Comedy options for West Coast trip ...

Friday, 11 p.m.: Andrew Solmssen’s Midnight Comedy Hour at Lulu’s Beehive. Sure, you could see the Groundlings for the umpteenth time, but why not live on the comedy edge and take a chance on some promising up-and-comers, along with regular comics you’ve actually heard of: Maria Bamford, Patton Oswalt and Sarah Silverman have all performed here. Booker Andrew Solmssen looks for “comics who challenge me to think a little, to make me look at something differently than I ever have. I like it when people get personal onstage, bare themselves a little. I think one of the paradoxes of comedy is that the more personal and honest you get, the more universal you become, the more the audience can relate to you and what you’re saying.” That may not sound amusing, but it’s true. Or maybe everyone just seems funnier in the Valley after midnight. Here’s a tip: Don’t show up too early or you’ll be subjected to live folk music. 13203 Ventura Blvd., Studio City, (818) 986-2233.

Saturday, 8 p.m.: The Lampshades at Improv Olympic West. There’s good cheese and bad cheese. Fake lounge act the Lampshades send up bad cheese in such a skillful fashion that it is actually transformed into a fine, runny Brie. As chanteuse Kassie Chew and chain-drinker Hori Pismo, Kate Flannery and Scot Robinson, “bumped from the Jerry Lewis telethon three years running,” do an even peppier version of “A Horse With No Name” than you do in your car, afterward bragging “We do a different show every week — because we don’t remember what we do.” The hardest working bright-red polyester pantsuit in Hollywood belongs to Kassie, whose Liza-ish Pepsodent smile suggests all is not really well, yet by God, she keeps on singing. Order Kassie’s fave drink, a White Trash Russian (vodka and Yoohoo), and stay for improv troupe “Beer Shark Mice,” some of the sharpest ad lib you’ll ever be amazed by. Of all the venues in town, IOWest has some of the most original and dependable comedy going. Hell, just come here every night of the week and ignore the rest of this article. (Yeah, yeah, we know the consistently genius Un-Cabaret is also Saturday nights at M Bar. But it’s every other week, and we must play by the rules.) 6366 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood, (323) 962-7560.

Sunday, 8 p.m.: Rachel Arieff’s Discotown at the Ramada Inn. Yes, it’s another fake lounge act, but Rachel Arieff is one fucked-up perky cheerleader in stars and stripes short-shorts and an Eydie Gorme wig. Her guests are some of the best and sickest comics around, including regulars like Maria Bamford and “Captain Mustache” Brendan Small, plus the tap-dancing Smokin’ Grandma. It’s more experimental than most standup nights, with Arieff playing hostess and singing songs at the piano like “Box Full of Turds,” written by her cat Mr. Tacos, “a freaking musical genius.” The tiny lounge also has the most comfy chairs of any comedy venue, and you may even be sitting next to really confused-looking hotel guests. And please, whatever you decide to do with your Sunday night, don’t bother with tired old Jay Leno at the Comedy & Magic Club. 1160 Bar & Lounge, Ramada Inn, 1160 N. Vermont Ave., Hollywood, (323) 315-1845.

Monday, 9 p.m.: Largo. Patton Oswalt. Paul F. Tompkins. Sarah Silverman. David Cross. Karen Kilgariff. There. They are but a few of L.A.’s chosen comics. They don’t care if they’re Pick of the Week, and really can’t even be bothered to get their listing in the L.A. Weekly, so don’t waste your time looking. Did we mention they are the chosen comics? Get a sandwich to-go from Canter’s and eat it on the sidewalk with the diehards waiting outside on Fairfax. Eddie Izzard may drop by and be so drunk he’s incoherent. Even after too many nights standing in the entrance to the kitchen, getting in the waitresses’ way, or craning to see behind taller heads, Largo’s still the quality night for standup comedy that forgets to insult your intelligence. That is, it was until the opening of . . . 432 N. Fairfax Ave., Los Angeles, (323) 852-1073 or 852-1851.

Tuesday, 8:30 p.m.: M Bar. Sorry, Largo, the “it” standup night among the chosen comics is at this somewhat swanky restaurant/bar in a mini-mall at Fountain and Vine, and reservations are a must. The DJ spins onstage, giving the comics someone to make fun of. Recently Greg Proops (funny name!) got angry: “Iraq has weapons of mass destruction; ours are weapons of growth and nurturing.” Kevin Nealon wondered, “When does CPR become necrophilia?” And Daisy Gardner wished that baby-photographer Anne Geddes used hobos. And that’s just from the notes we could actually read. 1253 N. Vine St., Hollywood, (323) 856-0036.

Wednesday, 8 p.m.: Kathy Griffin at the Laugh Factory. We were shocked — shocked! — to learn that there are people who don’t want to be in the same room with this bulldozing blabbermouth. So what if she hasn’t taken a pause since ... ever. We can’t get enough of Kathy Griffin. In fact, see below for more. 8001 Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, (323) 656-1336.

Thursday, 8 p.m.: Totally Improv with Drew Carey and Ryan Stiles at the Improv. If you’ve seen Whose Line Is It Anyway? you know that sitcom star and standup semi-legend Drew Carey wasn’t blessed with quickness, yet that doesn’t stop him from hosting a show dedicated to quickness. If you’re lucky, the bigshot will be a no-show, leaving improv-savants like Ryan Stiles, Kathy Kinney, Greg Proops (still a funny name), Brad Sherwood, Chip Esten and Julie Larsen. Without the time limits and commercial interruptions, you get to see just how nimble these pros really are. Give them a sicko suggestion to riff on (try “nymphomaniac butcher”). Avoid the food at all costs. 8162 Melrose Ave., West Hollywood, (323) 651-2583.