11-2008, 11:10 PM

Redbones is illin. My uncle took me there for a birthday once, then the next year to the B Side, another great institution.

jass

12-20-2008, 09:45 AM

If ticketmaster is correct, the new house of blues will be open for business in February.

Also, the dropkicks have scheduled 6 nights of concerting on their traditional st pattys week. (Last year the show was at the paradise, the year before they did one at agganis, one at avalon)

kennedy

12-21-2008, 03:31 PM

As I was coming into Boston last night for the first time in a few months, I drove by Fenway from the Pike-it looks like that Avalon/Axis combo is coming along/came along nicely...that's not where HOB is going, right? Is it already open?

jass

12-21-2008, 04:00 PM

PaulC

12-21-2008, 08:10 PM

does any city have two House of Blues? The south boston seaport would be a great location for an another.

bbfen

12-21-2008, 10:59 PM

does any city have two House of Blues? The south boston seaport would be a great location for an another.

Because exactly what Boston needs is another chain tourist outlet? I'd like to see something along the lines of a Wallys, Bob the Chef, Beehive. Real music, not a cookie-cutter Applebees-meets-Viacom.

SeamusMcFly

12-22-2008, 07:02 AM

Well it better be open in time. I just bought my tickets to the Dropkicks Sunday show in March...

Unfortunately, you can't plan a Wally's. You just open it up and hope it develops into something. The problem with a HOB or anything like it. It thinks that it's Wally's on the first day because it has Blues in the name, and memorabilia on the wall. Kind of like a Planet Hollywood for music. Which we already have, but it goes by the name of Hard Rock Cafe. Another abortion of a concept, but at least it's now where it belongs in Faneuil Hall where all the hipsters, tourists, and drunk college kids can easily find it.

HOB is just another nail in the Lansdowne street coffin. It is all part of turning the area around Fenway into the same thing as every other city, with cookie cutter bars all around with hokey names and glittery lights. To put it in other terms, walking down Lansdowne you pass the Cask N' Flagon, The House of Blues, and Jillians on the other end. This would be much like walking by Walmart, Lowe's, Home Depot, and a Target elsewhere.

BosDevelop

12-22-2008, 08:24 AM

Because exactly what Boston needs is another chain tourist outlet? I'd like to see something along the lines of a Wallys, Bob the Chef, Beehive. Real music, not a cookie-cutter Applebees-meets-Viacom.

great theory there but the chances of that happening are slim. and because of attitudes like yours we get to enjoy no place to catch live music in that part of town. I guess maybe if we are lucky someone local will open a live music venue in that part of town in the next 20 years..... I really don't get the "I rather have nothing than a well run chain" theory. Perhaps someone can explain that to me.

tommym96

12-22-2008, 11:02 AM

To put it in other terms, walking down Lansdowne you pass the Cask N' Flagon, The House of Blues, and Jillians on the other end. This would be much like walking by Walmart, Lowe's, Home Depot, and a Target elsewhere.

Could you justify that logic? I'm not trying to be an asshole; I'm genuinely curious.

Ron Newman

12-22-2008, 12:04 PM

I don't understand the objection to House of Blues, given that the chain started here in Cambridge.

mass88

12-22-2008, 12:11 PM

Lrfox

12-22-2008, 03:06 PM

Seamus, I disagree. Sure, I'm not thrilled with HOB either but it's tough to compare the rest of those places to Walmart, Target and Lowe's. The Cask is self explainitory, Bleacher Bar is VERY unique (how many nightspots overlook center field at a stadium as historic as Fenway), Sure, Game-On! may be a bit cliche, but it's local (part of Boston-based Lyon's group) and it's attached to Fenway.

kennedy

12-22-2008, 07:21 PM

Yeah dude, the only hokey place around Fenway right now is HOB, which, while belonging in the Seaport, could be worse. Although, I will miss the fact that I will never be able to experience Avalon/Axis.

jass

12-22-2008, 11:05 PM

As consolation, I think the HOB is the planned Lansdowne street complex with a new name. That is, when HOB bought the project, I dont think they changed anything on the inside. What does it matter what its called?

SeamusMcFly

12-23-2008, 06:55 AM

Meh. I didn't like the Cask N' Flagon before it got redone, and I like it less now. It may not be a chain, but it feels as oversized, overrated, and impersonal as any of those bix box stores. Being local doesn't make something personal to me. That's just opinion, but I would rather see 3 local bars with feeling and personality than the gigantic, we got the market conered, Cask with it's lines out the door.

I have not had a chance (nor probably won't) to experience the bleacher bar, which is a great idea. This area could use some other great ideas, and it could steal them from Wrigley Field and the surrounding neighborhood.

I would probably not dislike it so much if there were about 5 other bars in the area to take my mind off of it. It seems funny to me, that these places exist in greater abundance around the Garden than around Fenway. I know the Boylston street bars are not far away, but it just feels like this area is lacking.

Jillian's I have better feelings about than the other 2 but I needed a third to fill in my rant. Also, I don't like that this length of street only gives you these 3 big ol places to choose from instead of 8 - 10 smaller joints.

I guess Jake Ivory's and Bill's Bar are still there. I'll chill for now. I just don't like the HOB. I have been to Dallas and Atlanta (not Houston), and of course I wouldn't want those downtowns. I was just in Minneapolis by their arena and found it nauseating. But, Boston doesn't need to make up night life like that to draw people in. We have winning teams, and college kids in abundance. Give them a spot, and you'll have night life. It doesn't need neon, sparkles, streamers, and a gimmick to draw them in. Just a good ol bar with booze and lots of TV's for games, and booze and a dance floor for the non game night meat market.

