Review: Stalley at the Gramophone 07/29/11
This past Friday, we caught Stalley’s St. Louis debut at the Gramophone, presented by Made Monarchs.
Known for showcasing his lyrical prowess and a beard of epic proportions, Ohio native Stalley rhymed effortlessly over bass heavy production Friday night and the Gramophone. The recent addition to the Maybach Music family displayed crisp, deliberate rhymes to an adoring crowd of hip hop heads. >> – Jen Everett
photos by Jen Everett
Eleven writer Tara Mahadevan shares:
I’ve never been to The Gramophone, nor have I been to a a hip-hop show in St. Louis—Stalley’s show at The Gramophone on July 29 was a killing-two-birds-with-one-stone deal for me. I have to say that it was a brilliant introduction, allowing me to sample multiple styles of St. Louis hip-hop, first with WilliamH, then Chalk Boyz, MVP, Whiteout and RT-FAQ. All these boys did Stalley justice; and when Stalley finally came out, everyone was roaring.
I admit that I didn’t know much of Stalley’s music before the show, but knowing wasn’t a necessity. The air was buzzing with excitement and elation, and this was enough for me. Not to mention seeing the humble Stalley himself—and when I say humble, I truly mean it.
Seeing Stalley for the first time, you are immediately struck by his long beard (it seems to be his ‘signature look’); his tattoos; his fitted hat covered in pins. Stalley is unassuming—he certainly doesn’t have an in-your-face type of personality; however, he isn’t someone to ignore. His humbleness combined with his music samples and rapping style, put a fresh spin on his particular brand of hip-hop. He was tremendously thankful, showing gratitude for his crowd between songs. Stalley’s music and personality is saturated with truth, and Stalley’s fans reflected this truth, rocking as he rocked with it; singing as he sang.
However, be sure to remember that Stalley isn’t from St. Louis. He’s Ohio-born and -raised—from Massillon to be exact. He constantly reps Massillon in his music, using the area code 330 as an identifier. His website is www.stalley330.com; one of his songs (which he was sure to play at the show) is titled 330. I’d say that his hometown love is not a concept unbeknownst to St. Louisans, as we are all proud of our 314 area code. Stalley undoubtedly fit right in.
All in a night’s work, STL.
This entry was written by , posted on August 1, 2011 at 4:26 pm, filed under Live, Review and tagged gramophone, made monarchs, stalley. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.
The Feed @ Off Broadway, 6/24/2011
The Feed returned to the stage at Off Broadway, rocking a line-up change and new material.
This entry was written by , posted on July 15, 2011 at 10:00 am, filed under Live and tagged Off Broadway, The Feed. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.
CunninLynguists @ The Gramophone
CunninLynguists packed the house at the Gramophone. See more photos after the jump.
This entry was written by , posted on July 14, 2011 at 5:09 pm, filed under Live and tagged CunninLynguists, the Gramophone. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.
Photo Recap: Urban Exploration in Downtown, 6/16/11
After a successful maiden voyage in May, Eleven’s Urban Exploration team set its sights on Downtown St. Louis for the month of June. On Thursday, June 16th, we hooked up with five of our favorite bars (plus a secret bar crawl pre-game at Flamingo Bowl) for a night we could hardly remember.
This entry was written by , posted on June 28, 2011 at 8:32 pm, filed under Live and tagged Crack Fox, Downtown, Dubliner, Hair of the Dog, Lola, PinUp Bowl, St. Louis, Thaxton Speakeasy, Urban Exploration, Urban Exploration Pub Crawl, Urbex. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.
The BonnaroOregon Trail: Day 3
The BonnaroOregon Trail: Day Three
We’ve by now reached a point of no return in our adventures through the Manchesterian wasteland. With another 24 hours of binging, sweating, starving, and rocking under our collective belt of the festival’s crowd, the scene at Bonnaroo now begins to more closely resemble that of dystopian, post-apocalyptic Fallout: New Vegas than the Oregon Trail. (more…)
This entry was written by , posted on June 16, 2011 at 10:00 am, filed under Live and tagged Day 3, The BonnaroOregon Trail. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.
The BonnaroOregon Trail: Day 2
It seems we caught a lucky stroke (as opposed to Bonnaroo’s ever-looming heat stroke) as we groggily rise on Day Two of the BonnaroOregon trail: Not only did we manage to properly arrange our tent after last night’s stumble home, but fortuitously anchored it to the West of our car (er, wagon). In doing so, we’re able to stave off Manchester, Tennessee’s brutal 7:00am sunlight alarm clock with some well placed shade. (more…)
This entry was written by , posted on June 14, 2011 at 12:16 pm, filed under Live and tagged Day 2, The BonnaroOregon Trail. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.
Red Bull Thre3style @ The Old Rock House, 6/9/11
Playing to a packed house, the eight Red Bull Thre3sytle competitors threw down as many dance floor jams as they could fit into fifteen minutes (DJ Kue, above). DJ Deception took the crown (followed by DJ Who and DJ Uptown), and will be repping the Lou in the national championships this fall in Vegas. Road trip, anyone?
This entry was written by , posted on June 13, 2011 at 10:26 am, filed under Live and tagged DJ Deception, Red Bull Thre3style, The Old Rock House. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.
The BonnaroOregon Trail: Day 1
The BonnaroOregon Trail: Day One
“You guys should cover Bonnaroo this year like it’s the Oregon Trail.” It’s a few days before zero hour for the festival, and Eleven fan and compatriot, Peter, has raised a good point. Bonnaroo is a weekend tour through all of the same trials, tests, and dreams faced by the American California-hopefuls of yesteryear. We’ll stave off blistering heat without cover, and battle sickness and dehydration. We’ll manage limited supplies, and frequently be forced to decide between foraging, bartering, and starving (if only for a few hours). There will be Natives, and they will be wild. Though I suppose instead of hunting for food, we’ll be shooting bands and on the pursuit for live music (and we’ll score each band’s set accordingly).
This analogy seems close enough for us. We’ll run with it until it becomes even more infuriating to write than it invariably will be to read.
This entry was written by , posted on June 11, 2011 at 2:48 pm, filed under Live and tagged Day 1, The BonnaroOregon Trail. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.
Cold Cave @ The Luminary, 5/19/2011
Former hardcore frontman Wesley Eisold’s drowny Cure-esque vocals atop Cold Cave’s jackhammer synthpop transformed the Luminary Center for the Arts into a 1980s underground club. A single blue light captured the intensity of Eisold’s theatrical breakdown as the rest of the crowd shouted along with introverts’ anthems.
This entry was written by , posted on June 10, 2011 at 9:00 am, filed under Live and tagged Cold Cave, The Luminary Center for the Arts. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.
Red Bull Thre3style is Back
If you missed last year’s Red Bull Thre3style competition at the Old Rock House, you’ll have a second chance to experience eight of St. Louis’ best DJs fight to win the “party rock” crown: DJ Who, DJ Deception, DJ D-Mega, DJ Needles, DJ A-Flex, DJ Kue, DJ Uptown, and DJ Lonnie Bee. The rules are simple: fifteen minute sets, live mixing, and at least three genres. The rest is in each contestant’s hands (or timecode vinyl and Serato, to be more specific). And the stakes are high: the winner get’s to rep St. Louis at the national championships, and possibly the entire USA in the final, world event in Vancouver. (more…)
This entry was written by , posted on June 2, 2011 at 10:00 am, filed under Live and tagged Red Bull Thre3style, The Old Rock House. Leave a comment or view the discussion at the permalink.
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