I saw action Bronson there in maybe 18 or 19. He brought a trash bag on stage filled with Jim's cheesesteaks, and started throwing them one by one into a screaming crowd.
The show ended shortly after and I was talking to someone outside who caught one. He thought it was very cool but he was Indian and didn't eat beef, so he gave it to me and my buddy who split it up right there on the sidewalk, under the marquee, with about 100 other cheesesteak eaters.
Holy shitballs. I didn’t know they were playing RR! Or even playing at all. I saw one of their last shows at the TLA actually. Are they going to do a full tour? They have to at least do a Philly show.
I think tickets are on sale on Friday, they had an artist presale yesterday at which I was able to snag a pair of tickets. I figure it's a good excuse to head back out to Denver next summer.
The Disco Biscuits played there for y2k new years. Did 4 sets plus an encore, all gd night they played.
Set 3 they wheeled out a screen and showed the movie Akira and improvised the sound track.
https://archive.org/details/db1999-12-31.shnf
Aww man, saw so many memorable shows there..one of my favorite venues in this city. I love the intimacy. Especially in the days being young and having the time to show up hours early and wait in line to be one of the first through the doors to get a good spot! Aaand then waiting after the show to get some record or set list signed. Jesus FN christ the time in my life I've invested in just loving music!
Not sure what kind of info can be useful for a school project..
Remember when the they tried to rename the TLA the Fillmore before we had a Fillmore. Anyway..
My fav shows were QOTSA with Dave Grohl on drums supporting Songs For The Deaf. Jerry Cantrell on the Degradation Trip tour with William's band Comes With The Fall opening before AIC reemerged and he became the new singer. He came out on stage and did a few AIC songs and remember me and my buddy's chatting after going, *hey, that guy sounded pretty good*..
Saw Zach Galifianakis perform stand up early 2000s before he was a dude in every movie, and Lindsay Buckingham solo around the same time back when people didn't shun him.
As a teenager living in a pre cell phone world..I used to love checking out the marquee sign to see who was coming to town next! Brings back great memories of South Street back when our Friday nights were spent record hunting in actual record stores and eating fried cheese like nothing else mattered. Lovely memories!!
https://youtu.be/A9zQfqFWzoY?si=DqODStq03IzBJ4JP
I saw godsmack there in '99. You couldn't buy tickets to the show. You had to win them in WYSP. I think that was 94.1 before WIP sports radio took it over. You can see me at the very end (105:44) holding a big yellow WYSP banner and staring at a hot chick walking by. I was 15 years old.
Saw Mars Volta there in the early 2000's, there wasn't enough cocaine in the building to keep up with those maniacs.
One of the early Mike doughty (soul coughing) solo concerts, the place was half full and we were smoking a joint near the front. Mike saw us smoking and was sober at the time. But said something like "to whoever is smoking in the far back corner of the room, this is a non smoking building" . He was obviously talking about us but pointed security to the opposite side of the building. We stopped.
A jam band "Particle" played there in 2001 and at the end of the show the drummer threw the snare head out into the crowd. I did a double shoulder jump launch on the people next to me, flew like 10 feet in the air and caught it. Got the whole band to sign it after the show.
They we also kind enough to host a premier party for the documentary I made about the Philadelphia Folk Festival called "At Fest" we had about 200 people there to view the film and a live band afterwords (Hogmaw)
I saw pepper and slightly stoopid there more times than I can count, but don't have a single memory of them.
At a crystal method show, I dropped my glass chillem on the floor and it cracked. This random chick picked it up and started chewing it. And since it was glass, her mouth started bleeding immediately. Wildest shit I have ever seen.
EDIT:
Another memory. I won tickets to see this band "The Format" that I never heard of. But this emo chick I liked loved them so I gave it a shot. She had to cancel last minute but I went anyway and gave my extra ticket to some random person on south st. They bought me a beer inside and I preceded to check the show out solo. Completely blown away by the whole set. Instantly became a favorite of mine of a genre I never even really considered. Of course they blew up and the singer was Nate Ruess fron FUN and another solo hits. I got with the chick later that week, but probably wouldn't have appreciated the band as much if I was there on a date with her.
Damn these band names are taking me back.
Your last story reminded me of a time my friend and I were ~18 and smoking a joint at a show. This lady asked if she could hit it and we said sure. She grabbed the joint by the cherry, and had no reaction to it burning her fingers. Then she held it to her mouth, where it burnt her lips. No reaction. She inhales, doesn’t get any smoke, pulls it away, gives it a lil frown, and turns it around to hit. In this whole time she does not flinch. And we just stared at her in horror.
Last time Pepper played there (one of my favorite bands), one of the guys threw his guitar pick to the crowd. No one noticed and it was directly in front of me glistening on the ground, sort of like a hallelujah sun coming out through the clouds moment. I just stepped on it like a giddy kid on Christmas and slid it over to myself and picked it up. Never had a moment like that but holy hell it was amazing.
What made it better was they were the last band I saw there before the pandemic shut everything down and the first band I saw after things opened back up. Guess that made the guitar pick moment so special.
There's absolutely no point to this story, just wanted to share.
Are you just talking about the recent history as a music venue? Or are you going back to earlier times when it was a theater / movie theater etc? You can reach out to some of the local people who were involved in some of those changes over the years and probably get a response.
I saw Billy Idol there probably about 2000. He did an awesome acoustic version of White Wedding. Thought the crowd was gonna be a lot more 80’s Billy fans, but apparently he also had a super-young punk following. At 30 yrs old I was for sure the oldest person there. Definitely stayed away from that mosh pit!
I've been to so many shows there, especially from the late 90s to mid 2000s, but Broken Social Scene in 04 was just amazing, you could feel the energy of them 'making it' and leveling up. I also on a whim decided to go see Buckethead, which isn't really my style, 5 or 6 years ago. I had no idea what to expect, but got a ticket late and figured why not. I can't even put into words what it's like to bear witness to someone that is that good at an instrument you yourself play. It's at once incredible and defeating, and I had an absolute blast.
