The House of Blues is an antiquated notion. Sure, both the venue and its name carry loads of history via a single utterance, but in the current music landscape it no longer holds the sway it once did.
As rock transitions into its twilight years and comes to grips with the fact that rock, and specifically the type of rock that once filled the walls of the House of Blues, is primarily the music of dads and uncles, it stands to reason that the places that housed that music would have to transition as well. In general, the House of Blues has done this in the most obvious, but most effective way possible, it turned rock into a theme park attraction.
To some degree, it was always about the brand if you were a rock band. It was often important to project the rock’n’roll lifestyle to prove that you were really living the dream, much in the same way that many well established hip-hop artists still project an “in the streets” image despite having been rich for years. There’s nothing wrong with this, we all know Rick Ross was a corrections officer and not a drug kingpin, and some of the stories we’ve heard about rockstars are certainly overblown, but the House of Blues is where you go to believe that those stories are true.
Now, some of the stories are true. The amount of drug use by bands like Guns n’ Roses and Black Sabbath was absolutely staggering, and the afterparties even more so. Looking back on that time, it’s not difficult to picture Queensrÿche and John 5 joining in on the wild festivities, and their onstage presence suggests as much.
Queensrÿche, perhaps best known for their 1988 concept record Operation: Mindcrime which solidified them as a household name in both prog and power metal. Has a long history of high flying performances and soaring musicality. A remnant of a bygone era, Queensrÿche embodies the old school spirit of rock and metal, back when the genre was fun and in the moment, as opposed to the more introspective or dour versions of the genre offered by today’s musicians.
Supporting Queensrÿche is John 5 and The Creatures. John 5, who has been the guitarist for acts such as Rob Zombie and Marilyn Manson, is arguably one of the last guitar gods of the modern era, and is opening for Queensrÿche during their tour.
Just because they don’t make rock like this anymore doesn’t mean you can’t see rock like this. Not everything has to be so serious all of the time, sometimes it’s nice to just hop on the rollercoaster and get taken for a wild ride.
Location: The House of Blues Anaheim
Address: 400 W Disney Way Suite 337, Anaheim, CA 92802
Photo Credit: Ekaterina Gorbacheva
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