Troubadour,LA and House Of Blues, SD

[sonofhal]

Hi Folks,
On my merry jaunt from the damn cold UK, i will be checking out the xiu xiu/sunset rubdown show at the Troubadour (Apr 24) and The Sloan show at House Of Blues (SD - 2nd May). Just wondered what these venues are like, and if anyone else is going along!

[bballarl]

Troub is 320 capacity, in a nice neighborhood, and is a very cool place. The sound is really good, there is a balcony if you want to sit, and there really isn't a bad view that I've encountered. Be sure to walk east on Santa Monica Blvd a bit to Hamburger Haven before the show. The food is cheap and really good.

[bmack86]

I met the drummer from the Black Keys at Hamburger Haven before their show. I'm thinkin about going to the Xiu Xiu/Sunset Rubdown show. That's a really good lineup.

[sonofhal]

I'm dragging 3 friends along. Should be a damn fine night before driving out to Indio.

Another friend is a huge Sunset Rubdown fan, but isn't getting into LA until the day after the show. Every time i mention it, he gets quite irate.

[atom heart]

I've been in the HOB once, but since that's basically the only time I've been in an indoor venue I have no frame of reference.

It's two levels, with a bar each, one of which is open (I don't know which one they will operate). It's pretty spacious.
Hopefully you'll get a good sound engineer because the reflection can get pretty horrible.

[suprefan]

Go to www.hob.com and find the house of blues venue in San Diego there is a virtual tour you can check out. Its small and a cool vibe. Also if you wanted to get in before the main line you can make a dinner reservation and have dinner there. All you do afterwards is show your reciept with your tickets and you get in a litte earlier. No cameras allowed and they do enforce this policy...

[woogie846]

The Troubadour is a great venue to go to. Plus, Barney's Beanery is right around the corner.

[Boourns]

Troubadour capacity is 450 including the balconies, but they packed 500 inside for that free Eisley gig in 2005.

It's my favorite venue. No barrier between the crowd and the stage, so I'll sit on it between acts if I'm up front, lolz. Very easy to grab setlists and the like. I saw Xiu Xiu there in 2005 and, yeah, they had no setlist for me to grab. I wanted to impress a girl, bleh.

No ATM, though, so bring lots of cash. You'll need it because drinks are expensive.

[tessalasset]

...or you can just use your card.

[MusicIsMyBoyfriend]

Yeah The Troubadour is one of my fave venues as well. It's on the smaller side and very intimate whether you're front row or the back of the house. All the gigs I've seen there have had an awesome vibe.

The HOB SD Is a bit bigger than the Troub, but is still a decent sized venue. And pretty laid back, but like someone else said no cameras alllowed, they will kick you out if the see it. Oh and not sure how crazy the crowd will be for your gig, but if your adamant about getting front row you can eat at the HOB restaurant and then they allow you to skip the line and get in ahead of everyone else. parking in downtown sd can be a bit of a bitch, watch out for all the one way streets you can get turned around pretty easily down there.

[Boourns]

...or you can just use your card.

Not for merchandise.

[sonofhal]

Ta for all the info - Will be staying at a hotel in Downtown SD, so parking shouldn't be a problem. Just looked on Google maps, and my hotel in LA isn't too far from the Troubadour. Nice.

[fatbastard]

The House of Blues is a great venue.

Parking is a mess-arrive early and expect to wait for your car in valet parking.
The food and drinks are good
As previously mentioned, making dinner arrangements gives you balcony access to the show.

[hangthedj112]

HOB is nice, except the security guards are total douchebags. Good sound, nice vibe, but the drinks & water are insanely over-priced/

[tessalasset]

No ATM, though, so bring lots of cash. You'll need it because drinks are expensive.

...or you can just use your card.

...

[codytwo]

hi tessa

[bballarl]

Cody, don't try and talk to Tessa. She has an attitude problem and doesn't like when people address her.

[codytwo]

sorry tessa.

hi andrew. How's the radio show?

[bballarl]

Good, I haven't done it in two weeks. Hopefully it's streaming again so we can do it this week. I still have your request written down.