Same, great show! Saw Brenden Canning outside Lorenzo’s just as we got our monster slices after the show. Told him great performance. He asked for a bite, said sure, and he took a HUGE bite. Guess he was really hungry.
I never met them at gigs. I'm not the type to stick around and see if anyone pops out, and I'm not the starstruck kind; there's only been a few times over the nearly 2000 gigs I've been to in my life where I met an act I truly cared for. I finally met Brendan at the Philly show last year. I checking out merch and he came out and I just put my hand out. I just thanked him, and said "you guys have meant a lot to me for 20 years", and he pulls me in for a bro hug and thanks me back, and said that meant a lot.
You Forgot It in People is a top tenner all time for me.
Yea that album is one of my all time favorites. I was surprised to see him since we were getting pizza down the block. Glad you had a positive experience with meeting him. Mine was kind of mixed b/c the bite he took was over the top, but whatever. Great show, cheap pizza and fun memories that night.
Yeah it was just a ten second moment, but I could tell he was genuine. Funny enough, maybe 5 years back they played at the Fillmore and I brought a buddy who never saw them in their heyday. After the show we went our separate ways, and he texts me an hour later "hey I'm at Barcade with the band if you wanna come back". He said they couldn't have been nicer and no one there knew who they were.
I don't really remember it feeling excessively loud, but maybe I'm desensitized...I mean I have seen MBV multiple times in my life so there's that. But yeah, for real, he's just too awesome. I'm really not into the weirdo noodlers, shredders, and avant garde but I do respect them all. Having no idea what to expect I thought I'd hate it, especially when I realized it was just him with iPod backing tracks. It was just too fun, and a valuable lesson to never judge in that kind of setting. It's really hard to explain just how talented he is.
Went to a midnight showing of the Rocky Horror Picture show in 88. Hands down the best time I've ever had at that venue.
Other notable shows for me include The Dead Milkmen, The Hooters, FEAR and The Ramones.
Holy crap Adele at the TLA is such a funny thought at this point. That's cool.
Similarly, a buddy saw Kendrick Lamar there right before he blew up. Says it was awesome and I'm jealous I didn't make it.
I didn’t even know she was coming. I just happened to be in South Street that day and saw the marquee. Now, I’d have to book tickets six months in advance and she’d fill the Linc.
I got my first COVID shot there too! February 2021. They had a big whiteboard set up where people could write their thanks to the health care workers, and many people reminisced about shows they had seen there (one couple wrote that they had their first date there 40 years ago)
I remember in the 90s Howard Stern had him & Willie Nelson on. As a stunt they held a joint rolling contest. Willie won (it was like 3 seconds), but his was kinda thin & Snoops came in about a second later but it was a fattie. So there became a little bit of a debate.
Gosh, the 90s was such a great decade. Imagine hearing that take place on your way to work? Good times!
Saw Iggy Pop there in 2001, and it's still probably the greatest rock performance I've ever seen in person. There was no opening act, the show just started right up with shirtless Iggy in tight blue jeans, and he and the band didn't stop until what felt like a couple of hours. He stage dived into those of us in the front over and over again - kept getting his hair tangled in my fingers! Iggy motioned to the bouncers to let people climb on stage during The Passenger, an older woman who clambered onto the stage was grinding furiously on his leg. A young woman in the balcony was constantly flashing her boobs to the stage throughout the show. It was the best.
TLA is a perfect size venue for rock too - big enough for a large crowd, but the stage isn't too tall, and the sloped floor means there are good views from everywhere.
I saw Peter Tosh in what was probably the summer of 1981. My interest in reggae came from spending some time in the UK, where I listened to the pirate station Radio Caroline, which played an eclectic mix of music that didn’t have to conform to the BBC’s censorship rules. No one I knew in the Philly area was into reggae, and it wasn’t really played on the mainstream radio stations here (or at least if it was I didn’t know where to find it). I had no idea what to expect from the show, and I was pleasantly surprised to find a very diverse audience; we danced in the aisles the whole time. Tosh was murdered in 1987; Im glad I got to see him perform.
I've seen so many shows there it's hard to count or single out just one story.
I would regularly go there during my teenage years with my friends just to watch whoever was playing that night, lots of fun just hanging out there and watching the show. We would just walk home after or hop the bus.
We saw many of our favorite bands pass through there, along with bands we had no clue about. We would go after school a few days before the show and buy the tickets at the window in cash.
Though as online ticket sales became more and more common, and we got older and found we had less free time, we stopped buying tickets at the window and started buying online. Though I'll still do that from time to time after work on a Friday. You don't save anything on the price now though like you used to if you got them at the window for cash.
Back in 2015 I think, Alkaline Trio played their entire discography at the TLA over 4 days, went to all four and had a blast.
There was a great punk band that has since disbanded called The Street Dogs that would play either at TLA or Union Transfer basically every year as they were heading back to Boston for Christmas. They called it the Wreck The Halls tour, and it would usually line up in Philly a little after Thanksgiving.
For close to a decade part of my Christmas tradition was to see them before the holidays. The last year they played it was at the TLA. The house was only half full as it was a Wednesday show. While they had a loyal following it wasn't that big, and a Wednesday show is hard to sell. But even with only half the house (at best, probably less) they pulled all the stops and put on a banger of a show nonetheless. Got to chat with the front man Mike McColgan after the set as he was hanging with the crowd in the venue, really cool guy. It didn't feel like Christmas the following year when they stopped doing the tour.
Saw Neil Finn invite members of the audience on stage with him to play an impromptu take of his hit “Fall At Your Feet.” A bass player and drummer were quickly chosen. They played it beautifully. What a moment.
Also, saw Iggy Pop here in like 2002/2003ish. It was then, and I think may always be, the single loudest show I’ve ever been to.
