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The Creek & The Cave's former location in NYC.
No city is immune to the struggle that the pandemic has put on the entertainment industry but Austin is giving a New York City transplant a second chance.
Taking over what used to be Barracuda on 7th Street in Downtown, The Creek & The Cave will be reborn on April 1 as the newest comedy club in Austin. Austin's comedy scene has suffered with the loss of iconic Austin establishment Cap City Comedy to the pandemic.
The Creek & The Cave spent 14 years entertaining New Yorkers and giving comedians like Donald Glover and Sara Benincasa a stage until COVID-19 hit, forcing the venue to permanently close in late December.
After Austin-based Rough Cut Comedy Producer Marty Clarke heard about the closure on The Comedy Cellar, he reached out to former owner Rebecca Trent. As a comedian and producer for eight years, Clarke said he thought The Creek & Cave could fill a newly-opened spot in Austin's comedy market.
"With our shows going so well, and there being no comedy clubs in town, I reached out to Rebecca and we found an amazing spot that we can turn into something really special for the Austin comedy scene," Clarke said. "The stars aligned for us to build something cool and supportive that the whole community can feel a part of, continuing the legacy of The Creek & The Cave."
Once the club is up and running it will host shows most days of the week from 6 p.m.-12 a.m. On weekdays, you can expect to see local Austin comedians, themed shows, regional acts and interactive acts, while Thursday-Saturday will be reserved for headlining acts. Some shows will be free, though most weekday shows will cost $5 and most weekend shows will start at $20 tickets.
With an indoor and outdoor stage, open mics every night, light vittles and a full drink menu Trent said the new club will become a platform for all comedians, big or small.
"The Austin comedy scene has always been a wonderful and magical place to hone the craft and, as the scene grows and becomes more robust, we want to build a true clubhouse to serve as a place all comics can call home," Trent said. "We will be providing a platform for the up and coming local comedians, as well as exposing them to big-name headliners. Part Master Class, part Dojo, part club, and all funny."
Tickets will be available for purchase on creekandcaveatx.com and you can find the new venue on Instagram.
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(Pexels)
Austin's one-bedroom rent has more than doubled—a 112% increase—from April 2021 to 2022, the report said. Only Oklahoma City saw a higher year-over-year increase with a 133% jump.
Austin also had the fourth-highest increase in two-bedroom rent, with a 50% increase in the past year. The city joined a nationwide trend where rents were up 8.3% year-over-year across the U.S, a trend exacerbated by a 6.2% increase in inflation in the same time period.
But "not everyone is experiencing inflation the same way," Redfin Deputy Chief Economist Taylor Marr said in the report, and a brunt of the load has gone to cities with more move-ins. While over 90% of state rental markets increased in the last year, that jump was seen most in Sun Belt states, including Texas, Arizona and Florida.
Even with breakneck increases in rent, however, Austin's rent prices still haven't cracked the top 10: the city's one-bedroom apartments are the 12th most expensive in the nation with an average price of $2,918. Meanwhile, its two-bedrooms fall behind Texas cities Frisco, Dallas and Plano and come out 34th on the list with a $2,302 average monthly rent.
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(Shutterstock)
In a recent poll on the metaverse, a third of respondents leaned toward feeling more scared about it. It’s a response fitting for a tool that’s in its infancy stages, where it’s not uncommon for some to find it elusive or irrelevant, or require a virtual reality headset.
Amber Allen, founder of metaverse company Double A, has noticed these concerns. Now with the Austin-based company, she’s working on advancements in the metaverse, which may see progress in business use before it becomes mainstream in the general public. But getting to that point involves demystifying misconceptions over it, like that we’ll all put a headset on and avoid real life.
“A lot of people are talking about the metaverse and like what it could be in 10 or 30 years. And they're not talking a lot about what it is right now. And I think that's what scares people and confuses them,” Allen told Austonia. “I'm just very passionate about what is the metaverse now. It's the next wave of the internet. No, you don't need to wear a VR headset.”
(Amber Allen/Twitter)
She broke this down last week in Forbes, writing about what is hype versus what’s actually happening with this phase of the internet.
Allen sees how eventually, the metaverse could become a part of how we play and interact. But before the Metaverse extends to the average consumer, many predict that it will be popular in business first.
It’s why some think Microsoft may have an edge over Facebook turned Meta in the industry. And why Allen has designed for work that’s 3D, interactive and business to business, garnering interest from companies like General Mills, Dell and Chanel.
She points to how many workers now prefer a hybrid work environment, but says the business tools are not there right now. It’s not just within the workplace, however. Double A also offers tools for boosting sales and generating brand engagement through activities like watch parties and meet and greets.
With companies like Allen’s, corporate metaverse use could see wider adoption. Double A has hired 13 people this year, adding to the ranks of nearly 30 employees plus dozens of contractors. Some are remote workers outside of Texas while others use the office in East Austin with graffiti art that includes popular gaming figures like Zelda and the Mario Brothers.
Allen takes great pride in working in her home state, saying that she’d like to be a great ambassador for Austin. She said she wants people new to the city to feel welcome. She has meet ups from time to time so that new people who have moved in can get face time with others who have been in Austin for a while.
Still, her work is bound to extend outside of Austin as she aims to create products that will have global reach.
“I want to change the world,” Allen said. “You got to think localized. If I'm creating something, how does this work for Europe? How would this work for Asia? How can they build on things?”
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