The true story of how Upstairs Lounge was born:
A couple of stoned dudes were in one of the dudes' mom's garage, hungover from a night of candy flipping at a trance club with their high school friends. They were both white, but each of them had at least one black friend. With glowsticks fading with the dawn, they talked about how they should start DJing. This is the high school dropout version of the "we should open our own bar" dream. So the dudes talk to their friend's cousin, who happens to know a dude who DJs. They begin to dabble in it, but usually succumb to an afternoon bongfest before things get too intense. The club starts out as just a Saturday night thing in the garage, or occasionally the mom's basement. They drink from the cheap clear plastic cups (Solo cups are too expensive and totally selling out). This is before hipsters, but pretty sure not that long before hipsters. One night someone calls the cops and they decide to move the party. A chick at the party is squatting in an abandoned loft above some Vietnamese restaurant. The party ends up there. They tape some newspapers over the window to ensure that no secondhand smoke is wasted, and the party takes off. Some nights four, maybe five people show up. Things are getting crazy, and the dudes realize they need to be more legit. They invest in a used disco ball, because chicks love disco balls. Chicks also love cartoons, at least the chicks they want to bone, so they get a few TVs. Â Not long after that, they realize the men's bathroom at their party has been ranked as the number one glory hole in St. Louis by a poll in the Riverfront Times. Officially on the map, DJs flock to this ultra-hip party, which they are now just calling "upstairs". "Hey man, where's the party at?" "Upstairs". Throngs of 20-somethings, whose skin has never actually been exposed to daylight, flock to the club, eager to get behind the horse stall of a DJ booth and go toe-to-toe with some other music geek who has also read every issue of Vibe and Source, in addition to every issue of Spiderman. Becoming ambitious and business savvy, the dudes ask the Vietnamese restaurant owner if they can put up a sign outside their club. They forgot if the dude said yes. They also forgot to get a sign. Meh, whatever. In a strategic marketing move, they rename the party a "lounge", as to convey the upscale clientele and overall vibe of the party. A local strip club goes out of business, and somebody's brother barters a motorcycle for the strip club's red vinyl booths. Sometimes it's just the same people at this party as in the old days, but sometimes some newbs stumble in, not even sure how they got there. It's often referred to as the "new dance club on Grand", because even after 13 years, nobody's ever heard of this party. The hipster movement in St. Louis explodes, and this underground party becomes every hipster's wet dream. Nobody here really cares if you can't dance or if you didn't take a shower this week. Every afternoon, the dudes who founded this party wake up in a daze, wondering if last night was real, or just some trippy dream (they are kind of bummed when they realize it was real. That's a lot of responsibility, man...) Just like you will wake up tomorrow afternoon, wondering if Upstairs Lounge was real, or if you need to lay off the shrooms.
P.S. Nothing I've ever read comes close to the awesomeness of how this club describes itself on their website. You will actually have to have been to this club to understand what I mean. <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Fupstairslounge.com%2F&s=addc530641049c688698ed45c643aeabfe3ca4193d7ada570b5c90aa2152ae0a" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://upstairslounge.co…</a>
P.P.S. They actually do accept credit cards, and will even let you open a tab. When you come back up to order a second and third drink, the bartender will ask if you have a tab open. You will look around the empty room and blink at her, wondering how she forgot that you just gave her your credit card, and how she doesn't realize that the only open tab is your open tab, because you are the only person to show up for Kung Fu/Anime/HipHopParty night.
Felt like dancing with the girl friends and stumbled upon this place.
Entrance: It is SO HARD to find this place, because it doesn't have a sign for it facing the street. Just look for MeKong and it's right above it (As in, the owner owns both places, interesting business endeavor!). You go in through the side door on the side street and after getting your ID checked, you go up some narrow set of stairs and you're there!
Decor: Dark, alternative. There are booths along the side of the room and of course, your bar and (small) dancefloor. Mind you, this place is a very small place. As in, you have to squeeze by the bar to get to where you want because there's a narrow width of about 2 people here.
We went on a pretty crowded night and they were playing house sort of music with the 2 DJ's switching off. I loved that my girlfriends and I could rock out to the music with other people without being creeped on by creepsters. It was just a very fun, chill crowd- do what you want, be what you want!
Oh and I also enjoyed the (weird/trippy) things on the TV screen, definitely something that I stared at a lot lol
Overall: Very cool for a nice chill night to dance/drink/watch! Bad thing: cover charge.
