The Foundry — Local services in Philadelphia

It is a very intimate venue, my kind of place, meaning even if you aren't front row, the band is mere feet away. In the pic below I was probably 7 or 8 rows back, the picture is not zoomed in. The bar is across the stage. I think I would give this place 5/5 if not for one problem. If you want alcohol, they have a section cordoned off adjacent to the bar away from the stage where you must stand with your drink - you cannot take it with you to the stage area. It feels like then if you want anything in between sets, you'll want to be quick about it, or get something like a shot that you can down fast. Also means no getting a drink for your friend, you ALL need to leave your spot. Slight recovery in rating since they have food you can order at the bar, including perfect spicy popcorn chicken. The only upside to this weird setup is that the stage area is not littered with used drinking cups, and the crowd can more freely dance since next to no one will be holding anything. It certainly helped keep my shoes clean for a change :) One final downside, I second other reviews, once the main act finished, ushers were kicking people to the door immediately unless you were in...

Saw Black Pistol Fire here, the band was fantastic as always. Not many people in the crowd but I think there was a Sixers game happening at the same time. The Foundry is upstairs of the Fillmore which I've been to before as well. Pretty cool smaller venue with a well stocked bar. There's a parking lot about a block away but it's pretty expensive considering it's just a gravel unmarked lot and it didn't feel particularly secure but we had no issues. There were some minor audio issues I noticed but nothing really bad. My one big gripe was with the bartender. She was using her bare hands to put limes in our drinks and I'm pretty sure I got sick from that, you're touching dirty glasses and nasty cash so please don't use bare hands when touching things people will consume. Also she charged us more for the same drinks we had already ordered once on the second round. We didn't make a thing of it but did feel that was odd. And yes we tipped well both times so it wasn't due to no tips. Besides the bartender issues and the slight audio issues we had a great time. Please have Black Pistol...

Updated review: I went a second time and had a way better experience where they didn't immediately kick everyone out after the show. The sound was worse this time (monitors not on for the opening band, couldn't hear her vocals either), but it happens and was good overall. The staff was way friendlier this time too so perhaps they eliminated the pain point that caused the issues I experienced the first time. Leaving my previous review up in case not.

Sound and light were ON POINT, super professional and impressive. Acoustics were amazing. Otherwise I was disappointed with the venue. Within 15 minutes of the headliner's last note the venue started kicking everybody out. The headliner got ZERO time to talk to fans and sell merch. The show ended at 10, it's not like it was super late. I felt like the venue management was taking everything way too seriously and needed to chill out. It's a concert,...