Ummmmm! The reverence I have for Coldtowne is unprecedented…read more.. I've been asked my whole life if I'm a comedienne... and thanks to Coldtowne, i can say I dabble. I've been taking improv classes here for the last year! And it's been the most fun to be playing make believe with grown ups! 10/10 recommend the classes. Coldtowne has a vibrant community from all walks of life and everyone is truly welcome here, just as they are. An inclusive space full of every flavor of weirdo (myself included) and I am HERE FOR IT Shows Thurs-Sundays, free jams, and there's stand up and workshops and classes. You can grab drinks or snacks at the bar. Shows are $10-30 (bargain) to see local and big act comedy. Coldtowne is actually HOT SHIT. Lvoe this space. Trust.

I visited ColdTowne to catch some stand up comedy, specifically Vanessa Gonzalez, a fellow Texan…read morebased here in Austin. She was hilarious! This comedy club not only hosts shows but has comedy workshops. It's a very inclusive venue where all are welcome so long as you're kind, open-minded, and ready to laugh.

Our group had an AMAZING experience for my sister's bachelorette party! Our teacher, Sara, was…read moreawesome and offered all sorts of creative ways to draw our model... and of course our male model, Brandon, was super hot and had a great personality to boot. Totally classy yet very cheeky, my sister said it was her fav part of the whole day we'd planned for her. Artful was very accommodating, communicated clearly about pricing and how things would work the whole way. Our teacher/model duo brought music and all supplies and took requests for music we wanted to hear. There was no touching and no crazy dancing... just cheeky art, fun banter, a very handsome nude dude, and lots of laughter and good times. The PERFECT event for any bachelorette or special birthday! Can't recommend this experience enough to others looking for a unique, adult way to celebrate with girlfriends!

As an artsy bride who was treated to this special surprise, I was blown away by the creative idea,…read morebeautiful gallery venue, and super professional host and model! 10/10 AND I'D HIT IT AGAIN!! Val was so funny and talented, and Dwayne was so sexy, and so kind. They were an awesome duo, and our bride tribe LOVED it. As for the arts - we actually learned so much, while having fun. Val even got us drawing blind and switching canvases. Definitely give this event a try if your curious and want to have a good time. They'll have you coming back for more!! ;)

I heard that they can sho' nuff jiggle so well that they generate a High Wattage of clean energy!…read moreOne show can power a multi-lane car wash And a row of Condos!!! Highly eclectic electric even electronic show-ow-ow !!

This is my very favorite burlesque troupe. They always bring the most inclusive and talented…read moreperformances. So sexy and so fun! I always have an amazing time at their shows! Don't miss out!

We had the entire place to ourselves on a Friday night. We did the axe throwing for 1 hour. Super…read morefun family activity! Will definitely be back. Most of the place is for VR. They have about 6-8 axe throwing areas. The place is clean, even the bathrooms!

We booked a reservation for our large party before a birthday dinner reservation. When we arrived,…read morethey had squeezed in a social media influencer, making us miss our reservation time. We told the employees our issue with timing, and after some hesitation, they stopped the influencer's game early. The employees strapped our group in, told us how to play, and go us going. We played the pirate game. It took a bit to get used to, but then once adapted to the graphics and hand controls, wasn't too bad. We were nearing the end of the game, and about to beat the "big boss" at the end, when the game reset. The employee came over and basically said "Whoops, I was trying to watch your game from my screen and hit the EXIT button instead. But here's a business card so you can leave us a review." Very disappointing. Docked one star. It was a cool experience, but not sure we'll return. It's a lot to pay, especially for a big group, to not be able to play for your fully booked time, at your booked time, and to have your game cut short. Buyer beware.

