It does not belong to us

Some time long ago we had a scene that we were part of. A scene that provided love, joy, and surreal experiences. The scene was full of life and music. We could dance all night and feel ecstatic pulses of energy running through our bodies. The music was life.

Last night at the Upstairs Lounge I realized that there is nothing left of that scene. Although I've pretty much known this for some time I came to the frightening conclusion that there is no longer a place for "us." For about 8 years the Upstairs Lounge has been the refuge for the old raver. It is a small intimate bar which features local dj's playing an assortment of underground music. After the rave scene died and we slowly trickled into the club scene we became unsatisfied with this scene because of the plasticity of it. The Upstairs Lounge was the place that seemed to be for "us"- the real dance music enthusiast. Recently I've decided that I've had enough of the bar because the vibe over the last 2 years has been changing. Slowly "other" people have been stumbling into the venue and now realize that it is the "cool" spot. Now there have always been "other" people who have wandered into the bar but they usually pick up on the positive vibe and just move along with it. My problem is with the new crowd of random people that seem to come in, get wasted, and cause trouble. Their behavior takes away from the music and it has now stolen our last refuge.

Last night I witnessed a person start yelling that the DJ was a pussy regardless of the fact that I was hearing some of the dopest Dubstep I've ever heard. The crowd was dancing and enjoying themselves with the exception of some people who decided to stir up some shit. The surprising thing to me is how well they pull "us" into their little game. It is like two animals in the wild having a stand off. These idiots have encroached into our territory and now we are retaliating. We can no longer sit by and let these people ruin our nights, our club, our vibe. So what do we do? We lower ourselves and begin to act like them by shouting back or calling them names. This is not what our scene is about nor is it what we are about.

What we really need in St. Louis is a "real" club. By that I mean another small intimate club that is owned by someone who knows what good music is and actually values our scene for what it is instead of just seeing it as a money maker. I know this is a little idealistic but why can't this happen? So many people have gotten rich exploiting our scene so it has to be possible that someone who actually cares for the music should be able to run a decent club.