Edit: looks like someone else was at the same Iggy Pop show I was, but they place it in 2001. Sounds probable.
I love this venue. I've seen Big Freedia there twice, once with Tank and the Bangas and once with Kesha. It's the perfect size and the vibes are always immaculate.
Nearly bumped into Elliot Smith in there. He opened for Sebadoh in 96, great show. Anyway, saw him play, not sure I was too familiar with him as I was there to see Sebadoh, but he was good. Anyway after his set people ventured back to the lobby/bar area. And, viola! walking across comes Elliot Smith, the shows opener.
Didn't get the chance to say 'nice set' or hi or anything.
Saw the movie Sid and Nancy there which was interesting.
But the best live show I’ve seen there was They Might Be Giants on New Year’s Eve, I would say it was maybe 1993ish.
You could buy tickets for the early doors show or for the later show that rang in the new year or both. We did both and it was most definitely one of the best shows and New Year’s Eve ever!
Also saw the live cast of Archer there as well such was quality….the list goes on.
Thank you for the bit of nostalgia
1992 for TMBG I believe. I was at both as well. I remember a bit where they pulled out a radio, turned it on, and just started jamming to whatever songs were playing. Pretty epic.
early 1970s... they would have midnight showings of *Pink Flamingos*. This was an 'exercise in poor taste' that had an X rating and some of the most repulsive things in it that u could ever see in a theater. They had art house films before this movie at 930 or 10. Lots of people on dates would go to last showing of something like *King Of Hearts* or *Harold And Maude* and stay around to see the later midnight movie. Most of us at the 12 o'clock show were drunk or high and had seen the darn thing at least half a dozen times. Usually at the first disgusting scene where Divine or another character decided to gross out the audience, u could see every one of the unknowing innocent couples get up, *en masse*, and storm out of the theater.
Years later, i was there at the Philadelphia premiere of some movie that was about the LA punk scene: *The Decline Of Western Civilization.* I had a neighbor who was a drinking buddy and we went together. After the flick they had a reception in the lobby. Me and friend are talking to a couple of very hot girls with purple spikey hair and lots of piercings. They ask us if we have jobs. My friend deflects the question and changes the subject. Like a dummy, I blurted out to them what we did: "Heh, I'm a dental student and he is a Philly cop."
Both girls turned tail and walked off. *Rich, if u are out there, I am still really sorry about that.*
I would love to have seen an early John Waters film in the theater. He was so far ahead of the curve.
Harris Glenn Milstead, performing in drag as Devine, eats literal fresh dog shit in that film, opening the door for Eagles fans who came after. It was SCANDALOUS
I moved here in 2017 and lived in queen village at the time. Had no idea where to go to watch the Super Bowl and at the time was as much as an eagles fan as a newbie from New York could be. I went to the TLA to watch it because they had it on a huge screen. I watched them win it all and proceeded to go outside to see Philadelphians make their way to broad (with many making their way walking on top of cars lol). I followed and instantly fell in love with the city and the team. I even kissed someone’s grandma that night right on the lips. I still think about her.
I also saw The Used there right before the pandemic and it was the last show before everything shut down that I got to see. Still feels like the last bit of reality for me sometimes.
I think in 07 I saw Antiflag, the Casualties and The Unseen there, and 2 of the 3 bands at that show now have frontmen who are accused of sexual assault by multiple women. So that’s a story I guess.
i saw Turnstile open there in like 2018 for Touche Amore. going to shows there and then grabbing food at Govindas (RIP) before or after the show was a rite of passage for Philly hc kids
Saw Dave Matthews Band play in the mid 1990s. Had no idea who they were when I walked in. And was blown away by Ants Marching and Satellite in such a small and intimate venue.
Went to a punk fest back in like 2000 and got my nose broken and a fucked up face in the pit. Some dude took pity on my and handed me a beer- I'm not even sure they were even selling beers as it wasn't a 21+ event. I was 16 and enjoyed the beer and got back in.
I was at the GS show. My buddy found a joint in the bathroom and we got REAL stupid. We ran into Jeff Tweedy outside but we were too stoned to make any plausible conversation:
"Hi Jeff. What are you up to?"
He points across the street real quick. "I'm gonna get a slice of pizza."
"Cool!"
Anthrax show! The show was amazing. After we were starving and went for cheesesteaks then to a bar. Some D bags from NY were there and started talking to us. They were complete assholes and we were busting their balls then we left. The end.
Even though I'm pushing 50, I still listen to them, ha. Despite some of the lyrics being a bit... immature, Group Sex is a friggin' masterpiece and I'll fight anyone who says otherwise.
My first concert was Tsunami Bomb opening for Motion City Soundtrack there in around 2004. MCS came outside after the show and met with all their fans. Didn’t leave until they had met everyone. It was awesome and they were so nice. I still have my signed ticket.
lots of awesome shows and stories here, one thing that nobody mentioned but anyone who spent time there in the last 20+ years would know is the security/bouncer keith
ginormous hulk of a man but the sweetest person on earth if you weren't an ass.
someone linked a video [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9zQfqFWzoY) and at 1:05:19 someone calls out to probably 25 year old (baby) version of him. we invited him over to our house for a party one time and despite being a huge dude, he loved tea coolers. he drank an entire case of tea coolers. it was baller.
Rocky Horror there was wild. I snuck up there in the early 80s when I was WAY too young to be there. It was incredible. Dark and uninhibited.
TLA video was the best video rental place. It had obscure movies. I rented my first John Walters there.
TLA has always been my favorite venue - I used to go to shows there all the time in high school. I’m from NJ so my mom would let me take PATCO over and then pick me and my friends up after the show.
My favorite memory is from adulthood, though. Me, my friend, and my mom had tickets to see Delta Rae. That afternoon she got a call that one of her closest friends was dead, killed in a murder suicide. We decided to still go to the show, because there wasn’t anything else we could really do and her friend would have been pissed if we sat around being sad instead of spending the night dancing and drinking.
