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| - This was a great venue to view a live concert, especially since they still have reserved seating, something that has all but disappeared from smaller music venues. I like the property, I like the staff, the acoustics were great and it was a pleasant experience. I do have a caveat for those attending shows there however- particularly people who buy their tickets online at Live Nation or Ticketmaster with the intent of printing their tickets at home.
If you print your tickets online and are offered the "Pass the Line" option, don't buy it. It's not necessary. At the House of Blues home page, it clearly states that all a person has to do is present a receipt from the restaurant or gift shop in order to automatically receive priority entrance into the music hall. This is true at all HOB locations in the USA, per their website. Furthermore if like me you purchase assigned seating tickets, there really is no need for priority entrance. Those who have General Admission/Standing Room Only tickets will have a priority, as they can get into the music hall faster and secure a better place to watch the show.
Since I did not visit the HOB website to purchase my ticket to a recent show at the Las Vegas HOB, I was not aware of this option until after the fact. I went to Tickemaster/LiveNation and bought the ticket there. During the check out process, an icon for "Pass the Line" popped up with an offer. Buy a Pass the Line voucher in advance online, and receive not just the priority entrance, but also $20 on the voucher good towards purchase in the restaurant or gift shop. I took it because I already knew I would be eating dinner at HOB before the show. The voucher did not provide anything at a discount or for free, and in fact it is restrictive because it has to be used the night of the performance. It really isn't anything more than HOB finding a way to receive payment for a meal or gift shop purchase well in advance. Good marketing, but not good value for the consumer. I bit anyway- that was a mistake. After the ticket and the $20 voucher were paid for, I received an email link to print my ticket. Upon printing I discovered that the printout includes a coupon for $10 off a restaurant meal purchase(s) of $25 or more. The verbiage does not state it is not for the date of the ticketed performance, or excludes that performance, nor does it state that it cannot be combined with any other offer. It is blatantly an attempt to get concert goers to eat at the restaurant, period.
So I took my receipt for the prepaid voucher to the box office and was issued the voucher. I also had the $10 off offer on the printout with me. When I presented the voucher worth $20 in conjunction with the printed meal discount offer, I was told they could not be used together, that the discount was for a future date as in incentive for people to return to dine. I disagreed and said there was no verbiage to that effect. I spoke to the manager, and explained that not only was the verbiage not present, but also the $20 voucher I tendered as payment was not a freebie or a comp, I paid the $20 in advance. In other words, I was not getting anything for free by using it. The manager attempted to tell me that was the fee to get past the line and onto the VIP line, at which point I pointed out that there was nothing special, as I could have merely dined and obtained a receipt, and presented the receipt with my ticket as proof of dining. The manager abruptly relented and stated he would honor both because he "wants me to have a good time at the concert." I don 't necessarily believe that was his true motive, but it works for me.
The moral of the story is that if you are planning on dining at HOB prior to the show, just pay for your dinner when you get there.
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