Ron Newman

12-23-2008, 07:13 AM

A good night life requires live music, and that's what this is -- a hall for live music.

statler

12-23-2008, 07:27 AM

A good city requires unique places that provide a different experience from what tourists would find in their own city or that locals would find in their own travels.

tommym96

12-23-2008, 10:08 AM

^likewise

I went to the HOB in Chicago and, granted they have great confined music venues, it was a really good atmosphere and a great time.

jass

12-23-2008, 02:14 PM

M

I would probably not dislike it so much if there were about 5 other bars in the area to take my mind off of it. It seems funny to me, that these places exist in greater abundance around the Garden than around Fenway. I know the Boylston street bars are not far away, but it just feels like this area is lacking.

Am I reading this right? Youre saying there arent 5 other bars?

Besides Cask, Jillians, Teqilla Rain, the Bleacher Bar, the Beer Works and Game On! There's Coperfields, Down Under, An Tua Nua and Audoban, and theres one on Kil___ street. Im sure Im forgetting others.

SeamusMcFly

12-24-2008, 06:39 AM

No. Read it as 5 additional bars. Not 5 other bars.

I'm speaking more from my personal opinions of bars which don't match most. I'm not going to argue that I'm right because it's strictly opinion. But, the first 6 you mentioned are the bars that turn me off.

I'll withhold any further judgment until March. After the show I'll see how much I like it. I'm too anti things like this. Hell I liked Avalon and Axis alot more before the major renovation a decade or so ago, but I'm sure they did pretty well after the makeover.

Lurker

12-30-2008, 05:23 PM

To answer a few questions earlier in the thread, here is a scan of Olmstead's original street alignments and nomenclature for the Fenway area.

http://img267.imageshack.us/img267/1675/41fq9.th.png (http://img267.imageshack.us/my.php?image=41fq9.png)

czsz

01-01-2009, 01:27 AM

Wow, much nicer names and plan.

kz1000ps

01-01-2009, 11:02 AM

http://img293.imageshack.us/img293/4922/img3097dk0.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Lurker

01-01-2009, 11:51 AM

*Sigh* If that was one of the I93 vent buildings we'd be calling for it to be covered up.

vanshnookenraggen

01-01-2009, 02:35 PM

This building is so ugly it defies words and pictures. You really need to see it up close to take it all in.

disturbanist

01-01-2009, 05:31 PM

Tetris meets De Stijl meets McDonald's

Waldorf

01-01-2009, 06:19 PM

This building fits perfectly with the seemingly transient and temporary nature of Landsdowne Street. In a way it works, not because of the aesthetics, but the fact that it will be renovated or torn down in about 7 years.

Ron Newman

01-01-2009, 09:33 PM

Is it ugly from the front? Not many people will care what it looks like from the back.

Long blank side or back walls seem to be an unfortunate feature of any theatre or concert hall, since you can't have windows.

vanshnookenraggen

01-01-2009, 09:41 PM

The back is the most attractive feature.

czsz

01-01-2009, 10:37 PM

Wouldn't be too bad if it didn't look so cheap...does it at least light up at night?

Weasel420

01-02-2009, 09:30 AM

Really? Not too bad?

Is this how far we've fallen that cheapy siding-ish panels with strips of color are considered "not too bad?"

Man, this building is embarrassing.

kennedy

01-02-2009, 01:23 PM

That is an abomination...whoever said it was a vent building earlier is right-the cheapy pseudo-modern type of building belongs closer to the BCEC or Fan Pier.

underground

01-05-2009, 11:53 AM

Architecture aside, I don't understand the complaints about this becoming a HOB. When it comes down to it, the programing will more or less be exactly the same. Sure, the new space is larger, but if you think that small local bands were playing the Avalon/Axis, you're living in a dream world. In fact, the show line up posted further up this thread reads more or less exactly like an old show line up for the Avalon/Axis.

el raval

01-05-2009, 05:16 PM

The one picture shown above is the facade facing the pike... moreover its the back side of a club, hence it is a big, blank wall.

Corrugated metal and bright colored panels can create a nice facade if designed properly. Hard to tell from this picture at 60 mph.

I'm not sure what the criticism is, did someone expect limestone and fluted columns?

vanshnookenraggen

01-05-2009, 06:57 PM

Unfortunately the pictures of the front I took didn't come out but I implore you not to judge this building until you see the front. It is a half assed piece of shit.

jass

01-06-2009, 12:15 AM

If you dont get any pics up Ill be walking around the area next week.

kz1000ps

01-06-2009, 11:32 AM

Forgot that I had these other two shots from the Thruway..

http://img355.imageshack.us/img355/4401/img3098cf8.jpg

http://img171.imageshack.us/img171/4682/img3099id2.jpg

disturbanist

01-06-2009, 01:51 PM

I took these this afternoon.

http://img340.imageshack.us/img340/1782/img4044wd3.jpg

http://img377.imageshack.us/img377/8894/img4047wc2.jpg

http://img214.imageshack.us/img214/5944/img4048rk8.jpg

http://img141.imageshack.us/img141/7863/img4050ko0.jpg

http://img166.imageshack.us/img166/9518/img4052bo2.jpg

http://img405.imageshack.us/img405/4049/img4054pq0.jpg

http://img209.imageshack.us/img209/5972/img4057pq2.jpg

http://img212.imageshack.us/img212/206/img4059yq3.jpg

http://img405.imageshack.us/img405/2245/img4061ig0.jpg

http://img78.imageshack.us/img78/3528/img4062pu0.jpg

briv

01-06-2009, 01:57 PM

Unfortunately the pictures of the front I took didn't come out but I implore you not to judge this building until you see the front. It is a half assed piece of shit.

You weren't kidding. Wow, that's bad.

