Bits from some funny ladies is slated for the Spokane Comedy Club

“I hope that one day that women comedians will just be regarded as comedians,” comic trailblazer Joan Rivers said two weeks before her death in 2014. “Forget about gender. It’s just about being funny.”

Well, not a great deal has changed since Rivers died. There are still female comedy showcases, such as “Lady Bits,” which is slated for Sunday at the Spokane Comedy Club.

Five female comics will perform, including MC Courtney Bird, who organized the event.

“Fortunately things are getting better for women in comedy and I’d like to thank the female comics I look up to, such as Whitney Cummings, Taylor Tomlinson and Kelsey Cook, who is from Spokane,” Byrd said while calling from her Seattle home. “Those women and the women I’m bringing with me to this show prove that women are as funny, if not funnier than men.”

Jody Carroll, Kate Carlson-Carlsen, Vanessa Dawn, Rachel Aflleje and Byrd will perform at the Spokane Comedy Club.

“There was a time when women had to be extra vulgar but that’s no longer so and we can talk about whatever we want,” Byrd said.

Byrd, 36, made her stand-up debut in 2019, just months before the start of the pandemic. The observational comic waxes about her life as a single Seattle dog walker.

“I talk about people’s pets and the silly things owners do,” Byrd said. “I also talk about being a middle-aged white women, who is obsessed with murder podcasts. All of my friends are in their mid-30s like me and they’re either comedians or moms. At times I’m like, ‘Who are you?’ to myself.”

Byrd is definitely in the former camp. “I can’t be a mom,” Byrd said. “I have a night job. I love what I do. I took a comedy class in Tacoma (in 2019) and look at me now.”

This will be the second consecutive weekend Byrd has performed at the Spokane Comedy Club. “I was on the bill with John Heffron a couple of days ago at the Spokane Comedy Club and I had an amazing time in Spokane,” Byrd said. “I’m looking forward to coming back. This show is certainly lady friendly. I’m sure a lot of girls and moms will be out at this show but I hope ladies bring their partners as well. This is a show guys will love. ‘Lady Bits’ is a show for everyone.”