Philadelphia Concert Tickets A How To buying Guide

So you are looking to take in a show in Philadelphia? That’s good because the Delaware Valley (Philly and its suburbs) is a great city to see a show. This hub will give you an overview of the cities venues, where to buy tickets and the upcoming shows. But lets get one thing out of the way before we get into it. Ask any musical artist or band what is one of their favorite cities to perform in and inevitably Philadelphia will always be one of the first regions mentioned. Long known for being a VERY strong concert town, many promoters and bands will actually look at the sales numbers of their shows in Philly as an indicator of how their tour will go. While their passion for sports is legendary, one thing that is not known about this city and should be known is their musical knowledge and their ability to spot a great act, and unfortunately a bad act! So if you are from Philly, you know all of this already, however if you are not from Philly, you are in for a wild time when seeing a show in the city of brotherly love and a little lesson in music in a city you may never have thought of.

Let’s look at the venues, the current venues. To get into the old venues of this legendary musical town, that would take a book to describe all of the bricks and mortar places that have come and gone. But for now let’s focus on the here and now. The most popular place to see a show in Philadelphia, arena wise is the Wachovia Center located in South Philadelphia. Built in the mid 90's to house the Philadelphia Flyers and Philadelphia 76ers, it replaced the iconic Spectrum as the main house for all major acts. The Wachovia Center can hold around 21,000 fans for a concert, so if you sell out the Wachovia Center, you are doing VERY well. This arena can be set up as an end stage, center stage, end stage with GA floor seats, a half house and a center stage with a ring in the middle. In other words, this is a all purpose venue that can house any type of tour that may be on the road. TIP: Many people agree the best locations for End Stage shows are Section 114 and 124. For Center Stage shows you want Section 101 or 112. For End Stage floor seats, you want Section 2.

The other major venue in South Philly is the Spectrum. Unfortunately the Spectrum will be closing shortly and will actually be demolished for what is going to be called a Philly Fan Zone (name could change) so there is not much to say about the old girl now as she is at the end of the line. Pearl Jam and Bruce Springsteen will be performing the final shows there.

Let’s look at the smaller houses in Philly. While they all have their own story, each and every place has played host to MAJOR recording acts. From the Rolling Stones all the way down, Phillys, "Small House" scene has always been a fan favorite in the area. So let’s start the Electric Factory, located at 7th and Willow, the place was build in 1968 and has long been known for its very small capacity of 2500-3000 people and most of the show performed there are General Admission which means you are standing for the show. Next up is the epic Trocadero which opened in 1870, WOW. The place was a vaudeville and burlesque in years past and was then changed over to a fine arts theater. Then in 1986 the switched it up to a concert and Dance hall. This place is about the smallest house in Philly but a great place to see a show. TIP: Comedy shows are terrific here. Another fast growing house to see a show is the larger Liacouras Center which is actually the house for Temple Basketball has been attracting major acts lately and that is because it is a 10,200 multipurpose arena. Build in 2000; it is located at 1776 N. Broad Street. The last place we will discuss is the Theatre of Living Arts which is goes by the name, "TLA" and this place only holds around 810. The TLA is located at 334 South Street.

The final place I want to mention is the Tower Theatre. The Tower Theatre is actually located just outside of Philly in Upper Darby. The Tower is famous for major acts such as The Rolling Stones and Pearl Jam doing warm up shows. Almost every major act has played the Tower over the last 20 years. The tower holds around 3100 people and is set up as a classic theatre. Meaning you have Orchestra, Loge and Balcony seats. TIP they offer PIt tickets in front of the Orchestra seats. Many people really like these seats as they are about the best in the house.

Where To Buy Tickets

You can always check the box offices of all of the venues mentioned to purchase tickets. If they are sold out, you want to use a trusted ticket broker and ConcertKings.Com is a trusted Ticket Broker. You can also check that website for all upcoming Philadelphia Events.