Looks like they dropped a highway sound barrier on a strip mall.

commuter guy

01-06-2009, 02:05 PM

Oh my .... absolutely wretched. I thought the turnpike side was bad until my eyes were forced to view the front facade. Wonder if this passed throught the BRA's vigorous "design review" process.

tommym96

01-06-2009, 02:18 PM

Wow. That's heinous

statler

01-06-2009, 02:18 PM

http://www.news-ledger.com/images/0109lowes.jpg

PaulC

01-06-2009, 02:25 PM

I was always shocked at how fast this project and Filene's went through the approval process, it's good be be Menino's pal. Just think what he could have done with a new city hall.

Ron Newman

01-06-2009, 02:29 PM

cden4

01-06-2009, 02:37 PM

I didn't know they were building an elementary school...

vanshnookenraggen

01-06-2009, 02:42 PM

If teh entire place was just that corrugated steel part with strips of color it would at least be interesting, if not ugly. This is just offensive, trying to be contextual and sucking, hard. I want to write more hate for this building but it just isn't worth my time.

jass

01-06-2009, 04:07 PM

This is what the render said:

From highway

http://cache.boston.com/bonzai-fba/Third_Party_Graphic/2007/04/21/1177139438_5885.jpg

Front:
http://multimedia.heraldinteractive.com/images/6c5dcb7263_22land1.jpg

jass

01-06-2009, 04:19 PM

I just realized that the brick portion is brand new, and a replacement for the old facades that fell.

It looks terrible. It should have been 100% metal or 100% brick, not both.

bbfen

01-06-2009, 04:50 PM

There's got to be a better way than that to build a windowless box. This screams out "I'm temporary, someone please demolish me soon!"

If it's a House of Blues, why didn't they try to imitate the architecture of the original Cambridge one?

Ron, I bit my tongue a lot through this thread. I understand your fondness to the old House of Blues, but could never figure out how to explain to you that this is the exact opposite of everything the original was loved for.

Now that you've seen pics, maybe my original rant on this project make more sense ... it's pretty bad, isn't it?

czsz

01-06-2009, 04:55 PM

So this is where the Port of Boston is stacking its shipping containers now that the SBW is being developed.

As for the rest of it - I always thought the next level of ironic chic would embrace suburban monotony, but not this fast! Party at Lowe's!

nm88

01-06-2009, 08:57 PM

Crappy architecture, yes. But imagine this -- soon filled with concert-goers and people out for a very good time, filling the street. Humanity saves urban development mistakes. Alert the press!!!

bbfen

01-06-2009, 10:04 PM

Crappy architecture, yes. But imagine this -- soon filled with concert-goers and people out for a very good time, filling the street. Humanity saves urban development mistakes. Alert the press!!!

Heh. If only someone would have told that to Gov't Ctr plaza.

czsz

01-07-2009, 01:32 PM

Lansdowne St. will still be more successful than City Hall Plaza. By those criteria, Lansdowne will be an urban success approximately every Friday and Saturday night, while the Celtics have to win the championship to make CHP work.

kennedy

01-07-2009, 03:44 PM

After all the hate I gave to the back, the front actually succeeded in being worse. I agree with Van, the metal shipping container plus carnival ride light-strips at least would have been interesting, if not beautiful. Thank god for the Sox and drunk college kids to keep this place alive.

Suffolk 83

01-08-2009, 10:47 PM

JohnAKeith

01-08-2009, 11:14 PM

Respectfully, Suffolk 83, I must call you out on that. The field is named after the hot dogs, not the area.

bbfen

01-09-2009, 05:26 AM

It seems IMPOSSIBLE that this, The Shreve disaster and countless #'s of tall, well thought out proposals shot down could all happen in the same city. I truely don't get it.

Secretly, hiding in the weeds, The Red Sox are the silent puppetmasters behind the whole Fenway area development. They have too much power in this city in real estate and opinions. The field is named after the area, not the other way around. I think the Sox and Menino forgot about that.

While I agree that the Red Sox organization has incredible influence on development decisions near the ballpark, no one envisioned the Avalon/Axis property would look like this ...

It's a fine line. The Sox want the Fenway neighborhood to be a destination (see note below). The neighborhood doesn't want the Sox to be the sole landowner. The Sox work behind the scenes to influence things, but sometimes there's epic fail. Avalon/Axis is an epic fail.

No one is happy about this.

NOTE: To head off the complaint I know I'll hear: Yes, Fenway residents deserve quality of life, blah blah blah. I'll get you a wambulance. Unless you've lived there since before 1986, shut up. Anyone moving into the area knew what they were in for if they did even a little bit of research. Don't move next to a pig farm and then bitch that it looks ugly, is noisy and smells like shit.

ShawnA

01-09-2009, 05:57 PM

By working at a nearby Hotel. I got a chance to meet the people from Georgia that are painting the New House of Blues. They said it will take about 3 weeks to finish the painting.

jass

01-09-2009, 06:56 PM

Has there been any word if this place will operate as a nightclub?

Avalon/Axis would have concerts from 6-10pm and then be a nightclub from 11pm-2am. It kept the street very busy, and was a nice sight when the metalheads leaving the concert, with their mohawks and leather walked past the clubbers waiting at the bar, with their miniskirts and 6" heels.

Various famous internationals Djs also stopped by Avalon on big nights.

While having concerts start at 8-9pm instead of 5-6 pm is nice, it would be a shame to lose the life the nightclubs brought from 11pm-2am.

kmp1284

01-09-2009, 07:48 PM

Something tells me that a House of Blues is not going to be on Paul Oakenfold or Armin van Buuren's next US itinerary.

jass

01-09-2009, 08:35 PM

Something tells me that a House of Blues is not going to be on Paul Oakenfold or Armin van Buuren's next US itinerary.

