ASPEN, CO — Since its launch nearly three years ago, San Francisco-based RooftopComedy.com has been the little comedy site that could. They’ve made a name for themselves by hosting and maintaining thousands of hours of exclusive stand-up comedy clips from comedy clubs across the country.

And now they’ve created the coolest little comedy festival that could. The first night of the inaugural Aspen RooftopComedy Festival has proven that. For sure, Rooftop’s fest operates like a mini Just For Laughs: Some very well-respected comics doing extended sets with a major concentration on some of the best up and comers.

Last night, Rooftop hosted three solid shows at Aspen’s Wheeler Opera House. While the attendance at the 6:45 pm show – dubbed Rooftop Best and Brightest – was what one would expect at such an early hour, those that were there made up for the empty seats.

Geoff Tate opened the show with some finely-tuned marriage material— stuff that I remember hearing the last time I had seen Tate when he opened for Mike Birbiglia on the campus of NYU in Manhattan for the taping of Birbigs’ hour-long Comedy Central Special. No doubt, “my wife does this” material has been done as naseum. But 29-year-old Tate brings a great contemporary spin on it—something for the younger hitched folks to grab hold of. Plus he did a stellar extended Subway sandwich shop bit.

Dallas-based Paul Varghese – who appeared on Thursday’s episode of Last Comic Standing during the Houston showcase – followed Tate. He was nursing a very weak voice. I know that only because it was obvious when I spoke to him earlier in the day at the airport. He let the crowd know up front what he was dealing with, but really, you would never have known if he hadn’t mentioned it. The crowd lapped up his laid-back delivery and sharp one-liners like “I want to work at a miniature golf course and charge midgets regular golf course prices” and “I want to open a Hooters in Bagdhad and rename it Eyebrows.” Well done.

I have to say, though, his bit on the difference between going to church (he’s of Indian descent and is Christian) and watching church on television Sunday morning was most pleasing, especially when he acts out sitting on his couch, dipping a tortilla chip into salsa and says, “body of Christ.”

Sacramento’s Mike E. Winfield had a tough act to follow; he mostly held up. I remember being pretty impressed with him in Montreal last year, but this time around, it seemed a lot of his premises were too absurd for the type of comedy he does, which is to say light-hearted and direct. Mike’s got great presence and comes off as such a likeable person that he can get away with a lot. He did a long bit about cucumbers. To me, it’s a completely absurd topic for a joke and because of that, it has the potential to be damn funny in the hands of a comic who has a knack for the absurd. But Winfield lost me when tried to introduce reality into his cucumbers.

He mentions that you can’t even eat a salad with your good friend without it becoming homoerotic, because surely the question as to whether you want cucumbers in your salad would come up. And cucumbers are phallic and therefore a salad would become gay if one ended up in there. And then what happens if a cucumber falls on the ground and both you and your guy friend grab it at the same time (and someone’s sees this happening because they’re peering in your window from outside)? Suspending disbelief is part of enjoying stand-up; but too much suspension makes work for the crowd. Ad work sucks.

Bay-Area comic Kevin Camia followed Winfield. His punches came quick and sometimes very subtle – which I liked – but I feel the crowd should’ve given him more at times. He was the first comic of the night to really dip into going blue; it was a nice change up for me but maybe the audience was taken aback? No doubt, though, by the end of his set the response was strong. My favorite line of his set: When a Prius crashes into another Prius, a panda has a miscarriage.” I felt like that and a few other lines should’ve

Nutbag Dave Waite, from Cincinnati, followed strong announcing to the audience: “Buckle up. It’s creepy time, Aspen.” And it was. Waite has this unique delivery where he’s almost always tapping his heel or doing some sort of vague dance motions. Waite’s biggest draw is his admission jokes where he calls himself “Mr. Creepy” and otherwise confesses to what dirty man he is.

Scotland native Vladimir McTavish closed the show with some high intensity comedy wherein he pointed out many differences between the States and Scotland like the idea that we know when to stop drinking and they don’t. He also did a solid bit about the absurdity of tourists going to see the “standing rocks” in the Scottish countryside.