The music may soon be put on pause at a popular, decades-old karaoke bar in Downtown Austin.
On Sunday, Ego's posted an announcement to Instagram, stating its tentative last day is Sunday, August 11. Today, August 5, the team posted another update that some of the issues were being handled, and the bar would stay open until at least the end of the month.
The original post read: "We're gonna be real with you. It's not looking like Ego's is going to be open much longer," the post said. "Right now we're taking it day by day while we wait to see if the landlord is willing to fix all of the pipes that keep collapsing, but it's not looking good since they plan on demoing the building at some point anyway."
The bar is located inside a building at 510 South Congress Ave. Ego's said it is the only business left inside.
If it is unable to find a way forward, the bar plans to host "one last big hurrah" to celebrate 45 years in business.
"This is an extremely emotional and hard time for everyone who loves this bar, especially the staff," the Instagram post said.
Hidden behind a gas station, the garage-like dive bar first opened back in 1979. Since then, it has become a central spot for karaoke among Austinites and tourists alike.
Ego's said it eventually hopes to reopen in the same area.
"The owner still plans on being in the new build when it happens, but unfortunately, we won't be relocating until then," the bar said on Instagram.
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Read the full story and watch the video at KVUE.com. This version of the story has been adjusted by CultureMap to reflect an update from the bar since the publication of KVUE's article.
For as closely tied together as Matt Damon and Ben Affleck are, it might come as a surprise how few times they’ve led a movie together. They’ve appeared alongside each other in Good Will Hunting, The Last Duel, and Air, but the only time they were on equal footing in a story was Kevin Smith’s Dogma. So the fact that they are the two true stars of the new Netflix movie The Rip makes it a rare opportunity for the longtime friends to square off against each other.
Damon and Affleck play Lt. Dane Dumars and Detective Sgt. J.D Byrne, respectively, the two highest ranking members of a Miami police department squad that specializes in drug and drug money raids. A tragedy to begin the film already has the team — which includes Detectives Mike Ro (Steven Yeun), Numa Baptiste (Teyana Taylor), and Lolo Salazar (Catalina Sandina Moreno) — on edge, with the FBI and DEA breathing down their necks.
Going off a tip, Dumars gathers the team to raid a house in nearby Hialeah that is supposed to have a stash of a relatively small amount of money. But when they get to the house occupied only by Desiree Molina (Sasha Calle), they soon discover that there’s close to $20 million there instead. The team, required by law to count the money on site, must not only fight the urge to skim a little off the top for themselves, but also worry about the Cartel and other agencies that might want a slice of the pie.
Written and directed by Joe Carnahan, the film is a surprisingly effective crime thriller made even better by its high-quality cast, which also includes Kyle Chandler as a DEA agent. The story is designed for the audience to not know who’s trustworthy until the last possible second, and the various twists and turns it takes are well done, with barely a hint of narrative cheating.
Taking place entirely at night, the mood is set right from the start, with the only surprise being that Carnahan didn’t add in rain for extra effect. He keeps things tense with a number of subtle elements, including having the house located in a seemingly deserted cul-de-sac. This allows for the characters to remain on high alert at all times, with anything out of the ordinary — an unexpected noise, a flashing light, etc. — adding to the stress of the situation.
The only element that could have used a bit more of a punch-up is the characterization. The story is set up to cast suspicion on almost everybody, making it tougher to understand exactly what type of person each of them is. As the two leads, more time is spent with Dumars and Byrne, leaving everyone else with slightly underwhelming arcs. It’s to the credit of the actors that everyone else below Damon and Affleck is still compelling.
Damon and Affleck play their sometimes friendly, sometimes adversarial roles well, showing an ease together that’s a result of their friendship and the acting skills they’ve honed over 30+ years. Taylor, an Oscar hopeful for One Battle After Another, and Oscar nominee/Emmy winner Yeun have a pedigree that elevates their supporting roles. Chandler, Moreno, and Calle each get just enough to demonstrate why they were cast in their respective roles.
Damon and Affleck have had their individual ups and downs throughout their careers, but when they choose to work together, the results are usually good-to-great, as they are in The Rip. It’s a different take on a crime thriller that features a story that will keep viewers guessing until the very end.
