House of Blues San Diego

Address:	1055 5th Ave, San Diego, CA 92101, USA
Phone:	+1 619-299-2583
Site:	houseofblues.com
Rating:	4.2
Working:	Closed 4–11PM 4–11PM 4–11PM 4–11PM 4–11PM 4–11PM

Location

Photos 100

Reviews 4

Lyndsi Winer

I dont even know where to begin with how unorganized and horrible this place really is. I was actually extremely happy to be visiting the San Diego location of the HOB. Ive been to their Vegas location and had a great time that night with no instance. Not the case here. It all began at their front window. We were there as special guests of one of the bands playing that night. We met one of their members girlfriends up front so we could all walk in together since we were 3 or the 4 people that were to be found on their list that night. It was already 35 mins into the concert with the first band on stage and our friends band were supposed to go on any minute. We were promptly told by Emily at the front window that the bands lists were not up front and that we wouldnt be let in until they were able to fix their printer problem at the HOB . Their printer problem?? 5-10 mins we were told. We waited, asked again in about 8 mins, nope Emily says as she barely looks up from her crossword. Seriously HOB do you know how lazy it is to see your ticket window ladies doing crosswords instead of coming up with a solution for a current problem!? It looks like crap any time really especially if there is a problem going on. So finally our friend went to the other window where a girl named Princess was sitting. Our friend almost in tears begged for her to see if there was something that could be done since we had already heard 2 songs by the band we were there to see come and go! Princess ACTUALLY DOING HER JOB....got up simply went to the room next to the ticket window came out with a stack of envelopes one with our name and two tickets and one with our friends name and one ticket. I guess a major guy from a big corp showed up to possibly check this band out for bigger things and he was also turned away and left. We heard bands coming off stage saying the HOB in SD was possibly the worst venue they had worked with. I didnt spend a dime here because the experience was so horrible I will never be back if I can help it! Emily at the front window is someone who should not have her job because its more than obvious she has no respect for it and could care less about doing it well. Watching her sit there so lazy doing her crossword puzzle with ZERO attempt at helping the problem at hand with a solution was a total joke. Heard they are union workers, Im from Michigan a union state a state that created the union and women like Emily are who give unions bad names. Shame on you lazy girl Emily!!! Shame on you HOB for running such a unorganized and ridiculous establishment! I will never be back and as a patron of the city I will let anyone I can know about my experience!

Laura Gavard

Let me start by saying this is the first negative review I have ever written. Went to HOB on Saturday May 28, 2016 for the Totally 80s live with Missing Persons and Bow Wow Wow. For starters the sound was awful; I am not sure if they were trying to make the concert authentic by using technology from the 80s, but it sure did sound like it. Drinks were expensive but I was prepared for that, what I was not prepared for was being excorted out of the concert by lead security plus six more staff. I was not drunk acting stupid or being violent in any way. It started when I wanted to venture a little closer to the stage, so I began the squeezing my way to the front, found a spot about three rows back on the right side of the stage. About 2 minutes later I have security pulling me aside and telling me that I needed to go back where my friends were, I replied "is this an open seating venue?" Was told yes but you need to go where your friends are, while this is happening there is a little girl thanking the for removing me. I was not doing anything wrong; I was not aware that when at a concert you are not allowed to push your way to the front of the stage. So at that point I continued to dance in the security area (ok I did break the rules here). After a few minutes the head of security comes over and motions me to follow him, which I did as well as 5 additional security workers. I was not resisting I do not understand why it took a total 6 security to walk me out. I will never go to the HOB again, even I was given free tickets would not go and I suggest you dont waste your time money or energy on this money sucking over ambitious security staffed venue. If there is concert you really want to see check out nearby cities the bank may be playing ie LA, Orange County or Palm Springs.

Michael Robinson

Came to see Passenger. While he was absolutely amazing and put on what was easily one of the best shows Ive seen in a very long time, the venue leaves an awful lot to be desired. Passenger likes to tell stories between songs (and sometimes during a song) and occasionally sings a cappella. His voice, while distinct and beautiful, is anything but loud. Standing where we were (downstairs near the back left corner) we constantly had difficulty hearing him over the noise created by the employees in the back. On top of that, we would occasionally hear loud, obnoxious club music bleeding in from the back of the venue. Security and venue employees just shrugged it off and made no attempt to seek out the source or put a stop to it. Quite a few other patrons were equally bewildered that no one seemed to care enough to deal with it. The first half of his performance was nearly ruined by the distractions - at least for those of us near the back. We finally moved to stand in front of the downstairs bar which offered a little relief from the background noises, though now we had bartenders clanking bottles around for the rest of the night as they cleaned up. Still annoying, but easier to tune out. In the end Passenger was wonderful. It isnt often you see a performer so honestly in touch and in love with the audience. It was truly inspiring to take part. House of Blues on the other hand was a huge disappointment. It was my first time going and most likely my last. You dont get the feeling the place is run by music lovers. Rather, you get the impression they are just coasting on the famous names behind it and milking it for all its worth.

Janetta B-Ricard

My first time going to this venue for a comedy show and NEVER AGAIN. My friend and I brought our spouses for a date night to see Gary Owen for the 9:30pm show on 4/21/17. We paid for our tickets online and was to pick them up at Will Call. We got there early grabbed our tickets, stood in line then entered. I noticed my ticket had a seat and row number but also standing only stamped in small letters. We asked for help to find our seats but the security said were in the standings section and if wed like to purchase a vip table that sits two itll be $100 extra. At this point were pissed off because online it said nothing about standing we spent $120 on tickets. I feel its definitely false advertising. I would NEVER purchase standing tickets well being PREGNANT. We never got to watch the show and House of Blues in Ticketmaster will not refund our tickets. I will never support House of Blues again in my life! I just dont understand why we werent able to get a refund. The security sent us to the box office for a refund before the show. The young lady at the box office told us to contact ticketmaster. We did just that but of course no ones answering the phone at 9:30pm at night. And when we did get a hold of ticket master they blamed House of Blues and said since the event passed we cant get a refund . And House of Blues blamed ticket master... So much for customer service!