Since no one has provided commentary for the last year, I would like to contribute my personal…read moreexperiences with NKL. First of all, I am a newbie--and after a year and a half of wandering around Austin trying to find a local hang out where I could meet people, I happened to stumble into Egos on a Thursday night in desperate search for Karaoke and a good time. With me was my friend Patrick. We look around, there's two people at the bar with afro wigs. Another patron walks in with chaps on. I look at Patrick and say, "I guess we missed the notice that it's wig night..." and then I look over and notice Master Shake in the corner. After being rebuffed by the Karaoke Jocky with a snort, "Karaoke's only for NKL until 10!" we decided to grab a booth and watch. We snag someone in a white lab coat (now my teammate) and ask what is going on: "It's National Karaoke League! It's the last night of the regular season. We're all on teams and we take turns singing--it's a lot of fun. Excuse me, I have to go." The young man runs up to the stage and proceeds to strip off his lab coat--and is wearing a full S&M harness underneath. As he hoods himself and unzipps his mask to let his voice be heard on the mike ("I wanna sex you up" I believe), Patrick reminds me to close my mouth (my unhinged jaw is on floor in shock). We watch the rest of the performances in awe--"Maniac" from flash dance, where I wait to see a nip slip as she bounces up and down on the stage in a full run-in-place with only a bandeau bra and a homemade leotard, a full corseted drag performance of "No More I Love Yous" where the man singing has a full beard and the best Annie Lenox voice I've ever heard. Then we are treated to "Thriller" replete with zombie costumes and of course, the signature dance. After that number I run to the ladies room, and when I open the door, I find the bartender (who I now know as Laura) mopping up the floor covered in water and muttering, "fucking zombies." As Patrick mounts the stage at 10 to sing his signature number "I want it that way" the zombies break out into their dance at his feet, and I look at him from the crowd, and he looks at me, and we both know. We have to join. My first season at NKL has not disappointed in the least. From seeing "The Human Centipede" in front of my eyes, to witnessing two "births", and spending countless hours with Patrick and 7 other people I didn't know, I have made wonderful friends--and even better memories. There's a picture of me dressed as a little boy, munching on a cupcake while the creepy old Herbert from Family Guy croons "Somewhere that's Green." There's pictures of teammembers half naked--almost totally naked--cross dressed, in the throes of passionate performance that we will have to one day explain to our kids. There's been drama and paranoia and politics and a whole lot of laughter. And I cannot wait for next season.

I've been involved in the NKL for several years now, and it's one of the most fun activities around…read morewith an amazing community of people involved in it. Well worth your valuable time. The basic idea is that you get on a team with people and, as a team, do three songs each week. You can have a team already, or come in as an individual and let them set you up on a team. It's very friendly to newcomers, and each team generally has a few new people on it. The audience will vote for their favorite performances, and over the course of the season, eventually a champion is crowned. But it's way more than just singing. In fact, singing ability isn't even a major factor. There's costumes, performances, and choreography in addition to the singing, and it's an environment where enthusiasm counts for more than ability. They have two divisions in town: one up north at the Canary Roost and the other down south at Ego's, so you have options as to where you want to go. There are three seasons a year, each lasting about two and a half months with weekly competition. But as much fun as it is to perform and see what everyone else comes up with (and, believe me, it's really amazing to see what gets done), what I really love about NKL are the people involved. It's a really diverse crowd where you really can't predict what kinds of folks you'll encounter. The quality that unifies them, though, is that they all like to perform and they all like to have a good time. The folks that I've met through NKL are insanely fun and interesting and awesome. Bottom line is that there's really never anything boring in NKL, and you're sure to meet a ton of cool people. Participating has been one of the best things I've done.

Nick: this is my third first this week…read more With that out of the way, let me say that Mariachi Cocula freaking rules! We hired them for my son's second birthday, as he's big into music these days and we've been big into music our whole lives. They knew every request (obviously...like a bunch of gringos could stump an authentic Mariachi band), they sounded great, they played an extra 10 minutes. My son, who is simultaneously blonde and Mexican, enjoyed himself immensely. We got major props from the guests and everyone asked for their business card afterwards. Best Mariachi in town. They also play at Jalisco's if you want to hear them before you hire them.

My wife hired them for my birthday party as a surprise for me. They were on time and very…read moreprofessional. They played a great set of tunes, and even some from my wife's home country (not Mexico). They are excellent musicians, especially the guy who sang "Malagueña" - what a voice! Everyone at the party loved their performance, and I would not hesitate to hire them again. Call well in advance, though, since they book quickly, and for good reason.

I'm not easily embarrassed. My life is charmed and beautiful…read moreand awkward and hilarious and horrifying and tragic and laughable, all rolled into one. And I'm okay with that. One night, I was getting drunk in my bed alone. I had just moved, and found a box of old journals when I was unpacking. I began to read them, and Little Me was just as awkward as Big Me. I laughed and laughed at the stupid shit I wrote about. I began to look at shark attacks on google, and about an hour later, I found myself on the Mortified website. So it began. I was going to do the Mortified show. The entire experience was one of the best things I've ever gone through. It was fun, enlightening, painful, and uncomfortable. The rest of the cast is amazing, and I feel I've made new friends. Maybe not. Maybe they don't like me. Whatevs. The live show was incredible. The producers made sure everything was flawless. As I read some of my most embarrassing childhood thoughts to 200 people, I realized that I wasn't alone in my childhood unpleasant situations. Everyone has their stories. Everyone knew what I was talking about. But fucking A, dude. This show is called Mortified for a reason. It's unapologetically humiliating. I would do it again in a second.