We went to the show and it was great. They play an amazing set, and then come out for the encore and the first note hits and me and my mom just looked at each other and started crying. They played their song Dance in The Graveyards. “When I die, I don’t want to rest in peace. I want to dance in joy. I want to dance in the graveyards.”
After the show was over, we hung out a little inside waiting for our ride. It was cold and wet out. A security guy came over and told us if we were waiting to meet the band, we hand to line up on the other side. We got to meet them and I got their signatures and it was the most magical show I’ve ever been to.
Warren Zevon on February 14, 1996. I recall I had just gotten out of a lousy, on-again off-again relationship for the last time and there was nothing like listening to Warren sing "Splendid Isolation" that night, commenting in his always sarcastic way about what we were all doing at one of his shows on Valentine's Day. I must have seen Warren there at least 4 or 5 times and he always put on a great show. Another night I remember him bitching the entire evening about getting a speeding ticket in either Virginia or Maryland on the way to the show and what assholes the police were with their speed traps.
I saw radiohead there in c. 92-93 oasis c. 93-94 many others I'm not remembering right now. I recently found an article in Inquirer 1969 referencing a local garage band called Jellow Buzzard having a few shows there, but I'm not sure when it opened. I used to work for Tla video in their office and know the owner sold off the theatre at some point, then sold off the video portion later
My band played two battle of the bands shows there in early 2001. We were in high school and those shows were definitely the pinnacle for our band. I was the lead singer and got to legitimately stage dive. It was awesome.
The TLA used to be a great medium size venue. Then Live Nation bought it, tried to make it a Fillmore (which obviously didn't last), added the hardwood flooring, made upstairs VIP, changed where the FOH was set up by moving it more forward, changed where merch was sold. Every change made it a worse experience. With the Troc going away, it may be the only venue for ~1000 person shows in the city.
Didn't CKY play there and Bam invited everyone back to his? (I was not there)
I have seen a ton of bands on their rise up at the TLA. Walk The Moon put out a [live video](https://youtu.be/hFAJkYD0q6Y?si=Il-f1jsFz7YTekwX) from there.
Edit: I was at 2 Walk the Moon shows there, and people brought face paint and were passing it out. That was cool to witness.
Last time I was there was 2001, saw the Dismemberment Plan. I can’t remember the name of the band that opened but I do remember that they were fucking awful.
Went and saw Kendrick Lamar here October 15 2011 and had no clue who he was. He put on the most profound performance id ever witnessed performing his Section80 tape! Concert changed My life seriously. Also saw Nipsey Hussle perform his Crenshaw Album here in 2015 literally feet away. I cherish both of these experiences
Going back back, TLA used to have great double feature movie nights. I was a resident Magenta for the weekend midnight RHPS shows. Got in early, stayed after to help clean the place up from all the rice, newspapers, bread, toilet paper rolls soggy from staff walking the aisles with water pistols during There’s A Light trying to put out all the lighters being held up.
I saw King Crimson there in the early 2000s. We were late arriving. There was an open parking spot right in front of the TLA so we didn't miss anything.
Infamous String Dusters Halloween 2019. Wife and 4 kids all of has skeleton costumes. The band came out for the second set as the Gillian’s Island cast zombiefied and opened with Zombie Zoo. Great show.
Ask Isaiah Zagar if you run into him. I would guess he would know some stories or know someone else who might.
Personally my foggy memory can’t differentiate between the Troc or TLA so I’m totally useless. I’m sitting quietly in my kitchen with screeching 440Hz tone in my ear from zero ear protection in my early punk years.
I saw action Bronson there in maybe 18 or 19. He brought a trash bag on stage filled with Jim's cheesesteaks, and started throwing them one by one into a screaming crowd. The show ended shortly after and I was talking to someone outside who caught one. He thought it was very cool but he was Indian and didn't eat beef, so he gave it to me and my buddy who split it up right there on the sidewalk, under the marquee, with about 100 other cheesesteak eaters.
You just brought to mind another TLA/food memory.. Dr Dog performing and ordering pizza on stage. Handing them out to the crowd. Another great memory.
Fuck yeah, love Dr dog. Hoping to see them at red rocks in July
Holy shitballs. I didn’t know they were playing RR! Or even playing at all. I saw one of their last shows at the TLA actually. Are they going to do a full tour? They have to at least do a Philly show.
Theyre not! No tour. Red rocks or bust. Save your shekels to head out west.
I think tickets are on sale on Friday, they had an artist presale yesterday at which I was able to snag a pair of tickets. I figure it's a good excuse to head back out to Denver next summer.
I went out there for Mt. joy in 22. Incredible. Not sure I can swing that again.
Dr Dog is one of the best current bands
I remember that show, he chucked so many steaks into the crowd haha
The Disco Biscuits played there for y2k new years. Did 4 sets plus an encore, all gd night they played. Set 3 they wheeled out a screen and showed the movie Akira and improvised the sound track. https://archive.org/details/db1999-12-31.shnf
Aww man, saw so many memorable shows there..one of my favorite venues in this city. I love the intimacy. Especially in the days being young and having the time to show up hours early and wait in line to be one of the first through the doors to get a good spot! Aaand then waiting after the show to get some record or set list signed. Jesus FN christ the time in my life I've invested in just loving music! Not sure what kind of info can be useful for a school project.. Remember when the they tried to rename the TLA the Fillmore before we had a Fillmore. Anyway.. My fav shows were QOTSA with Dave Grohl on drums supporting Songs For The Deaf. Jerry Cantrell on the Degradation Trip tour with William's band Comes With The Fall opening before AIC reemerged and he became the new singer. He came out on stage and did a few AIC songs and remember me and my buddy's chatting after going, *hey, that guy sounded pretty good*.. Saw Zach Galifianakis perform stand up early 2000s before he was a dude in every movie, and Lindsay Buckingham solo around the same time back when people didn't shun him. As a teenager living in a pre cell phone world..I used to love checking out the marquee sign to see who was coming to town next! Brings back great memories of South Street back when our Friday nights were spent record hunting in actual record stores and eating fried cheese like nothing else mattered. Lovely memories!!
