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Photographs by Thomas Crone
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Perhaps it was the event’s relatively late booking onto the Pop’s concert calendar. Maybe it was due to the lack of star power sent in from the Insane Clown Posse’s own Psychopathic Records. Or (to suggest some heresy to true believers) it could be that the ICP banner is being carried by fewer followers these days. Chalk it up to whatever you will, but this year’s X-mas Juggalo Bash at Pop’s drew an attendance running about half that of last year, with less national firepower and more of a local vibe on the bill.
Not that those St. Louis area groups lacked for enthusiasm. Playing to a hometown crowd of Juggalos and Juggalettes, acts like Chainsaw Magavin, Hazmat F.T.G. and Pimp on Wheels (P.O.W.) were among the eight acts taking the Pop’s stage, all of them introduced by the night’s striking host Triplesix, who ushered each into the spotlight with the ‘lo and ‘lette rallying cry of “Whoop! Whoop!”
For those unfamiliar with the particular, two-decade-old subset of hip-hop spearheaded by ICP, Juggalo groups are usually locked into duos or trios, taking the stage without the accompaniment of either bands or DJs; occasionally a hype man’s in on the act, though. Instead of live scratching or backing tracks, the cuts roll through the PA from the sound booth, and the MCs let loose with a lyrical approach that centers on a small batch of themes: attaining sex, smoking weed, making bank, committing acts of wild (downright cartoonish) violence and, oddly enough, loving family. When the beats slow and the lyrics get more heartfelt, it’s a kicker to hear acts that were ready to verbally unleash a Glock on their enemies suddenly changing tack and rhyming about their love of the scene. “We Are Family,” indeed.
As watchers of local pop culture are aware, there’s long been a strong vein of Juggalo support in St. Louis, due in part to the longtime presence of the Gathering of the Juggalos, a days-long music (and wrestling) event in the heart of southeastern Illinois, about a three-hours-and-change journey from St. Louis. (Reports indicate that the event, after years of various controversies, will be moving from Cave-in-Rock, IL, to Ohio for 2014.) Acts in the same musical/lyrical ballpark as ICP, like the long-running Kottonmouth Kings, are staples on the Pop’s calendar. As Juggalo strongholds go, well, St. Louis has been one.
On this evening, though, our town’s Juggalo acts weren’t just jockeying for attention with the greater world, they were trying to keep people in the room instead of having them drift out the smoking corral, where a raucous, unofficial sideshow was taking place. There, acts just offstage were free-styling and battling on the patio, where at least a third of the crowd were found at any time, thick smoke rings rising into the Sauget skies.
Inside, we fought with lighting and the effects of a 17-hour sleep session the night before, attempting to get a visual sense of this year’s attendees (who, we have to note, included two members of the under-five set, some of the town’s young ‘los). As always, the Pop’s staff was nothing less than generous and accommodating.
Here are shots from last year’s more colorful Bash. Enjoy some pics from this year below. Whoop! Whoop!
Photographs by Thomas Crone
