House of Blues is themed after an old Bourbon Street music house, and combines a restaurant and concert venue in one. During our visit I learned that HOB and Hard Rock Cafe have a shared history, in that Isaac Tigrett, co-founder of HRC, also created House of Blues following his sale of Hard Rock in 1990. The New Orleans theme is apparent in both the restaurant and concert venue, with dark lighting, Mardi Gras style paintings, and tributes to jazz and blues greats scattered throughout.
We decided to try and have dinner before the show, and were fortunate to find only a 20 minute wait for a table, in spite of the enormous line to enter the concert hall. I decided to have the beef tenderloin with goat cheese and seasonal vegetables. Given that the restaurant wasn't exactly Peter Lugar Steakhouse, I had fairly low expectations of this choice, but was pleasantly surprised by the outcome. So much so, that I failed to take a photo of this great dish because I was too busy devouring it.
After finishing dinner and the last of our beverages, we made our way over to the concert hall. By this time, the enormous line had disappeared, and we were able to walk right in, which is a helpful bit of knowledge should we visit in the future. I was a bit concerned, however, that since we were among the last to arrive that we wouldn't be able to find a good place to view the show. As luck would have it, however, we stumbled on a little nook that provided a great viewpoint of the stage, and even had a table for our beverages. Granted, I'm sure the view and sound was better from down on the floor, but I'm certainly no fan of being squeezed in like a sardine as those who viewed from down there.
As expected, The Script put on a great show, and while it didn't end with getting to meet the band, in my opinion this concert was better than the one we saw at Hard Rock Live. The theme and layout of the concert hall is superior at House of Blues, as compared to that at Hard Rock which is basically just a giant open viewing area. It was also nice when the show was over to have a short walk to the parking lot, as opposed to hiking through the enormous parking garage for Universal Orlando, as one must do at Hard Rock. |
| The Script put on a great show. |
Over the last 14 months, I have been to three concerts, all of which featured The Script either as an opener, or as the headliner as with this last show. If my wife ever takes to liking another band in the future, my hope is that they'll visit House of Blues so that I'll have a reason to come by once more.
Enjoy Your Stay