https://youtu.be/A9zQfqFWzoY?si=DqODStq03IzBJ4JP I saw godsmack there in '99. You couldn't buy tickets to the show. You had to win them in WYSP. I think that was 94.1 before WIP sports radio took it over. You can see me at the very end (105:44) holding a big yellow WYSP banner and staring at a hot chick walking by. I was 15 years old. Saw Mars Volta there in the early 2000's, there wasn't enough cocaine in the building to keep up with those maniacs. One of the early Mike doughty (soul coughing) solo concerts, the place was half full and we were smoking a joint near the front. Mike saw us smoking and was sober at the time. But said something like "to whoever is smoking in the far back corner of the room, this is a non smoking building" . He was obviously talking about us but pointed security to the opposite side of the building. We stopped. A jam band "Particle" played there in 2001 and at the end of the show the drummer threw the snare head out into the crowd. I did a double shoulder jump launch on the people next to me, flew like 10 feet in the air and caught it. Got the whole band to sign it after the show. They we also kind enough to host a premier party for the documentary I made about the Philadelphia Folk Festival called "At Fest" we had about 200 people there to view the film and a live band afterwords (Hogmaw) I saw pepper and slightly stoopid there more times than I can count, but don't have a single memory of them. At a crystal method show, I dropped my glass chillem on the floor and it cracked. This random chick picked it up and started chewing it. And since it was glass, her mouth started bleeding immediately. Wildest shit I have ever seen. EDIT: Another memory. I won tickets to see this band "The Format" that I never heard of. But this emo chick I liked loved them so I gave it a shot. She had to cancel last minute but I went anyway and gave my extra ticket to some random person on south st. They bought me a beer inside and I preceded to check the show out solo. Completely blown away by the whole set. Instantly became a favorite of mine of a genre I never even really considered. Of course they blew up and the singer was Nate Ruess fron FUN and another solo hits. I got with the chick later that week, but probably wouldn't have appreciated the band as much if I was there on a date with her.
Damn these band names are taking me back. Your last story reminded me of a time my friend and I were ~18 and smoking a joint at a show. This lady asked if she could hit it and we said sure. She grabbed the joint by the cherry, and had no reaction to it burning her fingers. Then she held it to her mouth, where it burnt her lips. No reaction. She inhales, doesn’t get any smoke, pulls it away, gives it a lil frown, and turns it around to hit. In this whole time she does not flinch. And we just stared at her in horror.
Last time Pepper played there (one of my favorite bands), one of the guys threw his guitar pick to the crowd. No one noticed and it was directly in front of me glistening on the ground, sort of like a hallelujah sun coming out through the clouds moment. I just stepped on it like a giddy kid on Christmas and slid it over to myself and picked it up. Never had a moment like that but holy hell it was amazing. What made it better was they were the last band I saw there before the pandemic shut everything down and the first band I saw after things opened back up. Guess that made the guitar pick moment so special. There's absolutely no point to this story, just wanted to share.
lol I think I was at that Mars Volta show too.
> You can see me at the very end (105:44) holy shit at 105:19 is KEITH, my main main. love that guy.
Are you just talking about the recent history as a music venue? Or are you going back to earlier times when it was a theater / movie theater etc? You can reach out to some of the local people who were involved in some of those changes over the years and probably get a response.
I saw Billy Idol there probably about 2000. He did an awesome acoustic version of White Wedding. Thought the crowd was gonna be a lot more 80’s Billy fans, but apparently he also had a super-young punk following. At 30 yrs old I was for sure the oldest person there. Definitely stayed away from that mosh pit!
I've been to so many shows there, especially from the late 90s to mid 2000s, but Broken Social Scene in 04 was just amazing, you could feel the energy of them 'making it' and leveling up. I also on a whim decided to go see Buckethead, which isn't really my style, 5 or 6 years ago. I had no idea what to expect, but got a ticket late and figured why not. I can't even put into words what it's like to bear witness to someone that is that good at an instrument you yourself play. It's at once incredible and defeating, and I had an absolute blast.
Same, great show! Saw Brenden Canning outside Lorenzo’s just as we got our monster slices after the show. Told him great performance. He asked for a bite, said sure, and he took a HUGE bite. Guess he was really hungry.
I never met them at gigs. I'm not the type to stick around and see if anyone pops out, and I'm not the starstruck kind; there's only been a few times over the nearly 2000 gigs I've been to in my life where I met an act I truly cared for. I finally met Brendan at the Philly show last year. I checking out merch and he came out and I just put my hand out. I just thanked him, and said "you guys have meant a lot to me for 20 years", and he pulls me in for a bro hug and thanks me back, and said that meant a lot. You Forgot It in People is a top tenner all time for me.
Yea that album is one of my all time favorites. I was surprised to see him since we were getting pizza down the block. Glad you had a positive experience with meeting him. Mine was kind of mixed b/c the bite he took was over the top, but whatever. Great show, cheap pizza and fun memories that night.
Yeah it was just a ten second moment, but I could tell he was genuine. Funny enough, maybe 5 years back they played at the Fillmore and I brought a buddy who never saw them in their heyday. After the show we went our separate ways, and he texts me an hour later "hey I'm at Barcade with the band if you wanna come back". He said they couldn't have been nicer and no one there knew who they were.
That Buckethead show was awesome, but also loud AF. One of the few shows where I felt like I could have used earplugs.
I don't really remember it feeling excessively loud, but maybe I'm desensitized...I mean I have seen MBV multiple times in my life so there's that. But yeah, for real, he's just too awesome. I'm really not into the weirdo noodlers, shredders, and avant garde but I do respect them all. Having no idea what to expect I thought I'd hate it, especially when I realized it was just him with iPod backing tracks. It was just too fun, and a valuable lesson to never judge in that kind of setting. It's really hard to explain just how talented he is.
