The comedy scene in Madison ranges from the comedy club to the rock club, and from the banal to the sublime. Here's a look at some of the recurring comedy events happening around town:

Showman's Talent Showcase and Laughs

Sept. 17, The Frequency

David Freeman (aka "Showman") hosts this "free-for-all variety splash" every other Wednesday. About a dozen people turned out for the hourlong show. It's a supportive and laid-back atmosphere -- the sound guy laughs loudly and often gives his vote of confidence ("Woo hoo!") for the topics he relates to (smoking weed, getting pulled over by the cops).

Freeman has a way of cutting through the noise and making insightful commentary on everyday life. He doesn't just get away with talking about race because he's black himself -- but because there's a grain of truth in everything he says, no matter how gross the generalization or stereotype. Take, for example, his poke at white people in Madison who assume that just because you're black, you'll know all other black people ("Do you know Jamal from Reedsburg?"). While whites are "overinformed" about the election, he later said, blacks don't bother reading up on presidential candidates ("Obama? What record did he put out?").

He often keeps things local or topical. Madison's "got more coffeehouses than the hood got liquor stores." Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin isn't like other Americans because "she has time to get up in the morning to hunt."

Freeman brought in one guest for the evening, an Alaskan transplant named Jeff Hahn who goes by the stage name Reverend Biff. He's a newbie and was clearly nervous, but he pulled off a few jokes well ("You want to date outside (Alaska) if you want your kids to have 10 fingers"), and like most new comics, made fun of himself when his jokes flopped.

IF YOU GO: Next showcases are Wednesday, Oct. 15, and Oct. 29 at The Frequency, 121 W. Main St. Both start at 8:30 p.m. and cost $3.

ComedySlut

Sept. 18, The Frequency

This was the first edition of Nick Mortensen's biweekly event, billed as an "edgy" comedy showcase with the "best comics in town." The five comics sat onstage for the whole show, each taking turns. This setup worked to comedic effect when the comics heckled each other, but not so much when one comic absentmindedly checked his cell phone during another comic's time.

The four comics Mortensen brought in -- Mark Kump, Sean Moore, Mike Schmidt and Chris Waelti -- mostly held their own. By definition, their brand of edgy comedy seems more a reaction to mainstream comedy than anything else. The evening started with Mortensen's denouncement of mainstream comics: "Every local scene has that 40-year-old guy," a recent divorcee wearing a Hawaiian shirt and a ponytail, making jokes about his wife like a morning radio disc jockey. "Those comics aren't here tonight," Mortensen promised.

All the guys are between 22 and 30, and there were no wife jokes. Topics include "World of Warcraft," fat people, sexual fantasies and going on Adderall. As host, Mortensen let loose with unhinged monologues that just seemed to spout off the top of his head. It's like throwing jokes at a dartboard and hoping they stick. Usually they did.

More interesting than the actual content of ComedySlut was the drama it caused in the following weeks. All the intercomic heckling ended up really hurting some feelings, and the four comics Mortensen brought in to do the show bailed on him the following week, "officially ousting" him from the scene with a phone call, as he said later.

The wounded feelings and declarations of severed ties seem ironic coming from comics, who you'd think would be more impervious to insults. After all, they have the guts to do something most people would never do -- get up on a stage with nothing more than a sense of humor to protect them.

Reflecting afterward, Moore just wanted to wash his hands of all the drama: "Comics can be kind of catty." His girlfriend often jokes that he has more drama with the stand-up comics than he does with her, he said.

IF YOU GO: Mortensen is forging ahead with ComedySlut as a one-man show, renaming it "Nick Mortensen: Thursdaddy." The next dates are Oct. 9 and 30, both at 5:30 p.m. at The Frequency. Cost is $3.

Open mic

Sept. 30, Azzalino's Bar & Grill

If you condensed all the stand-up routines at this open mic into one 10-minute set, you'd have quality material. Spread out over an hour or so, though, it was pretty awful.

