Washington arbitrates between federal-government institutional gravity and District neighborhood permanence. Capitol Hill rooms fill with staffers cycling through on two-year rotations, while U Street hosts the families who've been here for generations. Adams Morgan draws the nightlife energy. Georgetown and Petworth add the residential layers. The comedy here reads the tension between Beltway transience and chocolate-city stability. Open mics become neutral ground where both identities converge. Comics who grasp Washington's dual rhythm find audiences relieved someone recognized the city keeps its go-go soul while the administrations come and go every four years.