Did the Roxy manage to raise their capacity again?

They had some pretty big Djs these past few months (David Guetta, Carl Cox, Benny Benassi)

bbfen

01-09-2009, 08:51 PM

Something tells me that a House of Blues is not going to be on Paul Oakenfold or Armin van Buuren's next US itinerary.

Exactly. At least The Estate, Revolution and a few other places have (sort of) picked up the slack on a club scene that was taking some brutal hits for a few years.

I may be proved wrong, but I really believe the only time I'll be in HoB is for a tour at opening.

I can practically see the marketing aimed at mouthbreathers from Billerica or Sharon or some other tragic suburbian enclave who drive (badly) into Boston twice a year. One trip is to see "their sports team" at Fenway/new Garden, the other is for a concert.

In both instances, the fools are paying much more than they need to for tickets (expensive means fun, right!?). In both instances, these menaces will scream, puke and piss their way across the city having a "Good Time" because, damnit, they paid a lot of money for it, they deserve it.

Never mind that if someone came to their neighborhood screaming at 3:00 in the morning, pissing behing their house and puking on their doorstop, they'd get shot.

HoB will book the same size acts that Avalon booked, but HoB has been commercialized. enough that the fools won't notice they're paying 15% more than they should.

Commercialization. I guess that's my problem with this venue. Everything is greasy, glib and cheap.

bbfen

01-09-2009, 08:59 PM

Did the Roxy manage to raise their capacity again?

They had some pretty big Djs these past few months (David Guetta, Carl Cox, Benny Benassi)

Didn't they do some remodeling upstairs recently? Something in the back of my mind, maybe a structural issue with the balcony that, when repaired, actually allowed them to up the capacity?

garbribre

01-09-2009, 10:05 PM

I took these this afternoon.

http://img209.imageshack.us/img209/5972/img4057pq2.jpg

This is a Butler Building! (?) Looks like one to me. Google it for info/history.

This is just sad.

Consider another discussion about what constitutes good grit. What was here before would be my definition.

As somebody else suggested, this could be a deliberate attempt at something temporary. (Butler Buildings were in that realm.)

There was a pre-war Butler in Oakland that people tried to save. It was an okay building, considering its function and era of construction.

However, building something like that/this, in the present, on Lansdowne Street, for this purpose, even considering that this is an industrial block of sorts, especially the side facing the highway, for the time being anyway... it could have worked it they put more thought into the ... entire thing. I'm stunned. Really.

This is worse than a Lowes in a strip mall.

ManchVegas

01-09-2009, 10:44 PM

I didn't realize that they used the same facade on Landsdowne like they did on the Mass Pike because I've only seen it from the back. It looks like the outside of a gymnasium.

kz1000ps

01-11-2009, 11:44 AM

Yesterday...

http://img523.imageshack.us/img523/9863/img4521fg6.jpg

http://img530.imageshack.us/img530/2892/img4522mk1.jpg

http://img514.imageshack.us/img514/7927/img4523cx8.jpg

http://img511.imageshack.us/img511/8021/img4524qn2.jpg

http://img514.imageshack.us/img514/7122/img4526pb9.jpg

JohnAKeith

01-11-2009, 02:36 PM

Meadowhawk

01-11-2009, 03:59 PM

[QUOTE=kz1000ps;68115]Yesterday...

Great shots, as usual Kz, thanks. This has to be the strangest and ugliest new building in Boston. Those lights! This building looks like it doesn't know if it wants to be a meat packing plant or a food bank! It's an absolute disgrace. Hopefully the inside will redeem it in some way.

jass

01-14-2009, 12:18 PM

1/14
I think it doesnt look that bad in person. The design fits with the older building (left)

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y17/jamesinclair/IMG_7329.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y17/jamesinclair/IMG_7331.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y17/jamesinclair/IMG_7332.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y17/jamesinclair/IMG_7333.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y17/jamesinclair/IMG_7334.jpg

Bonus shot!
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y17/jamesinclair/IMG_7330.jpg

kennedy

01-14-2009, 04:09 PM

Problem is, the older building on the left is ugly too.

czsz

01-14-2009, 11:55 PM

D'oh; contextualism taken too literally.

tobyjug

01-14-2009, 11:59 PM

If you put Rex, Pablo or Sgt Billy out there it would look like the old outdoor set for "Boomtown" on Channel 4's back lot.

jass

01-28-2009, 11:50 AM

Alright, what the hell.

VIP Box Seating
US $55.00
VIP Balcony Seating
US $55.00
Stadium Seating
US $55.00
General Admission Seating
US $55.00

Someone explain this to me please. Theres no seating chart online. Why is there the word seating.

Also, anyone know when the on site box office will open? I refuse to pay ticketmaster $10 fees.

JohnAKeith

01-28-2009, 01:34 PM

House of Blues vandalized last night? (http://www.bostonherald.com/blogs/entertainment/hotline/?p=35&srvc=home&position=recent)

Boston Herald Hotline blog

UPDATE: Watch the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hmeo_eYF1I

Under the dark cover of night and blanket of white snowfall, vandals apparently hit the House of Blues last night, wheat pasting a large red propaganda poster on the side of the building facing the Massachusetts Turnpike.

The poster mirrors the work of contemporary graphic design artist Shepard Fairey, who in October is believed to put up similar posters in Harvard Square and Allston. The latter still remains on the side of the International Bicycle Center on Brighton Avenue.

Fairey has an exhibit opening at the ICA on Feb. 6, so maybe this is just some sort of cross promotion between the artist and Live Nation.

