BURNING DOWN THE HOUSE
A Reunited Raspberries

House of Blues in Cleveland decided to go all the way with its grand opening in November. Club officials convinced the Raspberries—a Cleveland-formed band—to reunite for their first show in 30 years at HOB.

Original members Eric Carmen, Wally Bryson, Jim Bonfanti, and Dave Smalley will team up on Nov. 26 at House of Blues, which is located at East Fourth Street and Euclid Avenue. Raspberries had their biggest hit (No. 5) with "Go All the Way" in 1972, but enjoyed other hits, such as "Overnight Sensation" and "I Wanna Be With You" before that disbanded four years later.

Despite its name, House of Blues books just about every kind of music—rock, soul, country, comedy, industrial rock, and emo. Booked so far: RatDog with Bob Weir and the Neville Brothers (Nov. 19-20); Better Than Ezra with Mindy Smith and Pat McGee (Nov. 21); Dierks Bentley (Nov. 22); Ministry and My Life With Thrill Kill Kult (Nov. 23); DJ Dan and Christopher Lawrence (Nov. 25); and Less Paul and His Trio (Nov. 27).

Also headed to HOB: Marilyn Manson (Nov. 29); George Thorogood (Nov. 30); Lewis Black (Dec. 1); Alkaline Trio and Bouncing Souls (Dec. 2); soul great Al Green (Dec. 3, 4); and Edwin McCain (Dec. 6).

Tickets for all the above go on sale Saturday at 10 a.m. via Ticketmaster. The club will also offer weekly gospel music brunches with live music on Sundays.

Cleveland's HOB will feature a capacity of 1,100 in its music room. The interior strives for a Cleveland "yesteryear" look, and will feature plenty of folk art, as well as a general-admission dance floor, seated boxes, and state-of-the-art sound. Another event room, the Parish, has more of a British Victorian feel.

HOB is also known for its traditional Southern meals, such as voodoo shrimp and Creole seafood jambalya.

Cleveland becomes the eighth city with an HOB. For more details on the club, check www.hob.com/cleveland.

Rockerie.com / October 4, 2004