Capitol City Comedy Club's Grab for Bigger Laughs Restarting the Stop

"...had two stand-up spots: The Velveeta Room and The Laff Stop. The V-Room was a cozy club deep in..."

Feb. 2, 1996 Arts Feature by Spike Gillespie

Getting the Joke

Comedy isn't the funny business it was in the Eighties, what with fewer clubs and audiences burned out by comedy on cable and hack comics. Seven Austin comics discuss the current state of stand-up in a round-table discussion.

"...the heyday of the original Velveeta Room and the Laff Stop (now the Cap City Comedy Club) have moved..."

June 30, 2000 Arts Feature

Running the Funny

Club manager Margie Coyle has kept the laughter going for 20 years

"...opened an Austin comedy club that they called the Laff Stop. Ten years later, after new owners Bruce and..."

July 10, 2009 Arts Feature by Wayne Alan Brenner

Yo! MTV Laughs!

The Long, Strange Trip to TV for Three Austin Comics

"...were "discovered" at a showcase for MTV at the Laff Stop (now Capitol City Comedy Club). All three comics..."

May 30, 1997 Arts Feature by J. C. Shakespeare

Livin' Lavaca Loca

In the early Eighties, back when Jay Leno was still funny, he and a number of now-big name comics told jokes at a little place on Lavaca called the Comedy Workshop. Being there changed the life of one person, who recalls what it was like.

"...Some people think that the opening of the Laff Stop (now Capitol City Comedy Club) in March of..."

Jan. 26, 2001 Arts Feature by Angela Davis

Articulations

Former fixture on the Austin comedy scene Charlie Shannon has passed away.

"...to do a Shannon Brothers Christmas Show at the Laff Stop. But he made an indelible impression on the..."

Jan. 2, 2004 Arts Column by Robert Faires

Articulations

Comedy venues the Velveeta Room and Capital City Comedy Club get new leases on life, solo theatre artist Rob Nash gets roasted, and Dreamgirl Jennifer Holliday comes to Austin.

"...the club 15 years ago (when it was the Laff Stop), and her husband Alex, in partnership with booking..."

Feb. 21, 2003 Arts Column by Robert Faires

The Commissioner Has Left the Building

Johnny Torrez was one of the first Austin comics to work on a professional level, and every local comic who ever made a living in the business credits the self-proclaimed "Commissioner of Comedy" as an early influence and inspiration. On Valentine's Day, the Commissioner died. Here's how he is remembered.

"..."Johnny was instrumental in getting me onstage at the Laff Stop for the 1994 MTV auditions. I had just..."

Feb. 23, 2001 Arts Feature by J. C. Shakespeare

Articulations

Bogosian Hits Talk Radio

"...it created a stir when noted actor/writer Eric Bogosian stopped by Hyde Park Theatre to catch a performance of..."

Nov. 10, 1995 Arts Column

The Velveeta Room: Vive la Difference de le Fromage!

Nearly three dozen comics are flocking to Sixth Street to pay tribute to Austin's other comedy club

"...because it opened a couple of years after the Laff Stop (now Cap City Comedy Club). It was that..."

June 13, 2008 Arts Feature by Robert Faires

Lasting Commitments

The 2008 class of the Austin Arts Hall of Fame

"...at the Research Boulevard nightspot once known as the Laff Stop and now called Cap City Comedy Club, which..."

May 23, 2008 Arts Feature by Robert Faires

Big and Getting Bigger

Austin comic Eddie Gossling has always gotten a lot of attention for his size, but these days he's getting more attention for his comedy, and J.C. Shakespeare explains why.

"...a leap forward when Austin's largest comedy club, the Laff Stop, was acquired by a San Antonio couple who..."

Dec. 10, 1999 Arts Feature by J. C. Shakespeare

Cap City Comedy Club Returns

Knock, knock. Who's there? Austin's comedy big dog reopens this week.

