There's nothing quite like attending a standup comedy open mic. Part of the charm is that it's such a mixed bag: completely new comedians, some others with more experience, comics who've been in the game for a while just swinging through to test out new material. You never know what to expect. Some of the newer performers will just flame out and bomb, but you might be able to spot a good nugget of a joke somewhere in that person's set - something that needs to be refined or even just delivered with more confidence.

A comedy open mic has an intrinsic feeling of free-fall, and that's just part of the experience.

The best comedy show in Olympia has been selected, and it's Vomity, a weekly open mic in that tiny back room of Le Voyeur. I spoke with Sam Miller, one of the people who started the comedy night about a year and a half ago.

"There just wasn't enough local comedy in Olympia, as far as open mics go," said Miller. "Olympia will probably always be known best for music, not for comedy, but we'd like to help change that. I think that comedy in Olympia is really unique; there's a lot of folks who are doing really interesting stuff. That's what you get to see at Vomity: some really strange people saying really strange things, and sometimes they're really funny (laughs)."

One of the things that helps to differentiate Vomity from other open mics in the area is their stated rules about not permitting comedians whose jokes are racist, homophobic, sexist, transphobic, and just generally hacky in a way that doesn't embrace the comedy rule of "punching up."

"As comedians, we want to go after the people that have power, as opposed to the people that are traditionally oppressed," said Miller. "You don't need to make fun of trans women; they have enough to worry about without worrying about going to a comedy show and hearing jokes that disparage them. We had someone in here doing jokes about Caitlyn Jenner, and besides us not wanting to hear it, it was just really boring and predictable to me."

Since Vomity started, several other comedy open mics have popped up in Olympia including, as Miller tells me, one run and performed by women, which should be a breath of fresh air.

For those looking to give standup at Vomity a shot, sign-up is every Tuesday on their Facebook page, with each show happening Wednesdays at 9 p.m.

LE VOYEUR, Wednesdays, 9 p.m., Donations Accepted, 404 E. 4th Ave, Olympia, 360.943.5710