I am at the Laugh Factory often enough that it has stopped being an event, and the eight o'clock lineup on a weekend is mostly the same rotation plus a two drink minimum that doubles the price of the night.
What I actually want lately is the weeknight rooms. Ten or fifteen dollars, forty seats, half the set list being worked out in front of you.
Which ones are genuinely good right now? Nights and cover if you know them, I plan these things in advance and I am tired of guessing.
Largo at the Coronet on La Cienega. They take your phone at the door and the bookings are better than anything you will find on the Strip.
Westside Comedy Theater on Third Street in Santa Monica is the one I end up at. Weeknight shows run around ten dollars, no drink minimum, and the room is small enough that a bad set has nowhere to hide. Five minutes from me, which is most of why I go. Check their calendar the day of, it changes.
Dynasty Typewriter on Wilshire is my pick and it is ten minutes from Koreatown. Tickets are usually fifteen to twenty five, the room is a gorgeous old theater, and on a Tuesday you will see people from actual specials trying out five new minutes on a small crowd. Get there early, the good seats go fast, and there is a bar in the lobby so you are not stuck with a drink minimum.
Comedy Store, late show on a Monday. Still the best room in town.
The Elysian in Frogtown if you want the weird stuff. Ten bucks most nights, tiny room, very queer friendly crowd, and the alt lineups are way funnier than the big clubs.
It is a real drive from Venice but I have never regretted it.
Same here. It’s always fun.
Comedy Store Belly Room on a Tuesday or Wednesday. Tiny upstairs room, like 40 people if that. Cover is usually cheap compared to the main room and they are not running the same weekend rotation. Comics are clearly trying stuff. Two drink minimum still exists so it is not free, but it is the actual room people mean when they say “working it out.” Get there early or you are standing.
Bar Lubitsch, Wednesday. Show is called Totally! Last I went it was $5 if you buy ahead, $10 at the door.
Back room is red and tight. Lineups bounce around but I have seen good sets and half-finished ones in the same hour. No two drink tax like the big clubs. Easy night if you already live on that side of town.