The unexpected new addition to the House of Blues complex could be seen earlier today from the Mass. Pike during the morning commute. Because of the snowstorm, the House of Blues construction site is relatively abandoned. Under clearer weather, there are usually up to 30 construction workers on-site putting the finishing touches on the Live Nation venue before its Feb. 20 grand opening.

The 38-year-old Fairey gained notoriety in the late ?80s and ?90s plastering Andre the Giant ?OBEY? stickers around cities and recently used images of Barack Obama in his work. According to his Wikipedia page, ?the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston calls him one of today?s best known and most influential street artists.? It is suspected that he does not work alone, and has cohorts who help wall the city with his artwork.

More to come?

Beton Brut

01-28-2009, 03:34 PM

So far as I can tell, the poster is the best part of this project.

kennedy

01-28-2009, 03:45 PM

Shepard Fairey is the man, but I just can't like his Obey stuff. However, this certainly is the best part of the project so far, and they should definitely leave it up.

Lurker

01-28-2009, 04:21 PM

Shepard Fairey is a no talent hack who merely took lots of old Leninist and Stalinist propaganda posters and substituted contemporary figures. The average graffiti 'artist', whom isn't a tagger, has fair more talent then that clown.

Considering how ugly HOB has turned out, I'd say it probably would look much better if some graffiti 'artists' were commissioned to cover the 'living' corrugated canvas. A constantly changing pattern of murals with night lighting would reflect the ever changing activity within.

kennedy

01-28-2009, 04:25 PM

Shepard Fairey is a no talent hack who merely took lots of old Leninist and Stalinist propaganda posters and substituted contemporary figures. The average graffiti 'artist', whom isn't a tagger, has fair more talent then that clown.

He has talent, it takes talent and creativity to substitute Lenin and Stalin propaganda. His style's just different from an average graffiti artist.

Considering how ugly HOB has turned out, I'd say it probably would look much better if some graffiti 'artists' were commissioned to cover the 'living' corrugated canvas. A constantly changing pattern of murals with night lighting would reflect the ever changing activity within.

Absolutely. Shepard Fairey took the initiative, hopefully others will follow.

Look, I'm not saying he's an artistic genius, just that he deserves props for his work.

czsz

01-28-2009, 04:28 PM

The "Obey" stuff was an almost-clever appropriation of socialist realist art. It got creepy when he started unironically using it to support the Obama campaign, though.

PaulC

01-31-2009, 05:25 PM

If I go to the ICA exhibit and poster over his pictures will I be an artist?

JohnAKeith

01-31-2009, 07:04 PM

Lyons: ?urban art? to remain on House of Blues (http://www.bostonherald.com/blogs/entertainment/hotline/)
By Michael Marotta, The Boston Herald

The tell-tale signature of Shepard Fairey has turned vandalism into prime advertising real estate.

Under cover of night and blanket of snowfall, the Rhode Island-based street artist?s trademark red propaganda-style posters appeared on the wall of the House of Blues on Lansdowne Street sometime between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.

The poster collage, which faces the Massachusetts Turnpike, depicts his 2007 work ?Mujer Fatal? as well as Andre the Giant, the face of his iconic ?Obey? poster series which started appearing in the late ?80s.

And whether it was the 38-year-old Fairey or one of his cohorts who plastered the House of Blues with this illegal art, it?s not going anywhere anytime soon. And definitely not before Fairey?s exhibit at the Institute of
Contemporary Art, ?Shepard Fairey: Supply & Demand,? debuts on Feb. 6.

?To me, it looks like ultimate urban art, and I think it looks fabulous,? said Patrick Lyons, president of the Lyons Group, which owns the House of Blues property. ?I think it?s genius.?

Though he did not authorize the art?s placement, Lyons said he was not offended if Fairey used HOB to hype his show and even said he?d attend the 27-week showing at the ICA. Dave Fortin, the House of Blues? vice president of marketing, declined comment through his publicist. The Live Nation-owed House of Blues rents the Lansdowne Street property from Lyons.

Fairey gained notoriety in the late ?80s and ?90s plastering his Andre The Giant-faced ?Obey? stickers and posters worldwide. His reputation as a street artist got some mainstream cred last year when his Barack Obama portrait posters became a pop culture symbol of the new president?s push for the White House.

?We did some research, and if he?s good enough for Obama, he?s good enough for a Lansdowne Street building,? Lyons said. This isn?t the first time a business owner has decided to leave Fairey?s undercover art on its building. In October, Fairey was believed to have hit International Bicycle Center in Allston and a spot in
Cambridge?s Harvard Square.

While the Harvard Square art was immediately removed, Fairey?s work still adorns the wall of the Allston bike shop.

kennedy

01-31-2009, 08:44 PM

I like how Lyons thinks.

briv

01-31-2009, 09:41 PM

Now, if someone will just "graffiti bomb" the front...

Suffolk 83

02-01-2009, 09:35 AM

Can I get some pictures of this? I haven't been over there in a while

jass

02-06-2009, 01:55 PM

Its almost done.
Box office to open soon
Box Office Numbers:
Box Office will open 2/18/09

Box Office Hours:
Daily: 10:00am-9:00pm
Closing hours vary on event nights

Seating chart is available online.
http://www.ticketmaster.com/event/01004190862E5CDB?artistid=734216&majorcatid=10001&minorcatid=40

And ticket prices are way too high. This has been on sale for 2 weeks but not sold out. Guess why?

Tickets (3 Doors Down)
Full Price Ticket US $39.50 x 1
Total Convenience Charge(s)

US $8.40 x 1

Order Processing Charge(s) US $2.90
Standard Mail

No Charge

TOTAL CHARGES US $50.80

If you want the tickets emailed, it costs extra.
They even sell insurance for 6$ if you cancel your order. And then theyll go and scalp the tickets on their sister website...

