Theatre of The Living Arts

334 South St, Philadelphia, PA 19147, USA

Address:	334 South St, Philadelphia, PA 19147, USA
Phone:	+1 215-922-1011
Site:	venue.tlaphilly.com
Rating:	4.1

Location

Photos 100

Reviews 4

Natalie Voltaire

This place is horrible. I will never come back here. I have been to small, independent venues in many cities and I have never had an issue with any one but this one. I went to a sold out show so I expected it to be packed, but not to the point that I could barely move. It was tiny and there was no space outside the concert room. The merch tables (and the lines for said merch tables) took up 70% of what little room there was. We had to hop around or walk in a single file line to pass through. Then in the concert room we were packed like sardines. The bathroom was the size of my closest. (It literally may have even been a bit smaller than my closet) The ceiling was leaking all over the place I had some dirty water drip in my hair twice. To make things worse, they have this stupid rule that the entire upstairs is limited to those who are 21 and over, meanwhile this was a pop punk show where the majority of the crowd is under 21. So that means we were all packed shoulder to shoulder from wall to wall while we are being denied entry to the far less crowded balcony. It was only about 13rd full. If it cost extra, I would have been happy to pay. Most of us are college and high school students with money from our parents, college, or part time jobs and have almost no serious bills or major financial responsibilities yet (at least not until we graduate). We have plenty of cash to spend on a better section. They could have sectioned off just one side of the balcony for the over 21 crowd instead of the whole thing. Every venue I have ever been to has just put an x on the back of our hands, I have never been banished from an entire floor of the venue for being underage. That is a very bad choice on managements part. I get that you dont make much money from us because you want those alcohol sales but us under 21 crowds are still paying customers and we deserve a sense of comfort as well. My back was killing me because I have a bulging disc (yes, 20 years old with a bulging disc) and all I needed was somewhere with enough space (the balcony) to lean over and stretch out my back throughout the night. And to get away from the intensity of the squeezing and pushing crowd that was putting more pressure on it. I literally couldnt do that until I left the venue (early btw because I got frustrated and couldnt stand there anymore). I was in positions where I was on my tip toes, people were stepping on me, I was stepping on people. We were all leaning on each other in uncomfortable positions. People were complaining about the lack of space. It was one of the worst concert experiences I have ever had. Which sucks because all the bands were amazing. I wish I could have enjoyed it.

Becky Waugh

So i have "meet & greet" tickets for a concert tomorrow and i have been trying to contact them since Monday to get the specific details i need so i know when to be there & literally all the details regarding the meet & greet part of this, ive called every number i can find, ive filled out multiple "contact us" forms to resolve this as well as calling customer support multiple times and all they said they could do is fill out the same form. I was so excited for the concert and now its more stressful then anything because i have no idea what i am to do or when i should be there. This is my first concert and its definitely not a good first impression of this place and they way they run things and customer service is a total waste of time. I dont normally write reviews but this is just so absurd and a paying customer like myself should not have to go through all of this just to get information that should be available to us at anytime. Im really hoping the concert is absolutely amazing to make up for the nonsense i am going through just to get information i paid for. Ive worked in customer service for years on end and have never not been able to at least try to help my customers or give them actually answers, especially when they need it to do what they paid for! Ive read alot of positive reviews and will write another one for the concert itself but as far at pre-concert information and customer service i rate not even a full star. They really need to reevaluate their communication between affiliated companies and actually customers bc we should NOT under any circumstances be left in the dark like this, especially not even a full day before the event!!!

Brian P

This experience took place January of 2016. Ive been to hundreds of concerts throughout my life and been to venues around the country. Ive never encountered worst bouncers than at this location. You dont need big tough guys as bouncers. Instead hire people who know how to treat your patrons who paid a lot of money for entry and then buy goods once inside as well. Customer service and respect is important at the venue. The artist is thoroughly entertaining your patrons. 90% of the job is done. All you have to do is facilitate entry, maintain order, and serve your customers. Customer service is paramount. It still boggles my mind how venues keep hiring these big bouncers who try to intimidate, abuse their little power, and be complete assholes. They wouldnt listen to reason because only what they say matters and they cant be wrong. Mistaken identity is an impossibility to them. Not only was I removed from the venue for no reason but they went as far as to follow me into a completely different establishment and talk to their bouncer in order to make my Philly experience a complete disaster. I will avoid this venue like the plague. Speak to the best venues in the country like the 9:30 Club in DC or the Black Cat or the Music Hall of Williamsburg they know how to hire friendly people and will keep guests coming back. Even if Im on the fence about an artist I will still go to those venues because I know it will be a great experience. I noticed several people in the reviews mentioned rude staff and aggressive bouncers around the same time I went. So its obviously a reoccurring thing.

A Private User

Went to see KMFDM here and was not happy. First the show was overpriced...Ive seen better bands at half the price at other venues like the Troc. Second, they wont let you outside and then back in, so if youre a smoker, youre going to nic fit all over your friends before the nights over. Third, the staff seems to have an attitude. As I was going in the door the guy that felt me up mumbled something about no re-entry with his head turned and sent me through. Maybe thats how they do it in the ghetto, but if youre going to say something, look at me and stop mumbling so I can at least understand what youre saying. Then I go inside and the bar is on the left. I head for the bar and the guy says I need to go to the other end of the bar to get my hand stamped with an attitude...like Im supposed to know their silly policies. Just bad vibes from the staff. Forth, the balcony was closed so there was no where available to sit at all. Fifth, the beer was overpriced. For a local draft in a cup about the size of one of those popular red party cups it was $7. I was broke long before the show ended, I was tired from standing, I was tired of the attitude and was glad just to get outside to get a smoke. If you like the feeling of getting imprisoned and raped physically, mentally and financially then youll love this place. The only reason I gave it the two stars I did was because the sound is pretty good and its not a bad venue in and of itself, its just the management, policies and staff that make this place suck so bad.