Comedy

The first time you probably stumbled across Joe Mande was viewing his Tumblr, “Look at this fucking hipster.”

One depressing book deal later and Mande was done with that chapter of his life.

Now, the standup comedian and writer for “Parks and Recreation” and “Kroll Show” is in a much better place — it’d be so much better if his Timberwolves could make the playoffs, though.

“I just read this Bill Simmons breakdown of the 2009 NBA draft — it was like the saddest thing I’ve ever read,” Mande said.

What: Cory Wong

When: 7 p.m., Tuesdays

Where: The Artists’ Quarter, 408 St. Peter St., St. Paul

Cost: Free

The first ever solo guitar track in the Rock Band video game franchise was Cory Wong’s “Upstream.”

It’s one of those weird accolades that riddle the résumés of talented musicians that have yet to garner a large degree of solo recognition.

What: John Bush

When: 8 p.m., Thursday; 8 p.m. and 10:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday

Where: Joke Joint Comedy Club, 801 Sibley Memorial Highway, St. Paul

Cost: $10 for the 10:30 p.m. Friday show; $15 for all other shows

Ages: 18+

At the end of a performance of “Triple Espresso,” a madcap dash through the lives of three performers vying for stardom, an old man approached comedian John Bush.

What: Bliss & Weinstein

When: 8 p.m., Thursday; 8 p.m. and 10:30 p.m., Friday and SaturdayWhere: Acme Comedy Club, 708 N. First St., Minneapolis

Cost: $15

Ages: 18+

Playing a series of one-nighters around Wisconsin nearly 20 years ago — deemed the cheese curd tour — Chris Bliss met fellow comedian J. Elvis Weinstein.

Despite an age difference of 18 years, they immediately hit it off, and their chemistry manifests itself on stage this week at Acme.

What: John Mulaney

When: 7 p.m. (sold out) and 10 p.m., Saturday

Where: Varsity Theater, 1308 Fourth St. SE, Minneapolis.

Cost: $20

Ages: 7 p.m. 18+, 10 p.m. all ages

What: Orny Adams           

When: 7:30 p.m. Thursday, 7:30 and 9:45 p.m. Friday, 7 and 9:30 p.m. Saturday, 7 p.m. Sunday

Where: Rick Bronson’s House of Comedy, Level 4 East at the Mall of America

Cost: $15-$19

Ages: 18+

Orny Adams was riled up about the new Vine video app, making six-second video after video, complaining about its editing capabilities while still describing it with the playfulness of a kid on Christmas morn.

Growing up as an only child on the north side of Chicago, John Roy was, on the surface, your average kid. He’d play baseball in parking lots and play war on the beach, using empty Schlitz cans for hand grenades.

But Roy’s unique. He was one of the earliest recipients of a life-saving surgery to fix a congenital heart defect that decreased the amount of oxygen in the blood pumped throughout his body.

Who: Roy Wood Jr.

When: Thursday, 8 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 8 p.m. and 10:30 p.m.;

Where: ACME Comedy Company, 708 N. First St., Minneapolis

Cost: $15-30

Hailing from Birmingham, Ala., stand-up Roy Wood Jr. owes a lot to his alma mater, Florida A&M University.

“When you go to school out-of-state, you can get a whole new identity,” Wood Jr. said. “It’s like witness protection.”

Wood Jr. was trying to shed his shy kid persona, whose sense of humor only emerged while playing sports.