The holidays are intended to incite love, merriment and cheer. But with celebrations of Baby Jesus' birth beginning months in advance, the Gritty City Comedy Club understands that the season's overextension can instead provoke something else entirely - such as aggravation and a general sense of dread. Of course, this in turn triggers guilt - and by the time one resolves to just be happy, damnit, Christmas is over. That must be why the comedy club hosts Nigel Larson this weekend. The club would like you to put that pair of footie jammies back where they belong: way waaaay back in the closet (y'know, right next to the pony-play harness - um, never mind) and laugh it up with this comedian who at one time was a single, unemployed college dropout living in his parents' basement in Rochester. Wanting to make more of himself, he left the safety and security of that basement for the safety and security of his grandparents' basement in Tacoma. His act is largely autobiographical, turning a lifetime of failure into consistent on-stage success with honest stories and sophisticated material.

NIGEL LARSON, 8:30 p.m. Dec. 27, 8:30 and 10:30 p.m. Dec. 28, Grity City Comedy Club, 100 S. Ninth St., Tacoma, $15, 253.961.4262

See Also

Calendar: Arts and Entertainment

Calendar: Music and Nightlife