House of Blues: User Reviews

Stay away
By BeerIsGood from Ukrainian Village, April 28, 2009

Overall rating:

Inconsistent start times. A supposedly $10 ticket ended up costing me over $20 after all of the fees. Why is this much security needed? Metal detectors, pat downs - how insulting. House of rules is more like it. Never again and I don't care what band is playing.

Pretty Good
By Chucksgirl from Franklin Park, January 1, 2009

Overall rating:

Went to see Blues Traveler 12/30, they were awesome. Never been to HOB before so wasn't sure what to expect but knew it was SRO. I thought the show started at 7:30 but the doors actually just opened around 7:40. We staked out our spot next to a railing & didn't move all night since I didn't want to lose our place. (Lots of gum chewing got us thru the night). They do have barstools that looked like they had decent viewing, but they were all reserved. Had I known about the dinner/reserved seating arrangements I may have used that. The opener, Joe Pug went on at maybe 9pm, played for awhile & then it seemed like forever til 10:15 rolled around & BT came onstage. But they wailed until nearly 12:20. Anyway, we used the valet service which was $24 for just under 6 hours (since the tickets were free from XRT, thanks XRT, I was okay with that). I had no problem paying at the machine or getting my vehicle. Overall it was a very pleasant experience. The only confusing part was the time & waiting outside in the cold stunk, but other than that, pretty good.

Love this Place!
By MissDiva from Los Angeles, December 9, 2008

Overall rating:

I went to the House of Blues (aside from concerts) for a spectacular Gospel Brunch. It was so amazing! I enjoyed great food and great, inspiring music. This is definitely something I would want to attend at least once a month with my girl BFFs.

Railroad Earth at House of Blues rocked!
By Happy Girl from West Loop, September 19, 2008

Overall rating:

I went to the Railroad Earth concert at the House of Blues Chicago. It was my first time at the House of Blues so I had no idea what to expect. The venue is one of the coolest I've ever seen; the art work on every inch of the walls is such an amazing added touch. It really gives it a "bluesy" kind of feel. The concert was very fun, the energy was great as was the sound. I could see everything even though I'm pretty short. I had dinner before the concert and I also enjoyed that. I had the burger bites and it was delicious. I highly recommend the House of Blues!

Gets worse every time
By CBK from Lincoln Park, September 11, 2008

Overall rating:

This is my sixth time seeing a show at the HOB and it just keeps getting worse. 1st or all the concert start time was posted as 7pm. When i arrived at 8 to see the second of three bands, they had already completed a set. What kind of venue lets opening acts play for 25 minutes a piece? We then waited for an hour watching a HOB commercial on the screen until the headliner took the stage. Between the price of admission, cost of food and drinks, and the way the staff treats patrons, this is by far the worst of the dozens of venues I’ve seen shows at in Chicago. Avoid this venue at all costs; it has the unique ability to make even the experience of seeing your favorite band an annoyance.

Corey Smith Concert
By Happy Girl from West Loop, July 8, 2008

Overall rating:

A group of my friends and I went to see the Corey Smith Conert and had the best time! The venue was amazing and clean along with the staff being as friendly as could be. The concert went so smooth, from the opener to Corey Smith, my friends and I along with the crowd enjoyed every minute. The drinks were great along and the gift shop was filled with items to remember our night at the House Of Blues!

B B King
By Lone Ranger from suburban Dupage county, June 2, 2008

Overall rating:

The musical portion of the event was great, both Brooks and King were fabulous, but the venue of the HOB was the worst ever. It was very hot and very very crowded. At least provide a stool to sit on. I'll never see a musical event there again.

It should be called the house of blues......boo hoo.
By #1critic from Dundee, April 16, 2008

Overall rating:

I just went to the House of Blues for the first time to see Bone Thugs.
Before I even bought tickets I could not find a consistent concert start time, and if there were openers or not. Even when I called for more info HOB would not provide it.
We really wanted front row for Bone, so we made reservations to skip the line. That part went perfect. Got there at 6, service was good, food was good. We were done at 7, and were near the front of the "early line". We were let in early and had second row center stage. We were hyped. Brings inside the show are way too expensive and small and not worth it. We stood there for an 90 minutes staring at a curtain, a screen with these cheap advertisements, and weak background music that you could barely make out what it was.
The show started at 9 with the official opener that was on one of the web sites I had been looking at. They were on for 30 minutes. Way too much bass and poor acoustics. Then the curtain closes and the screen drops again. Another 60 minutes passed by. The crowd was getting a little angry as well. Finally the curtain opened up and it was some dude that looked like Wish Bones ugly step brother(signed to Thug Line records). He did two songs and the curtain closed again. Crowd is angry. Curtain opens and a trio of rappers (signed to Thug Line records) rapped for way too many songs. Curtain closes. People are pissed, and I am almost ready to leave. Then curtain opens to find some guy, an R&B buster who was booed all through his few songs. Curtain closes. No water, no bathroom break, cause you can't loose your spot. Finally just over 3.5 hours later Wish and Lazie come out. No Krazie bone, he had a tooth ache. This was like going to see the Bulls without Jordan playing. Lazie and Wish performed as expected for 60 minutes.
Once the show was over the parking was a whole entire horror story where you had to pay at a machine that was crowded, and then take the ticket to a booth. Terrible. This may have been my worst concert experience of all time. I won't be back.

Resteraunt with the worst service
By april from North Lakeshore Drive , December 30, 2007

Overall rating:

The waitress was screaming at us to order our food even before we got the menu in our hands. She asked us to if we wanted the cheque before we had finished our meal. Worst was when the cheque arrived she wrote on it her tip (20% on the worst service ever). I hated the place and will never suggest it to anybody.

My boyfriend and i went...
By concertfreak from chicago, IL, September 4, 2007

Overall rating:

My boyfriend and i went to the House of Blues on WEd. to see Etta James!

The performance was amazing and the staff was very humble. I was told in a very polite way that i couldn't smoke cigarettes after i lit one. There was no caddy or rudeness involved. Etta was great and so was the staff!