Avalon/Axis replacement to be a House Of Blues.[views:3238][posts:7]___________________________________ [Jan 29,2008 12:24pm - sinistas ""] http://www.boston.com/business/articles/20...01/29/house_of_blues_hits_lansdowne I think this is fantastic. Granted, the only HOB I've been to is Orlando, but they have metal shows go through all the time and the venue is top notch. I guess we'll see how it plays out. 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. 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. |
| _________________________________ [Jan 29,2008 12:29pm - aril ""] I agree; I've been to one before and it was awesome. Regardless of playing metal or not, I'll still go to see blues anyday. |
| _______________________________________ [Jan 29,2008 12:36pm - the_reverend ""] all the bands that I've spoken to who have played at the HOB talk about how awesome it is. Everyone gets their own house tech and all. |
| ___________________________________ [Jan 29,2008 12:43pm - sinistas ""] The Orlando HOB blows away every venue I've been to in New England. |
| __________________________________ [Jan 29,2008 1:16pm - succubus ""] I love the HOB... been to Chicago and the one on Sunset Strip in LA |
| ______________________________ [Jan 29,2008 2:02pm - sean ""] At first when I heard this I was bummed, cuz I know Lamb of God had one of their shows canceled their. But after further research, it was Disney not HOB that canceled the show. Chris: Last night was the last show of Ozzfest and tonight we were supposed to play a show in Orlando at the House of Blues, but the HOB is actually on Disney [-owned] property. When Disney found out that our show was booked there — even though tickets had been sold, and actually the show was sold out — they canceled us because they didn't want "our element" on Disney property. We ended up moving the show on up to Myrtle Beach, where we're playing tonight, and it's sold out. So, we're moving right along. ...a lot of our fans were complaining about censorship and those kinds of things. But being that they are privately owned buildings — and in this case, that the venue was on Disney property — they have every right to make those choices. I think it's a dangerous situation for corporations to do that, but it's not something to where I'm going to cry censorship. |
| __________________________________ [Jan 29,2008 2:08pm - sinistas ""] Yeah, I believe Cradle of Filth had the same deal go down, but when you're dealing with the mouse, it's no surprise. |
| ________________________________________ [Jan 29,2008 3:12pm - DestroyYouAlot ""] FUCK WITH THE MOUSE YOU GET THE EARS YEE-HAW! |