Of course, this is an open mic, and it's unreasonable to go in expecting well-oiled, side-splitting material. Open mics are a gamble for everyone involved. From the first-timers to the more experienced comics, everyone is testing out new material and seeing what works and what falls flat. And what better place to do it than at a bar in front of other comics and your friends?

Some of the comics made it through their entire two- to three-minute set without making anything that resembled a joke or a punch line. Others got polite titters for their efforts. Lots of inside jokes were traded back and forth, a practice that many of the local comics indulge in a little too gratuitously. Unless you're friends with the comics, sitting through the in-jokes feels like being the outsider at a party.

But once in awhile, the loose back-and-forth banter works. One comic's jabs at Chris Waelti for his inept condom use were hilarious, especially as Waelti played right along.

It was a young crowd, and that made it difficult for the two older comics who showed up. One middle-aged guy muddled through a lengthy Nixon impersonation and joked about prostate exams. Crickets.

The sole female comic was one of the best. JoAnne Poniatowski had a notebook tucked under her arm and barreled through her jokes, not lingering too long or free associating, like many of the guys did. She got into a funny bit about the idiom "bun in the oven" -- "Hers came out marble rye. What does her husband think?"

IF YOU GO: Open mic is every Tuesday at 10 p.m. at Azzalino's, 416 S. Park St. Free.

College Night

Oct. 1, Comedy Club

Oh, what a difference well-prepared material makes! This may be Big Bad Mainstream Comedy, but it sure is easy to sit through.

On Thursday nights, the Comedy Club gives five Madison, Milwaukee and Chicago comics a chance to either host or perform in the four-minute opening slots. Chris Waelti hosted tonight. He was a little drunk (he said as much), but he has an easy way that suits him well as a host.

David Schendlinger, who hadn't done so hot at Azzalino's the night before, really scored now during his four minutes. He has a graying beard and looks like a philosophy professor, so he got big laughs when he walked onstage and asked the college-aged crowd to "pass your term papers to the front of the room."

His political jokes, which bombed at Azzalino's, now drew the most laughter. Especially funny was his bit about Sarah Palin's kids and how abstinence in Alaska means waiting until the second date because there's nothing else to do but have sex ("Juneau is like Stoughton without the exciting nightlife.").

Brady Pitts, in a rare turn for a white guy, told race jokes that worked. He came off as honest, not cutesy. The audience laughed a lot during his story about how white his hometown Dodgeville is and how he dealt with his grandmother after she called the bagger at the grocery story a "nice little colored boy."

All the local comics put on decent performances here, and the larger crowd makes laughter easier. The whole operation is slick, the service good and the facility classy. But sometimes I missed that uneasy excitement of listening to raw, unrehearsed material.

IF YOU GO: The Comedy Club, 202 State St. (new location), has shows at 8:30 p.m. Thursday, and at 8 and 10:30 Friday and Saturday nights. On Thursdays, entrance is $8 (college students get in for $1 on Thursdays but must make reservations by calling 256-0099). Shows on the weekend are $10. There is a two-drink minimum for customers.

Other comedy shows

David Freeman also hosts a monthly comedy night at the Brink Lounge, usually bringing in talent from Chicago and Milwaukee. The next one is Thursday, Oct. 16, at the Brink, 701 E. Washington Ave. One ticket covers two shows, 8 and 10 p.m. Tickets are $7 in advance at 661-8589 or $10 day of show.

On Wednesday, Oct. 15, a group of local comedians known as "Rhymes with Stomach" will be hosting a comedy/rock show with local bands The Mutt Show and Kitty Rhombus. It starts at 8 p.m. at the Annex, 1206 Regent St., and costs $5.

On the touring comedy front, comedian Drew Hastings will be at the Barrymore Theatre, 2090 Atwood Ave., at 8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 21. Tickets are $25 through the Barrymore and its outlets. Hastings has become quite a draw thanks to frequent appearances on "The Bob and Tom Show," where he's best known for the character of motivational speaker Jack Freeman ("You don't need the key to success when you know how to pick the lock!").