JJ’s Blues

Very glad to see good live music in San Jose, especially blues and funk! I saw Rebelskamp play here on Saturday, they were awesome and I’ll definitely be back next time they play! Before the band came on they had dj music, really bad hip hop (and I like hiphop, but this was all bad) so, frankly, it was relieving when the band came onstage because, well, I was at a Blue’s bar, after all. Good beer selection, nice dark atmosphere. More live blues and funk, please! Less crappy dj music!

Woohoo I’m the 100^th reviewer! If I had to choose 1 thing that I love the most about JJ’s (it’s hard to choose between the location, easy parking, or the music) I would of course choose THE MUSIC! There’s nothing near by that comes close to the bands that JJ’s brings in, almost every night, super inexpensive for people to enjoy. I love the accessibility of the music, and I love the location because there’s plenty going on around JJ’s. I found out about this hole-​in-​the-​wall bar through a friend, and I would have probably passed right by it without my friends giving rave reviews about JJ’s. They are located next to Escape from New York Pizza so it’s a convenient pairing for some beer.
To give you an idea about some of the scenes: the first time I went was a major party, the second time I went was more of a Jazz night, sometimes I go to blues shows there and of course if you go before 7 pm you could get some quiet drinking time in. I feel like the place is pretty well run (night bathrooms, tons of different liquors, good security and lots of music. And the bartenders are pretty delightful.

some of the best talent plays here l the weekend. and during the week open mic. what’s good is that open night alternates between karaōke and random people banging bongos, playing bass, drums, always room for a singer.
no experience required — anyone can play the fool !

One of my favorite places!
If you want to spend a nice evening listening to great music you should come to JJ’s. Nice ambiance, great crowd and better service with a full bar. There’s also plenty of parking.
You can never beat a great night out with friends listening to good music and having good drinks in a friendly and cool environment.

I went last Saturday night to hear Alan Eglesias and Crossfire at the new JJ’s. I’d heard about the remodel and new «sound system» and was excited to hear the music. I’d been following Alan for 8 years and always look forward when he comes to town.
Well, the sound system may be new, but the volume was so !@#$% tooooooooo loud, it ruined the night. It was PAINFULLY LOUD. My girlfriend and I grabbed the napkins [from New York Pizza — good slices] and stuffed our ears. We looked around and everyone in front of the bar was doing the same thing.
GABRIEL, why does it have to be too loud??? Did you see half the crowd leave after the first break? You are losing business because of the volume being an 11. Do you understand the word DISTORTION??? As in not being able to understand Alan’s singing!!! This really sucked and we left as well at the first break feeling exhausted. Hello? EAR FATIGUE !!! If the volume was down by 25−30%, especially in the beginning, we could warm up to the sound and you slowly increase the volume thru out the night when the drinks start working. Instead of letting an old guy set the volume, let a younger person with good hearing set the board !!!
Until this changes, I can’t go back. Too bad… Such an easy fix.

This place is cool because they have music but it’s too loud for your own good. Then they re-​vamped the inside and eric I were walking home from Santana row one night and stopped in to get one last drink and they tried to change us $ 20 a head … It’s 12:45am.
Uhhhh no thanks. Who in the world needs to pay $ 20 for any kind of cover… Ever. Especially a dive???

This place is pretty awesome.
The owner seems like a really cool friendly guy and the bartenders are some of the best.
They have interactive karaōke every Tuesday where you get to do karaōke with a live band and they have tons of musical equipment up for grabs for anyone to use and rock out at karaōke too.
Its not your usual karaōke thats for sure.
The place is pretty small but they sure make you feel at home.
Its historical, its nostalgic, they have great performers here and I suggest you check this place out

I wish I could rate this place on the music only but here’s the deal; Drinks are WAY over priced and watered down. Ordered a Hurricane that was 95% fruit juice. So I ordered an extra shot. $ 19! Robbed!

The real JJ’s is now a thing of the old school self! Decades of great Blues, strong drinks and a core family like long time close crowd now moving over for the new generation and modern more contemporary music. Good bye JJ’s…good bye 70’s/80’s!

