World Cafe Live - Philadelphia

It's a relatively small venue in the same building as a local public radio studio.

https://xpn.org/

I believe it is actually part of the studio that they use for live performances on-air. Seating is limited and the venue is geared towards radio and not necessarily a live venue like a concert hall that would have livelier acoustics and larger seating areas.

There's some images here of what it looks like:
https://worldcafelive.com/visit/facility-rentals/

It's actually pretty swank as concert halls go. I was there, once, back in like 2010 when a software vendor rented the place out for a panel discussion on data security topics. The food was good and the venue is intimate enough that you feel part of the action.

OK, so, I haven't been there in a real long time but IIRC, it was called something else for a while before it became World Cafe Live. It had something to do with the WXPN radio station that it was a part of back then. I think Comcast manages it now which is why it's got the "Live" moniker. Everything in the city with "Live" in the name seems to have a Comcast connection.

Anyway, that doesn't detract from it at all. It's a small, intimate setting and while it's not like The TLA (think MTV Unplugged sessions kind of stage) where the stage is pretty much in the center and there's only 1 level of seating for a very intimate venue it is intimate. Intimate like when I went to see Norah Jones and sneezed in the middle of her talking and she pointed at me and said "Bless you, handsome!" and winked at me.

It's on or right next to U of Penn's campus in University City. That's a real nice part of city with several schools clustered there including U of Penn (Ivy League), Drexel (a top tech school in the country) and the famed Temple University with a half a dozen more smaller schools nearby.

If you have to stay in the area overnight, stay in University City, everything is very walkable with tons of restaurants and bars/taverns.

I'll go ahead and recommend The Study

https://www.thestudyatuniversitycity.com/?

Swanky joint, good ratings and not too bad on price for the area

If you're only going to be in town for a night and need a bite to eat outside of the World Cafe then wander over to The New Deck Tavern

https://www.newdecktavern.com/

College bar, stellar food, can be hard to get in to so reservations are recommended if you're sitting down. But that's where my database professor in college would have our final reviews my senior year.

There's a ton to do in Philly if you're staying for a weekend too.

But one thing I do know for sure is that I've been to almost every concert venue in Philly, big and small and none of them are bad. You'll have a great experience no matter what show you go to there.

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