"...Originally known as the Laff Stop before becoming Cap City in 1996, the beloved..."

July 11, 2022 Arts Post by Richard Whittaker

Cap City Comedy Club Closes

COVID closure shutters the venerable stand-up home for good

"...Cap City in the same 8120 Research location: the Laff Stop, which opened there in 1986 as part of..."

Sept. 9, 2020 Arts Post by Robert Faires

ATX Film News

Bill Hicks, vampires, and slime

"...would be the posthumous Arizona Bay album at the Laff Stop a year before his death in 1994, at..."

Nov. 9, 2018 Screens Column by Richard Whittaker

A Guide to Austin Stand-Up: Venues

Where to find the funny in town

"...since before Punchline was a new release. As the Laff Stop (its original incarnation), it hosted such rising stars..."

March 31, 2017 Arts Feature by Robert Faires

A Guide to Austin Stand-Up: Behind the Scenesters

The people behind the people behind the mic

"...job at PaineWebber, back when the joint was the Laff Stop and frequented by the likes of Bill Hicks..."

March 31, 2017 Arts Feature by Wayne Alan Brenner

Joey Waldon: In Memoriam

Popular stand-up comic and cartoonist has died at age 57

"...came of age in the early years of the Laff Stop (now Cap City Comedy Club) and the Velveeta..."

May 22, 2013 Arts Post by Robert Faires

Hicks Day

Feb. 26 marks 15th anniversary of the death of Bill Hicks

"...where he recorded the now near-mythical show at the Laff Stop, released as Sane Man. Hardcore fans will probably..."

Feb. 26, 2009 News Post by Richard Whittaker

Queer Comedian Smackdown

Both Adelina Anthony and Margaret Cho in one weekend? Surely this is some form of sign of the gaypocalypse?

"...appearances slated as Workshop Shows in H-Town at the Laff Stop. The shows will be intimate club dates before..."

Jan. 18, 2008 Qmmunity Post by Kate X Messer

Is Anybody Laughing?

In the midst of economic hard times and a wave of terrorist attacks, the comedy business wonders what's funny.

"...victims of September 11, the day the whole world stopped laughing...."

Oct. 19, 2001 Arts Feature by Robert Faires

Dancing About Architecture

Eyes on the Prize

"...obstacles I encountered that evening were a few dark stoplights as I hurried home to catch the new Monkees..."

Feb. 21, 1997 Music Column

RATs A-Comin'

"...have plenty to sling champagne over: successfully revamping the Laff Stop; booking A-list comic Jeff Cesario to headline, even..."

Feb. 9, 1996 Arts Column

Weird Scenes Inside the Joke Mine

Austin Comics at the Montreal Comedy Fest

"...alternative comics. There was a live audition at The Laff Stop in November, and for Hester, a final audition..."

Sept. 29, 1995 Arts Feature

Coach's Corner

"...aka South Austin, someone suggested we go to the Laff Stop. The critic promised to pull strings for a..."

July 14, 1995 Column

Deadpool 2

The uncanny merc with a mouth returns with paternal instincts

"...his own knock-off X-Men, the kill-crazy X-Force, he’s a laff-riot liability...."

May 18, 2018 Movie Review by Richard Whittaker

Not So Much With Teh Suck, Actually

Or: What, things aren't awesome enough for you yet?

"...I'm heading South on Guadalupe and I'm planning to stop & check out the new "Fugue States" show at..."

May 17, 2012 Chronolog Post by Wayne Alan Brenner

When Hollywood Met Steve Collins

... and other Austin stories from the L.A. Film Festival

"...If the LAFF premiere of Austin writer/director Steve Collins' debut feature, Gretchen,..."

July 7, 2006 Screens Feature by Toddy Burton

Public Notice

Indie*urp!*gestion

"...Off Stand Up for the Cure is a guaranteed laff-riot, chucking chuckles in the face of diabetes and raising..."

Feb. 14, 1997 Column by Kate X Messer