Tower Theater

I've been going to concerts in Philadelphia for over 15 years and this was my first time to the Tower Theatre. I had never even been to 69th st. but had only heard bad things about the neighborhood.

The 69th st area lived up to expectations in terms of run down businesses. I was glad there was a parking garage for 10 bucks which made me feel a tad more secure about parking, although I probably wasted 10 bucks on zero security.

Regardless, walking up to Tower Theatre my expectations were very low. That all changed once I got inside. The classic theatre look and style of the place was great. They had Philadelphia Brewing Co beers on tap along with some cheap standards. The seats appeared to be fairly new (not reclining, but comfortable). The auditorium was the perfect size. I sat in the balcony but still felt close enough to be satisfied. Based solely on tonight's experience (Weird Al Yankovic) I could give this place 5 stars, but I know there are better venues and I'm just in a good mood. The posters hanging around the theatre show the collection of hall of fame acts that have performed there. It is a historic venue and I'm just sad I didn't visit sooner.

Friggen awesome.
I went and saw Soundgarden and got drunk and had some heavy set lady dance on the chair next to me and almost fall on me while she cried Chris Cornell's name.  Beautiful.
The smell of... the smelly smells... made it feel so homey and welcoming. In some ways things were a little too familiar and packed in... tight spaces, long ways to walk across people.... but this is really the only thing that knocked off one star... that and that a bottle of water was six bux.... I didn't even get the cap... they took it off... and kept it... FOREVER.
But really this place rocked.  The acoustics were perfect. Lighting. Venue size. Stage size and positioning and shape.  Perfect.
I ran into a friend I hadn't seen in years.  Very homey feel. Very professional and cool/relaxed all at the same time.
I wish I could experience this concert in this venue a hundred more times! Was it perfect? No. The concert was, the venue could be a bit better.  As I always say... I wish Yelp did reviews out of 10 or at least that  I could give a 4.5.  Getting drunk while watching a show all whilst people smoke throughout... It was very charming and fun.  And the people (outside of entrance security) were very polite and attentive (even with the entrance security; I guess getting firmly felt up is a good way to start a night?)

Nice classic venue.  In the middle of nowhere though. Leave early or you will be late. Also, exceptionally gross bathrooms. One bathroom per gender for the entire venue.

$10 Parking Garage at Chestnut St and Heather Rd. GPS that intersection instead of the venue to avoid the intersection of 69th and Market St. Come up Chestnut instead. Or you can sit in traffic for an extra 20 minutes at that shitty intersection.