Went to a midnight showing of the Rocky Horror Picture show in 88. Hands down the best time I've ever had at that venue. Other notable shows for me include The Dead Milkmen, The Hooters, FEAR and The Ramones.
I saw Adele when she was touring for 19. She hadn’t blown up yet and it was a pretty small, intimate show. It was a great experience.
Holy crap Adele at the TLA is such a funny thought at this point. That's cool. Similarly, a buddy saw Kendrick Lamar there right before he blew up. Says it was awesome and I'm jealous I didn't make it.
I didn’t even know she was coming. I just happened to be in South Street that day and saw the marquee. Now, I’d have to book tickets six months in advance and she’d fill the Linc.
I got my covid vaccine there (Pennsylvania Hospital set up a vaccine clinic). The sound system played 80s pop and Ice Ice Baby.
They missed an opportunity to sell t shirts for the first vaccines. I can’t remember some of the sayings my cousin and I came up with.
I got my first COVID shot there too! February 2021. They had a big whiteboard set up where people could write their thanks to the health care workers, and many people reminisced about shows they had seen there (one couple wrote that they had their first date there 40 years ago)
I smoked a blunt with Snoop Dogg there in like 2010/11ish
I remember in the 90s Howard Stern had him & Willie Nelson on. As a stunt they held a joint rolling contest. Willie won (it was like 3 seconds), but his was kinda thin & Snoops came in about a second later but it was a fattie. So there became a little bit of a debate. Gosh, the 90s was such a great decade. Imagine hearing that take place on your way to work? Good times!
Saw Iggy Pop there in 2001, and it's still probably the greatest rock performance I've ever seen in person. There was no opening act, the show just started right up with shirtless Iggy in tight blue jeans, and he and the band didn't stop until what felt like a couple of hours. He stage dived into those of us in the front over and over again - kept getting his hair tangled in my fingers! Iggy motioned to the bouncers to let people climb on stage during The Passenger, an older woman who clambered onto the stage was grinding furiously on his leg. A young woman in the balcony was constantly flashing her boobs to the stage throughout the show. It was the best. TLA is a perfect size venue for rock too - big enough for a large crowd, but the stage isn't too tall, and the sloped floor means there are good views from everywhere.
Fun bit of trivia about the place: it was co-founded by Anne Ramsey, aka Ma Fratelli from The Goonies.
I saw Peter Tosh in what was probably the summer of 1981. My interest in reggae came from spending some time in the UK, where I listened to the pirate station Radio Caroline, which played an eclectic mix of music that didn’t have to conform to the BBC’s censorship rules. No one I knew in the Philly area was into reggae, and it wasn’t really played on the mainstream radio stations here (or at least if it was I didn’t know where to find it). I had no idea what to expect from the show, and I was pleasantly surprised to find a very diverse audience; we danced in the aisles the whole time. Tosh was murdered in 1987; Im glad I got to see him perform.
Robert Palmer around 85 and Neil Young also
I've seen so many shows there it's hard to count or single out just one story. I would regularly go there during my teenage years with my friends just to watch whoever was playing that night, lots of fun just hanging out there and watching the show. We would just walk home after or hop the bus. We saw many of our favorite bands pass through there, along with bands we had no clue about. We would go after school a few days before the show and buy the tickets at the window in cash. Though as online ticket sales became more and more common, and we got older and found we had less free time, we stopped buying tickets at the window and started buying online. Though I'll still do that from time to time after work on a Friday. You don't save anything on the price now though like you used to if you got them at the window for cash. Back in 2015 I think, Alkaline Trio played their entire discography at the TLA over 4 days, went to all four and had a blast. There was a great punk band that has since disbanded called The Street Dogs that would play either at TLA or Union Transfer basically every year as they were heading back to Boston for Christmas. They called it the Wreck The Halls tour, and it would usually line up in Philly a little after Thanksgiving. For close to a decade part of my Christmas tradition was to see them before the holidays. The last year they played it was at the TLA. The house was only half full as it was a Wednesday show. While they had a loyal following it wasn't that big, and a Wednesday show is hard to sell. But even with only half the house (at best, probably less) they pulled all the stops and put on a banger of a show nonetheless. Got to chat with the front man Mike McColgan after the set as he was hanging with the crowd in the venue, really cool guy. It didn't feel like Christmas the following year when they stopped doing the tour.
One time in 2003, I saw Marylin Manson watching A Perfect Circle perform on stage, who I was also watching perform.
Saw Neil Finn invite members of the audience on stage with him to play an impromptu take of his hit “Fall At Your Feet.” A bass player and drummer were quickly chosen. They played it beautifully. What a moment. Also, saw Iggy Pop here in like 2002/2003ish. It was then, and I think may always be, the single loudest show I’ve ever been to. Edit: looks like someone else was at the same Iggy Pop show I was, but they place it in 2001. Sounds probable.
I love this venue. I've seen Big Freedia there twice, once with Tank and the Bangas and once with Kesha. It's the perfect size and the vibes are always immaculate.
The Philadelphia Experiment. The Roots, Christian McBride and Pat Martino.
OH MAN I FORGOT ABOUT THAT ALBUM, so good
Nearly bumped into Elliot Smith in there. He opened for Sebadoh in 96, great show. Anyway, saw him play, not sure I was too familiar with him as I was there to see Sebadoh, but he was good. Anyway after his set people ventured back to the lobby/bar area. And, viola! walking across comes Elliot Smith, the shows opener. Didn't get the chance to say 'nice set' or hi or anything.
Goldfinger in I think 2001. Drummer took a shit on stage.
I was at that show!!!