This is a 3 - 4 star place for me and that depends on what you are looking for. Â I am not quite sure about an $8 cover charge for just a dj, especially when there is no variety in the music (or let's just say none) but I like the vibe and it is interesting to see how the crowd evolves as the clock hits midnight. Â Both times I have been I've gone around 10pm, when it is kinda dead still, and early enough to get a booth, but wait too long and you won't have a place to sit. Â Also interesting how you get in. Â Certainly worth checking out.
Review Source:Along with Urban I have to say Upstairs Lounge is a close second to new places I like to go. Â I recently discovered this place after a friend of mine started DJ'ing again. Â The drinks are pretty cheap and they do have a late night menu. Â Also, there is plenty of stuff to catch your eye here. I'm not going to lie, I suffer from ADD so watching the monitors or screens with whatever video they have going on while the DJ is spinning pretty much means I'm not paying attention to anything else. Â The bartenders are pretty good and they have some awesome drinks specials some nights. ($2 new castles? yes please!). Â
This place is a dive and with a dive you want to avoid using the restrooms here. They look like they were original to whenever the building was built and are in need of some sort of repair/cleaning/gut rehab. At least the Men's bathroom does. Â Still an awesome place to drink and listen to some music.
The Upstairs Lounge has been a great "semi-secret" in St Louis for years. A lot of St Louis' DJs from all genres have played sets at this intimate bar, and they've definitely had a fair hand in helping to keep the live DJ scene stay alive in St Louis. Their prices are fair and  the service I've had over the last 13 years has generally been good.
I found out about the bar through friends back in 1999, and have gone there often for various DJ nights off and on ever since. Over the years I've seen the Upstairs make improvements to their stage/DJ area, sound system, video screens, and more. These improvements not only made my experience as a patron more enjoyable, but also made it more gratifying when I perform there as DJ Ronin.
Hi Y'all. I like the Upstairs for a variety of reasons and I third the kudos to the water coolers on the side of the dance floor. This place is one of the few you can get independent DJs who dont play top 40 pop all the time. I like the unpretentiousness and the nonexistent dress code as I feel in other clubs especially Mandarin in the CWE. No pretty party dress needed here or heels--forget it! Wear what wont fall off or ride up b/c you will need it for hours to be shakin it in. I agree that beats and blips can get old after awhile without any lyrics. Its nice when DJs find unknown great stuff to throw in so it has more depth. I warn anyone from going on Ladies night which I believe was a thursday? where the DJ was horrible and played epitome of nasty hip hop i mean the dirtiest available ronchy degrading to women songs. Really? on ladies night? It was awful. I much prefer the creative mixup of other nights and I havent ever checked out a special show but will look forward to doing so based on other yelpers. This place is often dead so its not for the shy if you dont like others watching you or you are too chicken to be the first to get the party started go somewhere else. If you love to dance and do it like you just dont care, this is it y'all. Â I dont come to drink so i can't speak to that, but most times i dont pay a cover and it was only $5 the time I did.
Review Source:Upstairs Lounge is the perfect place to end you're night if you're into dancing and are up for something unexpected. Â My last visit (Saturday) was a dubstep night. Â We got a couple drinks, some crab rangoon and some dancing done before it was time to go home. Â
All-in-all, a little shady, but exactly what I was in the mood for at the time.
Upstairs Lounge is one of those places that I don't love but I end up going a bunch of times anyway. I know a couple of people who DJ on the weekends here. We show up for morale support. The place has some comfy booth seats. I like the little TVs. I photograph them often (I've uploaded a bunch of pictures). But aside from that, I am just not that excited about the place. It's tiny. The bathroom upstairs is a dump (cool broken mirror mural I guess on the stall wall). Service at the bar is awfully spotty: sometimes you don't even get a full drink or it is really watered down. It's dead empty most of the times until you have a big namer in town. People watching can be fun here but you need PEOPLE before you can watch them.
Just an overall M'eh place for me, and thumbs down for always charging a cover.
There's nothing really fancy about the Upstairs Lounge. Â It's a cozy dimly-lit space with a bar, some seating booths,a DJ perch, and a dancefloor. Â Your experience depends on which night you go. Â
Currently, Monday nights are pretty kicking (indie/electro/dance), as well as the 2nd and 4th Saturdays (dubstep). Â Being a 3AM bar, things don't really get going until well after midnight. Â The music you'll hear at the Upstairs Lounge is usually on the cusp of what's new. Â Don't expect anything close to mainstream here. The small space can make for some fantastic intimate dance parties, but prepare to get sweaty and smokey. Â That's just the way it goes here. Â Sometimes it's free, other times there could be a $3-$5 cover.
