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Venues
The venues are the gathering places. See a show, grab a bite, have a drink, all with people you care about. In my case, the show and the support is the reason I'm there. But some venues are better than others. My musical (and emotional) center is New Hope with my favorite venues John and Peter's and Triumph, but I will occasionally travel to South Street or Manayunk in Philadelphia to see favorite artists and check out new ones. With my home in Bucks County none of the venues are too far away but New Hope tends to be more fun and just down the road. And it gets closer every time.
Here are most of the places I have gone to see live music. I provide details about each venue and give recommendations. I have added some tips for bands as well. Links to most venues' websites are provided. You can also check http://www.phillytown.com/ for pages about these and other venues in the Greater Philly area.
Pictures/Pages
Click on the links for pages dedicated (tributes, if you will) to my favorite venues.
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Pontiac Grille |
Abilene |
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The Theatre Of Living Arts |
Locations
New Hope
John and Peter's - Famous local music club. Intimate, mainly because it is literally a hole in the wall. Performances every night. Best place to see local music. My home away from home. For bands, stage access is tight and they should bring their own sound person but they do have access to a private area upstairs. 96 Main Street. http://www.johnandpeters.com
Triumph Brewing Company - An actual brewery and restaurant that showcases musicians from all over on Fridays and Saturdays. Great sound and the food is not bad either. Two floors! Smoking around bar only. 400 Union Square. Also in Princeton. http://www.triumphbrewing.com
Manayunk
Grape Street - The high mark for Philadelphia music clubs with the best production, but not as close or intimate with some obstacles between the band and the audience. Performances almost every night. Also includes dance floor and lounge. For bands, there is a green room and good access to the stage. 4100 Main Street. http://grapestreet.com
Manayunk Brew Pub - Restaurant downstairs, bar upstairs. Stages on both floors and outside. Smoking upstairs only. 4120 Main Street. http://www.manayunkbrewery.com
South Street
Pontiac Grille - Great music upstairs, good food and projector downstairs. Standing room only at stage level and it can get tight. 304 South Street. http://www.pontiacgrille.com
Abilene - Nice food, western theme. Plenty of gaming upstairs. Performances every night but it is tight and the stage can get cramped. 429 South Street.
Club 218 - Great seating; chairs, couches, and bar stools. Tasteful graffiti art on the back wall. Performances can be recorded and purchased. Above Malokais. 218 South Street. http://www.club218.com
The Theater Of Living Arts - Large pit area has little seating, but has bar and balcony seating. Warning: Do not stand directly in front of speakers. 334 South Street. http://www.theateroflivingarts.net/
Central Philadelphia
Artful Dodger - Good food, tight performance area all contained in historic building. Acoustic only. 2nd and Pine Streets.
Dr. Watson’s Pub - Named after Sherlock Holmes' assistant. Restaurant with club upstairs - two floors and two stages! Seats along sides. Smoking upstairs only. 216 S 11th Street. (I have heard some bad stories including being closed for code violations.)
North Star Bar - Bar with attached club. Has second floor with balcony. The stage area has a pit and tables on the sides. Also features popular acts. 2639 Poplar Street. http://northstarbar.com/
I have not been to World Café Live yet, but you can visit their site at http://www.worldcafelive.com.
Philadelphia suburbs
Red Stallion Bar - Good staging area but railing obscures bands. Get your kicks with two pool tables, dartboard, digital jukebox and big screen TV. 307 County Line Road, Warminster, PA.
Da Bar - Recently renovated with more seats, pool tables, and a new stage. Plenty of TVs to catch sports action. 8919 New Falls Rd #5 Levittown, PA.
Street Road Bar and Grille - Great place that allows original music. There are some caveats: the stage can sway a bit, there's not much room in front of it, and television broadcasts are projected on the large screen behind it during performances. Live music on Saturday nights only. 3631 Street Road, Bensalem, PA . http://www.streetroadbarandgrill.com/
Finn McCool's - Has a nice faux wooden dance floor, plenty of seating "in the round" and amazing light capabilities. The sound is best when Brian from the Pheromones sets it up. 1111 Easton Road, Warrington, PA.
Trenton area
McGuinn's - Cool oval seating right near the stage, otherwise seating not the best consisting of bar stools on the side. Pick your game: pool, darts or bubble hockey. 1781 Brunswick Ave. Trenton, NJ http://www.mcguinns.com/.
Finnigan's - Large TV, many pool tables. Speakers are on the front corners of the stage so bands can be obscured. Directly connected to Brunswick bowling alley. 529 Route 130 North, East Windsor, NJ. http://myspace.com/finnigans
The 449 Room - Small area and good sound but performers also play for the intersection in front of a plate glass window. Nice bar and couch next door. Sort of a green room in back but everybody walks through it to enter. Next to and run by the Conduit. 449 S Broad St, Trenton, NJ