Connie's Ric Rac is an event venue located on The 9th Street Italian Market in South Philadelphia, presenting local and regional music, comedy and performing arts. It's underground, DIY atmosphere has drawn the likes of prominent Philadelphia artists such as Amos Lee, Joe Jack Talcum (Dead Milkmen), Black Landlord, as well as national act comedians Matt Besser (Upright Citizens Brigade), Ali Faran
akian (Pit Theatre, NYC) and the quickly rising Chris Gethard. why we are here
It's simple - we love music, art and comedy. We're proud to play host to a variety of forms of entertainment, whether it be a burlesque circus show, punk rock karaoke, or a night of acoustic singer songwriters. Our main product is on the stage, not in our refrigerators. On any given night you can catch the hottest emerging artists in the Philly music and comedy scene. We are also known for presenting events such as Johnny Showcase & The Left Lucy Cabaret, Dead Flowers' Smoking Gun R***e and genre specific showcases. how we got here
Back in the day, Connie's Ric Rac was a shop owned by Connie Tartaglia with a variety of curious objects; really more of a "bric-a-brac". Her and husband Joe "Joe Brown" Tartaglia were Italian Market lifers who always had a fine appreciation for the arts, which were passed down along to their two sons, Joe Brown, Jr., and Frankie. With the explosion of the internet and companies like eBay in the late 90's, Connie sold out her entire inventory by the early 2000s. The building sat vacant for a while, and there were plans for a laundromat......
"The windows and doors were all boarded shut
And the storekeepers had closed their shops up
There wasn't anyone left around
Except for these guys
Who had guitars, and they had drums
And other instruments of wondrous sound"
Plans for the laundromat were thwarted by Joe Jr. and Frank when, along with childhood friend Pete Pelullo (who is in the construction business), built a stage, a bar, and with that Connie's Ric Rac was reborn. At the time, Frankie had just moved back to South Philly after living for several years in New York City's Lower East Side. While working at Alltrue.com, he met and formed an acoustic folk rock duo with colleague Rob Ogus. They splashed on to an emerging Philadelphia acoustic singer songwriter scene and quickly made a name for themselves. Even though the initially opened as a BYOB (and in great part contributing to it's awesome vibe), The Ric Rac became "the spot" to many of the areas up and coming musical artists. Many enjoyed late night jam sessions at Connie's, escorted back by Frank and Joe after Discount Heroes shows and open mic performances. Frankie had also been performing comedy throughout the years, and many of his joke-making and sketch-performing cohorts also began called Connie's home. High profile national acts such as Hannibal Burress (SNL, 30 Rock), and Toddy Barry (Comedy Central, Flight of The Conchords) put the Ric Rac on the comedy map, and has hosted troupes such as Philly Improv Theatre (PHIT), The Sixth Borough (to which Frankie was a founding member), Bedtime Stories (Gregg Gethard, Chris' brother!) and Ministry of Secret Jokes (Doogie Horner). After operating for 4 years as a BYOB, The Ric Rac expanded it's capacity and began serving bottled beer, wine and spirits. To this day, we continually strive to provide the best and most enjoyable experience to everyone who comes through our doors, including performers, guests, VIPs and staff. Plans for a kitchen next door are presently being executed and the opening is scheduled for early 2014.