I have to give this place an extra star for the recent addition of a late-night food menu.  You can order from about 7-8 items from the downstairs restaurant until 2 AM.  Choices include crab rangoon, egg rolls, chicken curry, kebabs, pot stickers, and more, and every item costs 4 bucks. The quality of the food was surprisingly good.  The chicken curry actually blew me away.  Granted I was a bit tipsy, but it was just amazing.  A small bowl full of spicy, coconut-y curry with a generous amount of dark-meat chicken, carrots, and potato, served with a bowl of rice.  This stuff was HOT (in both temperature and spice), full of flavor, and I could not get enough.  It's the type of thing you would get at a typical curry house in England.  The egg rolls and crab rangoon were also pretty good, and served with some nice  dipping sauces. The food came out fast and was a good deal for the money.
UPDATE: As of Feb 2011 the chicken curry quality has gone down, it is no longer as delicious and spicy because people were saying it was too spicy. It's just OK now. Â You might be able to ask them to crank up the heat, but I'm not sure.
I'm back and forth between 3 and 4 stars on this one. Â Sometimes I love this place, other times, eh... Â I like the overall feel of this bar. Â The beer selection is pretty good, the booths are comfy, the video and lights are fun, and the music is USUALLY good. Â
Last time I went, it was FREEZING out and it didn't get even slightly busy until about midnight. Â I hadn't been there in years so I didn't know what to expect as far as the crowd goes. Â Half of the crowd seemed cool, the other half- trashed yuppies. Â The DJ kept screwing up, but I enjoyed most of his selections. Â
I'm sure I'll go back, but I'll try to go when there's a better DJ. Â I like Clockwork a lot, so I'll wait for him. Â That probably would have made my choice between 3 & 4 stars easier.
I have to downgrade UL a bit based on my latest experience. Â I went on a Saturday night hoping for good music and a place to dance. Â I knew the dance floor didn't usually get started until late, but this time it never got off the ground. Â Although the drinks were cheap, the DJ was so loud I couldn't talk to the person next to me and we both left absolutely reeking of smoke. Â Hair, clothes, skin, there's no place the smoke hadn't completely saturated in just a couple hours.
Review Source:Granted, I'm a newbie to St. Louis and I am getting to the age where I should be, "over the bar scene", I didn't HATE the Upstairs Lounge. I had been hearing stories of the Upstairs for about 3 years from my boyfriend, who lived in St. Louis for years and fought tooth and nail about our moving here. This move was one of the side products of the Bush/Cheney administration but the "husband" (you know we can only marry in metropolises like Des Moines, Iowa) find ourselves here in St. Louis.
Apparently, the Upstairs used to be much more religious iconography filled than it is today. Now it has sad a collection of Jesus statues and Rosary beads. One even so cheesy that I do have to appreciate it, a crucifix inside a water-filled tube (think bong) with multi-colored bubbles. Its like Jesus meets the Warp drive on the Enterprise, and seriously, who can't  love that, except every God fearing hypocrite in the mid-west.
Long-story short... This place is OK. They play the same fucking music as every other gay and/or straight bar in town (any city really). You do need to walk in through a pseudo-Asian  restaurant and you can call downstairs to order a pot-sticker to sober up a bit when the v-and redbull and shots of Jamesons haven't subdued your misery with life. Ah... and this is my favorite bar, thus far, in St. Louis. (Thank you Anthony Bourdain for allowing me to be this bitchy, and my mother, and sister, and grandmother, great grandmother...) I'll just stop now...
By the way... This is not a gay bar. It's simply my way of stating that every gay bar in the country plays BAD techno-remixes of  either good or bad songs and they're simply miserable. And now all straight bars have followed suit. Who knew that the downfall of America would be mirrored in terrible, and I mean, TERRIBLE, bad remixes of songs that should have never been recorded in the first place.
To be honest, I thought places like this didn't exist in St. Louis. I have never experienced a dance party like London Calling outside of house parties, specific concerts, or European clubs. I have been searching for the mythical beast that is the amazing sweaty crowded dance for 4 hours straight with video screens in the background and a dj mixin funky music kinda club. It was so sweet to finally find you.
Review Source:I freaking love this place. I had never even heard of it before last weekend. Some friends and I went here after CBGBs (which we left because it was dead).
I have to admit I didn't want to go to a "club" (I was wearing jeans, sneakers, and my boyfriend's white cotton undershirt), but I gave it a try anyway.
I guess we were lucky to be there while London Calling was there because they fucking ROCKED. I can't think of a club that I have ever danced so much in and had such a great time.