They did pack the lineup though, a new concert (opening) was added yesterday
http://www.ticketmaster.com/House-of-Blues-Boston-tickets-Boston/venue/9044

Pics taken today

http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y17/jamesinclair/IMG_7536.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y17/jamesinclair/IMG_7537.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y17/jamesinclair/IMG_7538.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y17/jamesinclair/IMG_7539.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y17/jamesinclair/IMG_7540.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y17/jamesinclair/IMG_7541.jpg
http://i2.photobucket.com/albums/y17/jamesinclair/IMG_7542.jpg

eaalkaline

02-06-2009, 02:35 PM

man thats bad. i dont really know what else to say

Riverworks

02-06-2009, 03:28 PM

looks like an Ikea had a run in with a crayon box

kennedy

02-06-2009, 03:49 PM

looks like an Ikea had a run in with a crayon box

Yes.

Two questions:

Is the big blue part going to stay?

What is the building between Bill's Bar and HOB that has the plywood over the front? It's very handsome now that it has some weird Ikea-crayon box-gymnasium-movie set next to it.

Bos80

02-06-2009, 04:13 PM

That's Jake Ivory's...er, was Jake Ivory's I guess

found5dollar

02-06-2009, 06:18 PM

the Shepard Fairey is the best part of the building.

PaulC

02-06-2009, 06:59 PM

That's Jake Ivory's...er, was Jake Ivory's I guess

I heard Jake Ivory's is being converted into an Irish pub.

statler

02-06-2009, 08:43 PM

This is a shill piece for a group that will be buying lots and lots of ad space from PhoenixMedia but there are some tidbits of info sprinkled in:

Boston Phoenix (http://thephoenix.com/Boston/Music/76300-Open-House/)
Open House
After more than a year of construction and relative quiet, the Lansdowne Street music scene is about to be reborn
By JIM SULLIVAN | February 6, 2009

The making of a house party.
By Jim Sullivan.

I put on the obligatory hard hat and walk through the doors of what used to be Avalon on Lansdowne Street, across from Fenway Park. To the layman ? me ? it's all dust, noise, metal, and mess. The sounds of drills and hammers, clutter everywhere, workmen bustling every which way, a skeleton of a large stage jutting out onto a cluttered dance-floor-to-come. The facility ? soon to be America's 13th House of Blues ? is positioned to again make Kenmore Square a magnet of Boston's concert scene. As I take the tour, it is about a month away from its opening. That will happen February 19 with a show featuring the reunited-for-a-night J. Geils Band.

Joseph Perra, the man in charge of interior construction, has been on site three months. I ask his take, and he looks about. "We're fine," he says. "I've seen worse." No one, in fact, is worried about on-time completion. Asked about the project, Julie Jordan, the incoming general manager, says they're 75 percent done, with all the plumbing and electrical wiring in place.

This strip along Lansdowne Street ? dormant since Patrick Lyons and his Lyons Group shuttered Avalon, Axis, the Embassy, and the Modern in September 2007 ? is ready to again become a hub of nightlife activity. The House of Blues will be a 2400-plus-capacity rock-concert club, the bulk of it open space on the floor and mezzanine, with stadium-style seats at the rear of the room on the mezzanine and third levels. The layout is not unlike a more spacious Avalon. The whole complex is 53,000 square feet, up from the former complex's 41,000.

At the time Lyons shut down his clubs, he issued a proud, Terminator-esque call: we'll be back. His intention was to tear down, rebuild, and revamp the facility as a multi-use site for music and dining. Then, this past year, he got an offer from the House of Blues: we would like to lease your property and build our own music-and-restaurant complex. Lyons thought, "Why not?" He served as a consultant. Says Lyons's friend and HoB co-founder Dan Aykroyd, "He wasn't going to give away years of legacy" without having an impact on what was to follow. (Says Aykroyd of his own relationship with the chain: "I sold my shares at acquisition, but I have a rights and royalties structure and I'm a founding consultant.")

"It's true," says Lyons. "Our role was, we designed the bones, the structure of it, and they are doing the interior, the House of Blues magic." Lyons says he can't help but think, "Having had a run there so long, you have some separation anxiety: can these people do it with the care and love we tried to [give] for so many years?" He's confident they can, and believes the House of Blues will anchor what will be a prime destination location. Lyons says that, in the past three years, $44 million has been poured into the street's entertainment facilities (excluding Fenway Park). This spring, he's turning Jake Ivory's into The Lansdowne, an Irish pub. The Cask 'n Flagon has been upgraded. Lyons says he's happy now to play the role of "supporting actor. I'll peddle as fast as I can to help the House of Blues. It's enlightened self-interest ? we have a lot of investment on the street that's not them."

Clubland goes zen
The House of Blues VIP opening is February 21. Aykroyd and fellow Blues Brother Jim Belushi and their band headline (as they traditionally do for all House of Blues openings), Sam Moore (of Sam & Dave). That night will begin with a tribute to Jimi Hendrix, by a band assembled by billionaire Paul Allen, the Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist who founded the Hendrix museum in Seattle. Then comes a set by Ronnie Earl and the Broadcasters and, finally, the Blues Brothers.

There will be two eateries: the open-to-the-general-public, 11 am?midnight House of Blues Restaurant downstairs and the exclusive Foundation Room lounge and three dining areas upstairs. There, members ? they hope to eventually get 1200 ? will pay between $1250 and $2250 a year to join.(A three-person corporate membership goes for $8500.) These are the equivalent to stadium sky boxes, and it's an open question whether they will be supported in this financial storm.

The Boston facility was, of course, planned before the economy went bust, and it will open in the midst of a massive recession. Worries? "Music seems to be recession-proof," says director of marketing Dave Fortin. "People comfort themselves with it in bad times and reward themselves with it in good times."

