Address: 334 South St, Philadelphia, PA 19147, USA
Phone: +12159221011
Rating: 4.4
based on 245 reviews.
Staff and Security
Pros:
"The staff were all incredibly kind, happy and friendly."
"Security did thorough checks which made me feel safe."
"Great staff, super friendly and helpful."
"I want to start out by saying the staff at the TLA are an AMAZING group of people."
"Favorite venue. Security is always respectful, bar staff does a great job, sound crew always does their job just right, a very well run venue overall."
"The security and management team were absolutely amazing. They care about the safety of the ppl inside of the venue."
"The staff are always super friendly and very good at making sure everyone is safe."
Cons:
"The worst concert venue in philly for someone with any kind of anxiety."
"Absolutely terrible security that does not know the ADA laws concerning diabetics."
"So generally speaking staff was terrible. They were not clear on instructions and would make contradictory statements."
"I’ve never seen such a disrespectful staff in my life. I saw a female worker (with an ugly tribal tattoo on her upper arm) literally shove some random girl out of her way for no reason."
"Great venue, great talent, TERRIBLE staff. This girl was clearly on a power trip."
"Bouncers for the bar were more rude than I usually expect, even being sober!"
"One woman security guard in particular, I’ve noticed on more than one occasion, has a propensity to escalate situations and respond rudely to questions when it’s completely unnecessary."
Venue Layout and Accessibility
Pros:
"The venue is small and intimate, yet gives a big stage feel."
"Beautiful space for an intimate concert. There are 2 levels so you can choose to be on the slanted floor in front of the stage, or head upstairs for a different view."
"Awesome venue, perfect size, you can hangout in the middle of the crowd or stay far back and still enjoy the concert."
"Stage is easy to see from anywhere in the venue and, while small, the bathroom is in an obvious and accessible place."
"It's right on South Street so there are great places to eat within walking distance and if you search for parking on side streets you can even park for free."
"The floors are also slanted so you stand a little higher in the back then you do in the front which really helps and allows you to see the stage better without your view being blocked by other peoples heads."
"The floor is spacious. It leaves a lot of room to get up close and personable with the bands."
Cons:
"It's a square, hard room so the sound wasn't perfect."
"Confusing layout, every which way I turned I was told it was VIP areas."
"The venue inside was small which isn't always bad except here. The bathroom was more like a hallway."
"The ADA area is a joke. This theater is not suitable to treat individuals with disability."
"Venue definitely sells way too many tickets for the size of the venue. When you have people packed into the hallways, blocking bathrooms, etc it’s definitely a safety concern."
"Super small venue for shows… not ideal for people who are vertically challenged."
"The acoustic and listening situation is bad, and the hallways you have to navigate in order to get from the front to the back of the venue are so narrow and packed with people that it's not even worth trying to use the ONLY bathroom on the first floor."
Atmosphere and Experience
Pros:
"I just saw Eric B and Rakim there, which after thirty years of not touring together, was pretty exciting and legendary!"
"One of the best experiences I had goin to see Queen Naija perform here."
"An amazing place. I will always prefer this place because it is a smaller venue."
"The whole place comes alive...."
"This is the best grimiest music venue on South Street."
"One of my favorite venues. Great energy. Great acts."
"The TLA is a staple venue within the Philadelphia live music community. Located on South Street—a Philly hot spot—the TLA hosts a wide variety of shows 7 days a week!"
Cons:
"Less than quality sound and overpriced beer for the size."
"The air was stifling and for lack of a better term, musty."
"For some unknown reason they decided air conditioning was not essential on an 80 degree humid day."
"However I do wish they would not allow people to smoke/vape during shows(ain't nobody got time for that!)"
"Horrible venue!!! The conditions were terrible! Went to see the Fratellis on 5/15 and it was so hot that you could have fried an egg on Jon Fratellis’s hat."
"Filthy place - ceiling falling down in multiple locations, lights falling off the ceiling with unknown splotches of stains."
"The show was clearly oversold as it was impossible to even move into the main standing area - people were jammed shoulder to shoulder as far out as the lobby."