by GB from Devizes

October 14, 2006

From journal A Brit hits the Windy City - the 2006 Igougo get-together

The House of Blues is one of the premier clubs in Chicago although all genres of music are catered for here including jazz, rock, and of course blues. It is part of the Marina City complex and is found at 329 N. Dearborn St. Seven of us had tickets to see Big Bad Voodoo Daddy and had arranged to convene at 6pm to dine prior to seeing the show.

Brenda, Kay, Arlene, Mark, Fleance, and Lorrie were my dining companions so we took our seats, ordered a beer, and perused the extensive menu. I eventually opted for the jambalaya and this arrived at the table within ten minutes, not bad considering how busy the place was. The portion was enormous and although I wouldn’t dream of leaving shrimps, sausage, ham or chicken, I did have to leave a mountain of rice that there simply was no room for. The total bill for my food and two large Sam Adams’ was around $25 which I thought to be very good value (Kay, I still owe you for that too...)

Now, one of the main reasons for dining here is that, according to the club website, diners get preferred entry into the concert hall before the people who’ve just come for the music, thus availing themselves of the best seats or standing areas. Not quite so in reality; we entered the hall via security that would grace Heathrow Airport to find every single barstool or chair had a "reserved" sign on it. So what was the point of dining here then? Lorrie had a sore foot and parked herself upon a stool only to face the wrath of a security guard within ten seconds who told her to move. Lorrie replied that she’d be happy to move once the seat’s "owner" turned up, but this fell on deaf ears and she was asked to vacate the stool immediately.

The bar inside the concert hall was extortionately expensive, $6.50 for a small beer in a plastic glass. On principle, I didn’t buy one but just had a Pepsi (that was expensive, too). A couple of the ladies went to check their coats and were staggered to be charged $5. Arlene was also asked to check her camera and was charged $2 for the privilege. Talk about a rip off!!

Soon, the "warm up" act took the stage and quite frankly, I wish she hadn’t bothered. Some daft bint with delusions of grandeur trying to sound like John Lee Hooker didn’t do much for me I have to say and the song that included those immortal words "scratch my kitty" was quite frankly awful.

GET OFF!!

At least BBVD made up for it with his wonderful blend of blues, jazz, and swing, and he soon had the place hopping. The House of Blues has great acoustics and although it is a reasonably large venue, it does retain the atmosphere of a small club. It’s just a shame about the rip-off attitude of the management...

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