If you like open mic type stuff you should definitely come check out a Mortified show. My friend…read moreSara who lives in Los Angeles dragged me to a Mortified show years ago and I was hooked. I didn't realize Austin also had a Mortified community until dear, sweet, hilarious Jenny signed up to participate in opening her teenage journals to the entire city of Austin who cared to listen. Because that is what you have to do to be on this show. You collect your hoard of journals from childhood, you take them to the producers of Mortified, who READ THEM ALL and select what they feel like are the best pages to be read aloud to a willing and able audience eager to sip beer and laugh at you and your teenage angst. Jenny bared her soul to the time she knew a guy loved her because he gave her half a broken pencil. Other readers the night I went confessed to their hate for Vanilla Ice (the rapper--before the home improvement days) via their own rap music lyrics they wrote in disgust. Still another sweet boy read tales of how he just wanted a girlfriend in high school that he could walk through the fall leaves with--his missing half as he wrote. If you were a 'cool kid' in school who had everything going for you Mortified may not be for you. The reason why is that you wouldn't be able to relate to the rejection and longing that the journal readings show. But if you were like the rest of us losers please come out and enjoy a rollicking good time of making fun of other people's painful childhoods at their expense.

I went to the 2014 Austin Carnaval an event virgin and left a bonafide Brasilero woman!…read more From the walk to the Palmer Events Center to the Carnaval itself to the VIP lounge, the whole experience was a colorful blur of gyrating painted and feathered nudity to samba beats and boozey revelry! On the way from the parking lot to the Palmer Event Center, we just had to follow the colorful and scantily clad masses to find the fun! And though I expected an out of control night of pure debauchery based on previous reviews, the night was enjoyably tame. We got there around the 10pm mark and the party was already in full swing with the samba dancers and drummers showing off their mad crazy skills! From the minute we walked in the door our asses didn't stop shaking til they hit the cold leather of the car seat 3hrs later! I loved how open and friendly everyone was! Especially those in full on crazy and fabulous costumes! We watched the "parade" from the stands and then when the dance floor opened up joined a conga line right to the front of the stage where we shook it like a polaroid picture! The entertainment was just amazing and the energy permeated and flowed through the gleefully sweaty crowd! It wasn't nearly as awful as I imagined it would be in the crowd, it was packed, but not claustrophobically so. And, to my surprise, there was not nearly the amount of nudity I expected...I mean bare bootys and boobies abounded, but in a tasteful and non-gratuitous way. I ended up backstage because of my VIP pass because no one could tell me how to get to the "lounge", but that ended up being an awesome experience! Needless to say, I will be returning to Carnaval next year...and honestly, if you can't be in Rio, this is the next best thing! Braaaazilll ATX style baby!!

I know it's an event but it's annual sooo if anyone is curious about this party and does a little…read moreresearch here, let me shed some light (it's okay, I won't illuminate the darkest corners!). Imagine if a gay bar Halloween party and a strip club Halloween party were to have a baby....no, imagine if Mardi Gras had a super sexy, blatantly flirtatious Latino cousin.....no, imagine that dream you have with all the sexy demons and angels and they all want to have sex with you. Yeah, put all that together and you can get an idea. I've been going to this party for almost 15 years and I never get tired of it. Not only is it about the costumes and the flirting, but it's also about the incredible music. Every year they get a nationally known Brazilian Samba band to play the stage, but lately they have also used Austin's own Academicos da Opera which I think is even better cause they get right down on the floor in a huge drum circle. This music is intoxicating (which is great cause it's damn hard to get a drink here---lines too long). You cannot stop dancing and at the end of the night you get that all over warm body relaxation that you get after a great workout or even better sex. But if you are an exhibitionist or a voyeur or if you are not afraid of a large crowd of these, then this is your party. To get anywhere in the crowd, you have to get in a conga line and next thing you know, you are swept away with a bunch of fun-loving strangers to god knows where. And costumes! I am always awed by the work that goes into this event. From feathers and beads to leather and chains. Drag queens and dominatrixes. Fairies and well, fairies. Body painting to body stockings. It's all here and it doesn't mind being seen and photographed and danced with. Sigh. I always have a bit of post-Carnaval depression. So, don't be scerd. You are really missing out if you let your fears hold you back. True of Carnaval and of life.