Might the fact that the House of Blues is a chain have a negative impact? You may drink and dine at Applebee's and shop at Target, but neither of these cookie-cutter stores would be considered destination locations.

"We're all wary of chains," says Aykroyd. "But we've opened 13 of these and they're grossing $400 million a year. If people have a problem with other chains, I don't think those same problems occur with us. People come back ? for the show, the cuisine, the Foundation Room activities. We've established it as a quality, fun, hip brand. Nobody has a bad time at a House of Blues. We've weathered all the economic forces."

The new Lansdowne Street Foundation Room is already starting to come together, visually. Such accouterments as Gujarat ? a cloth material that is recycled from fancy Indian clothes, bought by Indian merchants, cut up, quilted back together, and then hand-dyed ? is now up on the walls.

The Gujarat is a good metaphor for the House of Blues philosophy, which stitches together piecemeal principles from various cultures, from Delhi to the Delta. This House of Blues, like all of them, follows the concept of Isaac Tigrett, the man who co-founded the Hard Rock Caf? chain in 1971 and then the original House of Blues in Cambridge in 1992. Influenced by his spiritual guide, Sathya Sai Baba, Tigrett's motto for the House of Blues was "Unity through Diversity." That, it remains. There are other principles imparted to the staff, says Fortin. There's also the phrase "Help ever, hurt never." And, he says, there are three Indian words that comprise a sort-of unofficial House of Blues mantra: Ahimsa, Shanti, and Satya. They mean, respectively, non-violence toward others and self; peace with oneself and the universe; and truth in thought, word, and deed.

Pretty zen-like for clubland. If you're wondering how that applies to the issue, of, say, security, says Fortin, "We look for people capable of dealing with situations with a clear head, not an iron fist."

Beyond the blues
In 2006, the House of Blues was sold to Live Nation, the country's top concert promoter (among other things in the entertainment realm). Don Law, president of Live Nation New England, has been one of the area's top music promoters for decades. He says when Live Nation bought the HoB, it had no desire to make changes. "House of Blues has its own identity," he says. "It's an important trademark to keep. What's Live Nation done? I don't think much at all. We've left pretty much alone."

Gary Bongiovanni, editor of the concert business trade magazine Pollstar, says, "The House of Blues is the best-known club brand in the United States. I'm not sure who you'd name as number two. The clubs have been successful in every market they've been in."

Since the House of Blues capacity will be only a few hundred people short of the Orpheum Theatre's, how does that affect the concert world? Not much, says Law. "One's a general-admission club, the other has reserved seats. Some acts don't want to play general admission and vice versa. The act decides where they want to play."

Deb Eybers, president of the House of Blues, says that, following the sale to Live Nation, "We're still autonomous. We are working closely with Live Nation, especially in Boston with Don Law. His bookers have done an astounding job."

What is the House of Blues not? A blues room. Yes, blues will be part of the mix. B.B. King and Buddy Guy will play this month (February 22), as will, of course, the J. Geils Band, which Aykroyd calls "the author of speed blues." Talk to anybody in the HoB chain of command and they'll salute the club's blues roots and cite the importance of blues in our culture. Through their International House of Blues Foundation, they raise money supporting, among other things, education in the blues.

"It says Blues in the name," says Bongiovanni, "but it's had a wide-ranging booking policy: gospel, hip-hop, punk, rock."

That is evident in looking at a few of the early bookings: the Gipsy Kings (February 20), 3 Doors Down and Hoobastank (February 23), Thievery Corporation (February 24), George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic (February 25), Jimmy Eat World (February 26), Tom Jones (March 1), Dropkick Murphys ? who closed Avalon in 2007 ? (March 13?17), the Pogues (March 20 and 21), and Morrissey (March 29). In fact, it's hard to get a sense of exactly what kind of venue it will be, other than a diverse one.

The national House of Blues booking policy was then as it is today: if an act can put enough bodies in the house, they'll book 'em.

Or, as Aykroyd says, "If there was a Chinese Giant Gong show that could draw people in, we would book them. I don't think there's anything we would restrict, given the ability for ticket sales. It's about the interface between musician and audience." He adds, "There's no way you can put a blues band in the House of Blues every night. We couldn't even do that in Cambridge. But all music in America, 90 percent of it, originates from the Delta blues."

Back to the roots
The House of Blues has the distinction of being the only multi-million-dollar restaurant-concert club chain inspired by a Saturday Night Live act and a hit movie. (That movie, of course, would be The Blues Brothers.) Aykroyd and John Belushi first put the Blues Brothers together in the 1970s. Aykroyd was the harmonica-playing Elwood Blues; Belushi was the singer, "Joliet" Jake Blues. They made their SNL debut in 1976. These guys dressed like dangerous blues cats ? or caricatures thereof ? and were first and foremost comics and actors. But they could also play, and they loved the music.

They hired a crack band of blues stalwarts to back them on their first album, Briefcase Full of Blues. It went to number one and was nominated for a Grammy. John Landis's movie, The Blues Brothers, came out in 1980 and grossed more than $115 million. Says Aykroyd: "I can flash back right now and close my eyes and drive the Bluesmobile and see John. It was quite moving and a good picture." The second movie, Blues Brothers 2000, with Jim Belushi ? Zee Blues ? taking over his late brother's role, did not fare quite as well.

