Farley Elliott

This summer is slowing down for absolutely no one, so you might as well try to grab the damn thing and hold on. If you're looking for a firm handhold on some fun summer activities for this week, check our comedy show calendar listings.

Photo courtesy cultureshlock via LAist Flickr Pool. As of today, August is here, so why not try to beat the upcoming heat with some indoor sports - like comedy. There are a ton of great shows that are guaranteed to keep you begging to stay in out of sun. Check it! As always, email me if you'd like to get a show listed here in the future. MONDAY 8/1 Pretty Bird Duo Tournament -...

Echo Park's Mohawk Bend is so well thought out, such a carefully executed vision, that more than a few minutes in the long-shuttered former theater will have you smiling at owner Tony Yanow himself and saying “I’ll have what he’s having”.

Another strong week of comedy is upon us, including great showings by the Comedy Central Stage and Largo. Possible summertime highlight? Melgard Mondays is moving to the patio for some great stand up under the stars. Get out, get get involved, and get yourself a case of the giggles.

HotHouse is a different show altogether. No velvet rope, not a square inch of advertisement, and no tickets at the door. You won’t find show reviews, photos, tweets, texts, sexts or anything else, from the audience or the performers. Just a stand up venue that comics know well and love to get booked on, because for once there’s an event in town that’s not built on hype. Go figure.

Photo courtesy lord-jim via LAist Flickr pool. The LAst Laugh weekly comedy calendar is back, and just in time! This week is filled with amazing comedy, from Largo to the Bootleg Theater and every imaginable cranny in between. God, 'cranny' is a gross word. If you'd like to see a show listed here in the future, just email me and we'll see what we can do! MONDAY 7/18 Tiger Lily, 8p Hollywood Studio Bar...

It’s hard enough to produce, book, and then promote your indie stand up show in any neighborhood in Los Angeles, to say nothing of shoving it downtown into a venue that tells you right in the name you might not be willing to make the weeknight trip: Far Bar. Between the thin alleyway entrance and the proximity to the deliciousness of Daikokuya, it’s a wonder any of the comics ever find their way into Frolic.

July is National Parks & Recreation Month, and all month long LAist will be featuring a hand-selected park a day to showcase just a few of the wonderful recreation spaces--big or small--in the Los Angeles area.

Already sitting more than a mile above sea level, Wrightwood, CA offers Mountain High ski resort, close proximity to Mt. Baldy, and about 4,000 hardy full-time residents. So what, exactly, is there to do in this mile-high mountain town when the winter powder melts away? Surprisingly, the answer is: go higher.

It's a pretty simple formula: comics who aren't exactly starving these days + gourmet burgers = great food and better conversation. Recently, LAist sat down with Paul Scheer, Dave Holmes, Steve Agee and TJ Miller to discuss everything from the current state of comedy on television, life in L.A., and those shows that almost made them quit. The burgers - an LAist favorite from Susan Feniger's Street - weren't bad, either.