Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Open Letter to House of Blues

Dear House of Blues,

I used to really like you, but now I feel it’s time to reevaluate our relationship. And yes, possibly break up. You’ve done me wrong, and you’ve done me wrong twice. I was excited for Flogging Molly, even did early entry by eating at your restaurant. I was hoping to score a bench to sit on, as I know you are very selective about these seats. No such luck, I had to lean up against the wall for general admission. I stood there for hours waiting for the show to start. I sacrificed the necessities in life, such as drink and bathroom, in order to not lose my semiprecious spot. When the show started, Flogging Molly did not fail me, but House of Blues, you sure did. Even though moshing is contractually “not allowed”, you still allowed it to happen. A girl stood in front of me and threatened that she was going to “elbow in” my face, and then ran into the mosh pit that slowly made its way to me. I did not enjoy feel scared of being smooched, punched or trampled, and I didn’t think my Dad who was with me, would appreciate it either. I went to see Flogging Molly, not to feel unsafe in my concert environment. Will I be back? What do you think? I should mention that since the show was sold out, there was nowhere to move to escape.

I did have to go back though, because I already had tickets to see Modest Mouse two days later. I chose to arrive a little later, so I could have a little drink in me, and get the bathroom out of the way, since this was also a sold out show. Although still getting there well before Modest Mouse took stage (an hour before), there was no place to see them. We looked everywhere. We stood by the stairs, but with cross traffic that was impossible. We stood in a corner that quickly filled up. There was a TV above us that would have been a good alternative, however the TV was either off or broken. Many TV’s were not on that night. We had to move to the less crowded upstairs. I would think for the amount of money I paid for my ticket, the least you could do is provide me a location in which I could see the show. The back of heads and the occasional peak at the stage when someone moves their head does not count.

-Rachel