Asked about the Blues Brothers of today, Aykroyd spins into high gear: "We are coming to town with the Blues Brothers Formal Classic Revue. We wear the uniforms, we do the classic music ? American classics from the American classic songbooks ? and we do them in the old Stax/Volt style. I can go anywhere in the world with this Revue and everyone's happy. There's 12 of us in the band, the two dancing refrigerators, me and Brother Zee, or Zurashaida ? it means 'Almighty God is my rock.' "

The original House of Blues opened in 1992 and closed in 2003. It was situated smack dab in the middle of Harvard Square, on Winthrop Street, in an actual converted house. (It's where Tommy Doyle's Irish Pub & Restaurant is now.) "The spiritual and ethical foundation was having a blues bar," says Aykroyd, "a juke joint, rooted in the culture of the movie."

Upstairs, there was a narrow, 150-capacity club, with plaques of blues icons on the faux-old-wood walls. Downstairs, there was a Cajun-style restaurant. It was made to look like a Southern juke joint. There was a Gospel Brunch (that is, Cajun brunch with live gospel music) on Sundays. The new HoB restaurant will be similar ? some of the plaques are already up ? with the Gospel Brunch likely to begin late spring.

The old club hosted many blues acts, but not exclusively so. J. Geils Band singer Peter Wolf says the club's booker, the late Teo Leyasmeyer, "kept this House of Blues unique from the other Houses of Blues and brought in the blues greats: Junior Wells, Little Milton, John Lee Hooker, Pinetop Perkins, Buddy Guy, James Cotton. I sat in with a lot of people. Van Morrison, myself, and Junior Wells played there with one of the blues bands around Boston."

The original House of Blues "was a brief high point in the history of Boston rock and roots music," says Ted Drozdowski, a Phoenix contributor (and former Phoenix music editor) and singer-guitarist of the blues-based Scissormen. "Teo had the taste and artist-relations savvy to bring in the last of a great generation of roots performers, from Charles Brown to Jimmy Smith to Otis Rush to R.L. Burnside to Junior Kimbrough ? all gone now or retired from performing ? so they could be heard in an intimate setting. . . . That amazing era for roots music in Boston is long past."

After the Cambridge club opened, Tigrett began launching much larger facilities around the country, beginning in 1994 in New Orleans. (Lyons was an original investor and director. He helped Tigrett raise $32 million to build the chain, and left in 1995.)

"Even before Live Nation took over, House of Blues was extremely successful," says Pollstar's Bongiovanni. "We rank the top 100 club venues in the world according to ticket sales. The 9:30 Club in Washington, DC, is number one, then the House of Blues clubs: Dallas is number two, Chicago is number four, Anaheim is number six, Buena Vista is number 11, Los Angeles is number 13, Las Vegas is number 14. Boston is a great music city. And the House of Blues model has worked. Watch Boston be number one."

Jim Sullivan can be reached at jim@jimsullivanink.com.

This spring, he's turning Jake Ivory's into The Lansdowne, an Irish pub.
I was just thinking the other day, "You know what Boston doesn't have enough of? Irish pubs."
Thank God these guys are going to fill that gaping need in the city.

kennedy

02-06-2009, 08:52 PM

It's not even going to be a real Irish pub. It'll be like the HOB of Irish pubs. Damn. I wish something like the Middle East would go there. Live music+tapas bar. Would rock.

Lurker

02-06-2009, 08:54 PM

Another Irish pub in Boston, HOW ORIGINAL! The Piano Bar was at least a unique draw, I can't imagine another dopey McGreevy's is really the best strategy for an 'entertainment' district.

bbfen

02-06-2009, 11:16 PM

Another Irish pub in Boston, HOW ORIGINAL! The Piano Bar was at least a unique draw, I can't imagine another dopey McGreevy's is really the best strategy for an 'entertainment' district.

Not to go too far OT, but what the f*ck is with McGreevy's on Boylston and their stupid f*cking velvet rope all the way the sidewalk every f*cking day of the f*cking week starting at four f*cking o'clock!?!?!? There's three people in the bar and that rope is doing what, exactly?

As for The Landsdowne and the NEW Friendly Fenway, excuse me. I have the dry-heaves. The whole street is a sanitized circus for the tourists who visit once a year. It's gotten so bad that I now come in through D, immediately go upstairs, and once the game ends, book it right back down and leave the area, when I used to barcrawl through Kenmore and Brookline Ave, and use Gate A.

Before you know it, Patrick Lyons will be operating carnival rides on Yawkey Way and the clowns at Jillian's will be shooting fireworks from their roof after homeruns.

Yay, progress!

garbribre

02-06-2009, 11:38 PM

Boston Phoenix
After more than a year of construction and relative quiet, the Lansdowne Street music scene is about to be reborn
By JIM SULLIVAN | February 6, 2009

I know I've been away for quite a while, but did Lansdowne Street ever die?

bbfen

02-07-2009, 05:50 AM

I know I've been away for quite a while, but did Lansdowne Street ever die?

No, it didn't. Since 2002-ish, business is up. Way up. This would actually be the first year where I'd expect to see profits level off.

tommym96

02-07-2009, 09:48 AM

Why would they close Jake Ivory's? That place was a good time

statler

02-07-2009, 10:46 AM

^^Not enough Irish pubs.

jass

02-07-2009, 02:07 PM

Why would they close Jake Ivory's? That place was a good time

Really bad move

"Might the fact that the House of Blues is a chain have a negative impact? You may drink and dine at Applebee's and shop at Target, but neither of these cookie-cutter stores would be considered destination locations.

"We're all wary of chains," says Aykroyd. "But we've opened 13 of these and they're grossing $400 million a year. If people have a problem with other chains, I don't think those same problems occur with us. People come back ? for the show, the cuisine, the Foundation Room activities. We've established it as a quality, fun, hip brand. Nobody has a bad time at a House of Blues. We've weathered all the economic forces.""

Im pretty sure people go to concerts based on the band, not the name of the venue.

I think the best part is that HOB is owned by Live Nation now and not Disney... Disney had a policy of not allowing certain acts.