There really is no competition in Orange County for live comedy clubs, as the Irvine Improv was born out of the standup-comedy boom of the 1980s—with roots going back to Broadway producer Budd Friedman opening New York City's Improvisation in 1963. Through subsequent rises and declines and re-rises in the yuk-yuk trade, the Irvine Improv has always been there for hosts, headliners, middlers, openers and open-mic-ers. Give the club at Irvine Spectrum bonus points for being the go-to venue for live podcasts, including those hosted by Jay Mohr, Marc Maron and the world's No. 1 podcaster based on downloads (per iTunes and Guinness World Records), Adam Carolla, who seems to record there weekly.