I have never given any place one star. but I would give this place minus stars, if I could.
I went once a few months ago, the music was too loud, parking was a pain in the backside, the bartender wasn’t super friendly (which I get, listening to the same songs over and over again gets old) and got a cocktail in a chipped glass. I would expect nothing less!
Flashforward to the other night. I heard they did a full remodel and had new owners. Alright, let’s see if it has the same sort of charm. biggest mistake of my night, maybe even my life.
Pros: plenty of parking on the street.
Cons: the overwhelming smell of vomit the second you walk through the door. we almost walked out! But we ordered one shot to split, which was $ 10 (I’m not even sure he rang it up) and it was served in an actual shot glass. only to the line.
It was too quiet. The band just finished their «short set» and the bartender’s iPod died (not that we would have stayed long enough to hear a full song anyway).
There were empty glasses, candles, gel air fresheners and snack trays everywhere. There was only one person in there, it should be spotless. if you’re leaning, you could be cleaning. The bartender should just light a match, drop it into a bottle of 151 and burn the place to the ground.
I will never go back.
I feel ripped off and I still smell vomit.

Its a cool spot some nights… hit and miss like most bars. Know what you want to drink before she gets to you… she dont play. Mix of 30s to 50s in the bar a few times i have been recently

NEVER GO TO JJS BLUES… worst service ever. the bartender is beyond a bitch… she is soo rude. NEVER go here! if i could give it a negative star i would… she treated me and my friends so badly we will never be back.
The music sucks as its NOT blues as it used to be when elecktra worked there and booked the bands. wow! JJS BLUES. RIP!
The new owners trot around and serve themselves drinks all night and are drunk at the end of the night. ugh! not smart business people and now it looks like there are prostitutes hanging around out front!
NEVER GOING BACK! RIP JJS BLUES!

Its small & the venue is shaped badly. No room to have a good time really. The female bartender is rude, the guy is cool though. Good drinks however. Parking is bad too. And aside from the pimp outside & his underage prostitutes performing services 15 feet from the front door, i guess this place gets 3 stars

ZERO STAR!!! The new owner turned this blues bar totally into a VERY NOISY Disco night club. They ignore all complaints from neighbors, create lots of parking troubles in neighborhood. These late night customers are loud and drunk, making lots of noise till 2AM every day. The sound well exceeds the allowable decibel limit in Santa Clara. The management must figure out a way to fix these issues!

Drinks are sooo weak and overpriced, is it an extension of Santana Row?
sure don’t look like it.
Music is OK but really $ 80 bar tab and I wasn’t even remote buzzed WTF
John

Great bar, bad price point. The atmosphere here is chill. Mature crowd — 40ishes. Friendly bartender. Karaōke singers sprinkled thru the crowd. Would’ve stayed but, daaayuummm… $ 25! for 2 shots and 1 beer??? No, thank u.

Thank god for the new owners! JJ’s is clean, priced right and my new favorite place to be! Don’t let the location fool you… this is an absolute gold mine that speaks to the dive lovers as well as the classy folk. If you’re looking for great music and a great, friendly atmosphere, this is the place to be!

There’s only one reason I used to go there, and her name is Elecktra.
When she put the word out, dozens of my friends would show up to listen to great music and see her sling drinks with personality. 7 years.
Today I hear she was fired by the new owners on her first day via text-​message.
So long JJ’s, or whatever you’re calling yourself now.
We’re done with you. WTF

This establishment needs to seriously consider implementing some sort of noise dampening. There have been multiple complaints from nearby residents, but the business simply ignores these complaints. Reports to law enforcement are ineffective since about 20 minutes after police show up the music is blasting again with the door wide open. The sound well exceeds the allowable decibel limit in Santa Clara. Fuckers are blasting it past 12AM on a daily basis.

I love a good blues bar especially a small, dive kinda place. This place is definitely a dive. I accompanied 2 of my friends who are locals and i was just in from the east coast and was craving some live music. Sometimes when you walk into a dive bar, and your not a regular. you get a bad vibe.
Despite me not being a regular the vibe was friendly and welcoming. The music was great !!!
I did notice that the bar was not stocked very well. On purpose? To keep the fancy and picky away? IDK
It could use a little love… a little paint, or even just a little cleaning… especially the bathrooms.
You can see what it provides… great music for music lovers… but even the most humble of patrons will get tired of the run down feel after a while… the music shouldn’t be the only thing to heal the soul and lift you up.
Id return in a heartbeat… but I hope they look at these reviews and try to draw from it… because people really seem love this place and they want to come here often… but you can’t run a thriving blues club in this day and age with lack of attention given to arts and culture and not have something to offer other than wonderful soulful music.
Much love happy little bar.