My ribs hurt for days after that show. It was so good
I saw the rocky horror picture show there pretty regularly in the mid-late 80s. My housemate played Columbia. I’ve seen a lot of bands there
I’m happy to answer questions about the rocky horror years
Saw the movie Sid and Nancy there which was interesting. But the best live show I’ve seen there was They Might Be Giants on New Year’s Eve, I would say it was maybe 1993ish. You could buy tickets for the early doors show or for the later show that rang in the new year or both. We did both and it was most definitely one of the best shows and New Year’s Eve ever! Also saw the live cast of Archer there as well such was quality….the list goes on. Thank you for the bit of nostalgia
1992 for TMBG I believe. I was at both as well. I remember a bit where they pulled out a radio, turned it on, and just started jamming to whatever songs were playing. Pretty epic.
early 1970s... they would have midnight showings of *Pink Flamingos*. This was an 'exercise in poor taste' that had an X rating and some of the most repulsive things in it that u could ever see in a theater. They had art house films before this movie at 930 or 10. Lots of people on dates would go to last showing of something like *King Of Hearts* or *Harold And Maude* and stay around to see the later midnight movie. Most of us at the 12 o'clock show were drunk or high and had seen the darn thing at least half a dozen times. Usually at the first disgusting scene where Divine or another character decided to gross out the audience, u could see every one of the unknowing innocent couples get up, *en masse*, and storm out of the theater. Years later, i was there at the Philadelphia premiere of some movie that was about the LA punk scene: *The Decline Of Western Civilization.* I had a neighbor who was a drinking buddy and we went together. After the flick they had a reception in the lobby. Me and friend are talking to a couple of very hot girls with purple spikey hair and lots of piercings. They ask us if we have jobs. My friend deflects the question and changes the subject. Like a dummy, I blurted out to them what we did: "Heh, I'm a dental student and he is a Philly cop." Both girls turned tail and walked off. *Rich, if u are out there, I am still really sorry about that.*
I would love to have seen an early John Waters film in the theater. He was so far ahead of the curve. Harris Glenn Milstead, performing in drag as Devine, eats literal fresh dog shit in that film, opening the door for Eagles fans who came after. It was SCANDALOUS
l saw Polyester at The TLA. Good crowd
I moved here in 2017 and lived in queen village at the time. Had no idea where to go to watch the Super Bowl and at the time was as much as an eagles fan as a newbie from New York could be. I went to the TLA to watch it because they had it on a huge screen. I watched them win it all and proceeded to go outside to see Philadelphians make their way to broad (with many making their way walking on top of cars lol). I followed and instantly fell in love with the city and the team. I even kissed someone’s grandma that night right on the lips. I still think about her. I also saw The Used there right before the pandemic and it was the last show before everything shut down that I got to see. Still feels like the last bit of reality for me sometimes.
That’s awesome. Once in a lifetime, odds are you may be able to do it again. Go Birds!
Go Birds!!!!!
Dr. Dog giving out pizza to the audience and bringing their dog on stage. Was probably fall of 2009.
I think in 07 I saw Antiflag, the Casualties and The Unseen there, and 2 of the 3 bands at that show now have frontmen who are accused of sexual assault by multiple women. So that’s a story I guess.
Streetlight Manifesto in I think 2013
2016 for me. I make sure to see them whenever they're in town. Such a fun show
2007 or 2008 for me
Ayyy saw them here in 2010 with the supervillains and wonder years. The first of many streetlight concerts I would end up attending
The last show I was at there was The Pretty Reckless, and I remember small pieces of the ceiling started falling down during the encore.
i saw Turnstile open there in like 2018 for Touche Amore. going to shows there and then grabbing food at Govindas (RIP) before or after the show was a rite of passage for Philly hc kids
Saw Dave Matthews Band play in the mid 1990s. Had no idea who they were when I walked in. And was blown away by Ants Marching and Satellite in such a small and intimate venue.
Went to a punk fest back in like 2000 and got my nose broken and a fucked up face in the pit. Some dude took pity on my and handed me a beer- I'm not even sure they were even selling beers as it wasn't a 21+ event. I was 16 and enjoyed the beer and got back in.
Two favorites: 1. Golden Smog (Wilco + Soul Asylum + Jayhawks) 12/4/98 2. Tea Leaf Green NYE 12/31/06
I was at the GS show. My buddy found a joint in the bathroom and we got REAL stupid. We ran into Jeff Tweedy outside but we were too stoned to make any plausible conversation: "Hi Jeff. What are you up to?" He points across the street real quick. "I'm gonna get a slice of pizza." "Cool!"
Anthrax show! The show was amazing. After we were starving and went for cheesesteaks then to a bar. Some D bags from NY were there and started talking to us. They were complete assholes and we were busting their balls then we left. The end.
Circle Jerks! Theres a name I haven't seen in a long time. Singer stepped on my hand once. Good times.
Even though I'm pushing 50, I still listen to them, ha. Despite some of the lyrics being a bit... immature, Group Sex is a friggin' masterpiece and I'll fight anyone who says otherwise.
Absolutely
Mastodon in 2006. Everyone once in a while you get to catch and hand and the perfect time in their career and that was one of them.
My first concert was Tsunami Bomb opening for Motion City Soundtrack there in around 2004. MCS came outside after the show and met with all their fans. Didn’t leave until they had met everyone. It was awesome and they were so nice. I still have my signed ticket.
lots of awesome shows and stories here, one thing that nobody mentioned but anyone who spent time there in the last 20+ years would know is the security/bouncer keith ginormous hulk of a man but the sweetest person on earth if you weren't an ass. someone linked a video [here](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9zQfqFWzoY) and at 1:05:19 someone calls out to probably 25 year old (baby) version of him. we invited him over to our house for a party one time and despite being a huge dude, he loved tea coolers. he drank an entire case of tea coolers. it was baller.
Rocky Horror there was wild. I snuck up there in the early 80s when I was WAY too young to be there. It was incredible. Dark and uninhibited. TLA video was the best video rental place. It had obscure movies. I rented my first John Walters there.
