Philadelphia TLA No More

Posted on By Albert Costill at 4 May, 2007, 12:01 pm

If you happen to be looking around for upcoming concerts, you may notice a new venue name in Philly. No, Ticketmaster did not make an error. The corporate monopoly that is LiveNation (aka Clear Channel, who owns Ticketmaster) choose to rename the legendary TLA to the Fillmore Philadelphia. That’s right, the same Fillmore that is its own legend in San Francisco.

Granted, the remodeling that I saw last year was a pleasant surprise to good ol’ TLA (Theater of the Living Arts). It didn’t lose it’s appeal, it still felt like the TLA. But was there a need to change the venue name? Do they think renaming the TLA to the Fillmore is going to attract more bands or fans? I don’t think so. The TLA did fine without the remodeling and now the renaming. The name may have changed on paper, but it’s still the TLA.

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Comments

Eric Hebert May 4, 2007

Blasphemy! Everybody knows what the TLA is and what it’s all about. Ten years from now, I’ll still be calling it the “TLA”. If those idiots had a clue, they would have left it alone. The TLA is part of Philly’s music scene, has been for years, and is to Philly what the Filmore is to San Fran.

Now they’ve just watered down the Filmore name so it’s not as big a deal to see a concert there. I’m not one to always bash corporate drones like some other people (you!), but this shit is nonsense. What, is it so they can save some stationary money? I saw my first concert at TLA - Long Live TLA!

Albert Costill May 4, 2007

Yes, I love to bash corporations most of the time. Clear Channel is an easy target, because they are a monopoloy with an evil chokehold over the concert industry. However, I’ve learned to live with this, because I enjoy going to concerts. But changing the name of the TLA is just moronic. What’s next changing the Electric Factory to the House of Blues or how about changing the legendary Madison Square Garden to Trump Entertainment Center. I know new venues have corporate sponsers, but some places should be exempt. That’s why Wachovia was smart and kept the same name for the Spectrum.