There is a small-ish bar area and a few booths, but really I was on the dance floor almost all night. It was a great, friendly atmosphere. No one was judging me because I am an AWFUL dancer, or asking "who's that ugly lesbo over there" (based on my attire).
Bartenders were also very friendly and it was just a great diverse crowd. There is a cover, but I think it's only like $5 or something. Can't remember how expesive drinks were (it was a wild night), but I for sure cannot wait to go back.
If you want to experience real house music and a diverse crowd make it to Upstairs Lounge for their Fly or Escuela nights. No dress code, no attitude - wear whatever is comfortable for you to dance in! The help-yourself water cooler is very much appreciated. Dance floor doesn't get going until 11:30 or 12.
Review Source:I have to admit that I usually can only handle being at the Upstairs Lounge if I'm already really, really drunk, which really isn't that often these days. Â To be totally fair to the establishment, I'm a bit of an introvert, and the crowded club thing isn't usually what I'm up for. Â
That said, the drink prices are pretty good and they do have specials. Â The music varies pretty greatly, so if you care, you might want to know what night is what. Â The popular London Calling is every second and fourth Saturday night. Â I had my hopes up for that one, but I feel like the music isn't that great, but hey, it gets a lot of people dancing. Â Oh, and there is a cover some nights.
London Calling-
Rockin' it old school, London Calling, every second and fourth Saturday nights features an array of music from 80's punk to modern day indie-pop.
The talented D.J.'s know how to turn the tables out while a large selection of display screens unanimously provide food for the eyes.
Among my favorite, DJ Clockwork scales the crowd with camera in hand, generously capturing party-goers in the best of their moments.
Night doesn't really get going until about 11 p.m.
I suggest an earlier arrival to get settled into your perfect "watching booth." You're going to need it.
If you want the best in underground dance culture in St. Louis, this is the spot. Â There are more mainstream clubs such as Dante's and Xes, but I find the crowds to be more focused on image at these venues - and that's why I love Upstairs.
You can come as you are, which really is what EDM is all about :)
You'll find a very diverse group of people and depending on which night you attend, many different distinct subcultures within the framework of whatever act is playing that night. Â In a nutshell, when I'm on the dancefloor smiling and twirling about with people of every background, race, social status, ethnicity, orientation, etc. AND I don't notice those differences, I know I'm at Upstairs. Â And that's why I call this place home.
Couple of things. Â If you're not into loud speakers pushing obscure tunes (or blips n bleeps for that matter), smoky rooms, odd people, and crowds - then Upstairs is not a place you want to hang. Â Maybe you like bands? Â Check out Mangia down the street. Â If you want to be a regular at Upstairs, people will welcome you - but I oftentimes hear people say "oh, that place is weird." Â Darn right it is. Â And I love it that way!
Drinks are always made right, not to mention good prices. Â Unpretentious vibe *SO key!* Â The funky flavor gives the place great character - if you want people playing pretend posh, go to Clayton or Lucas Park. Â Not that there's anything wrong with those places, just a different crowd. Â If you value flashy, go elsewhere. Â
We just go to get down.
The Upstairs Lounge gets my vote for the best place to dance in St. Louis. Â Why? Â I'm from Chicago, and this place really knows what it's doing. Â Kinda reminds me of the Note on Milwaukee, or how Smartbar was before the renovation.
Is it flashy? Â No, but as small a city as St. Louis is, the Upstairs strikes the right balance by being not too big, but with a lot of room to dance. Â The DJ booth is in the right spot, in the back, with a small area for the dj and guests, and some booths near the back. Â There's booths to chill in all along the wall, and a video wall opposite that. Â The bar is near the entrance, which really helps reduce the foot traffic on the dance floor. Â
The crowd varies, depending on the DJ's that are promoting that night. Â Â That's another thing, this place has done so well for the St. Louis scene as far as bringing in out of town underground talent. Â If you're into house and techno, you'd be remiss to not go to a FLY or Escuela house night, Â or an Alphahouse or UnitOvOne techno night. Â These guys really know what they're doing when it comes to bringing in talent. Â Truth is, there's a lot of good local dj's bringing in out of town talent to this city, and chances are they are bringing it through the Upstairs lounge.
The bar service can get a bit slow if it's busy, but that's pretty much any bar when they're busy. Â They have some inexpensive options, but they're pretty middle of the road when it comes to drinks.
Having thrown some pretty big parties in Chicago myself, if there is one thing that really sticks out with the Upstairs Lounge, it's the water jugs on the side of the dance floor. Â It's really great to be able to get some water if you've been dancin' so much and you don't want another drink quite yet. Â You don't have to go to the bar, and it keeps people at the party. Â So kudos!
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