Annoyance put itself on the map with its famously distasteful gross-out musical Co-Ed Prison Sluts. Twenty years later, it still cranks out bizarre, unconventional comedy.
The back room of a washed-up diner may not sound like much, but that's the beauty of the Lodge, a room that virtually placed Chicago on the alt-comedy map.
Remember the olden days when comedy clubs with a two-drink minimum policy ruled? That era is long gone, but this venerable laugh factory has managed to hang on.
There's no doubt about it, the house that improv legend Del Close and founding partner Charna Halpern built rules.
The programming is often experimental and incredibly hit or miss, but there's no denying the youthful, infectious energy that pervades the place.
Every weekend, the guys who produce the Red Bar Comedy podcast transform swank River North nightclub Ontourage into a Vegas-style joke joint attracting plenty of the city's finest comics.