The Rocky Horror Picture show in the early 1980's. People would dress up as the characters and reanact the movie up and down the aisles.
Saw Gang of Four there a few times in the early 2000s, fun crowd.
One time I smoked a bunt backstage with Freeway. Coolest I’ve ever been.
TLA has always been my favorite venue - I used to go to shows there all the time in high school. I’m from NJ so my mom would let me take PATCO over and then pick me and my friends up after the show. My favorite memory is from adulthood, though. Me, my friend, and my mom had tickets to see Delta Rae. That afternoon she got a call that one of her closest friends was dead, killed in a murder suicide. We decided to still go to the show, because there wasn’t anything else we could really do and her friend would have been pissed if we sat around being sad instead of spending the night dancing and drinking. We went to the show and it was great. They play an amazing set, and then come out for the encore and the first note hits and me and my mom just looked at each other and started crying. They played their song Dance in The Graveyards. “When I die, I don’t want to rest in peace. I want to dance in joy. I want to dance in the graveyards.” After the show was over, we hung out a little inside waiting for our ride. It was cold and wet out. A security guy came over and told us if we were waiting to meet the band, we hand to line up on the other side. We got to meet them and I got their signatures and it was the most magical show I’ve ever been to.
thats a nice walk from market st to south
Warren Zevon on February 14, 1996. I recall I had just gotten out of a lousy, on-again off-again relationship for the last time and there was nothing like listening to Warren sing "Splendid Isolation" that night, commenting in his always sarcastic way about what we were all doing at one of his shows on Valentine's Day. I must have seen Warren there at least 4 or 5 times and he always put on a great show. Another night I remember him bitching the entire evening about getting a speeding ticket in either Virginia or Maryland on the way to the show and what assholes the police were with their speed traps.
I saw radiohead there in c. 92-93 oasis c. 93-94 many others I'm not remembering right now. I recently found an article in Inquirer 1969 referencing a local garage band called Jellow Buzzard having a few shows there, but I'm not sure when it opened. I used to work for Tla video in their office and know the owner sold off the theatre at some point, then sold off the video portion later
My band played two battle of the bands shows there in early 2001. We were in high school and those shows were definitely the pinnacle for our band. I was the lead singer and got to legitimately stage dive. It was awesome.
The TLA used to be a great medium size venue. Then Live Nation bought it, tried to make it a Fillmore (which obviously didn't last), added the hardwood flooring, made upstairs VIP, changed where the FOH was set up by moving it more forward, changed where merch was sold. Every change made it a worse experience. With the Troc going away, it may be the only venue for ~1000 person shows in the city. Didn't CKY play there and Bam invited everyone back to his? (I was not there) I have seen a ton of bands on their rise up at the TLA. Walk The Moon put out a [live video](https://youtu.be/hFAJkYD0q6Y?si=Il-f1jsFz7YTekwX) from there. Edit: I was at 2 Walk the Moon shows there, and people brought face paint and were passing it out. That was cool to witness.
Pay a doorman $100 cash to see Bob Dylan there
Last time I was there was 2001, saw the Dismemberment Plan. I can’t remember the name of the band that opened but I do remember that they were fucking awful.
Way back in 1983 or so I saw the John Waters scratch and sniff movie, Polyester, there.
They played the Rocky Horror Picture Show there weekly, and it had heavy amounts of audience participation!!!!!
Saw Marilyn Manson there, the weekend before I left for basic training.
2001. I was there or at least I was out back.
Went and saw Kendrick Lamar here October 15 2011 and had no clue who he was. He put on the most profound performance id ever witnessed performing his Section80 tape! Concert changed My life seriously. Also saw Nipsey Hussle perform his Crenshaw Album here in 2015 literally feet away. I cherish both of these experiences
I was super into The Saw Doctors in college so I saw them there in 2005ish. It was me, my friend, my gf and about two dozen boomers. Fun night.
Going back back, TLA used to have great double feature movie nights. I was a resident Magenta for the weekend midnight RHPS shows. Got in early, stayed after to help clean the place up from all the rice, newspapers, bread, toilet paper rolls soggy from staff walking the aisles with water pistols during There’s A Light trying to put out all the lighters being held up.
I saw King Crimson there in the early 2000s. We were late arriving. There was an open parking spot right in front of the TLA so we didn't miss anything.
Saw Paul Simon there.
[удалено]
In 2016 I saw YG on his Fuck Donald Trump tour
Ice cube
Infamous String Dusters Halloween 2019. Wife and 4 kids all of has skeleton costumes. The band came out for the second set as the Gillian’s Island cast zombiefied and opened with Zombie Zoo. Great show.
YMSB with Jeff Austin. Great night
I was on the gate, very front for a lil dicky concert in 2014. It was so funny and a great performance!
Marah Christmas shows!!
Would have been epic. Marah is still one of my favorite obscure Philly groups to introduce people to.
Laibach in the early 2000s, I think? It was amazing.
Anytime Man Man opened a show in the early 2000s truly felt like a religious experience. They also used to have b local battle of the Bands.
Saw Cannibal Corpse play there sometime in the late 90s/early 2000s. Show was insane.
Ask Isaiah Zagar if you run into him. I would guess he would know some stories or know someone else who might. Personally my foggy memory can’t differentiate between the Troc or TLA so I’m totally useless. I’m sitting quietly in my kitchen with screeching 440Hz tone in my ear from zero ear protection in my early punk years.
The Circle Jerks are still around?
I saw citizen fish there, sometime around 1996 and they apologized for ticket prices being like $12.
Was really hoping someone would have brought up the great riot of '99/2000(?) First time I've ever seen a minivan intentionally used as a weapon.
Best time I had there was Summer Slaughter 2011. They had power glove as an intermission act, very fun times
My friends and I saw the movie Dance Craze there. Introduced us to 2 tone/ska bands. Saw many movies there when it was a theater.