Wenzel with plant. All photos and video courtesy of the artist.

Self-deprecation is a prime tool in the stand-up comedy arsenal, and it provides a strong counterpoint to the practice of making fun at the expense of others. However, comic Brian Posehn (best known for his turns on “Mr. Show,” “The Sarah Silverman Program,” “The Comedians of Comedy” and a recurring appearance on “Just Shoot Me”) has elevated self-deprecation to an art form, somehow channeling his utter horror at his aging body and ungainly appearance into cluster bombs of hilarity.

Posehn—who announced his return to pot use after a two-year stint with sobriety—has jokes designed to solicit smoke-out sessions from audience members after the show, jokes designed to produce one-night-stands of unimaginable sadness for all participants, and jokes largely designed as an outlet for a head full of self-criticism. But, you know, really, really, funny.

Opening for Posehn was local comedian Brad Wenzel, whose stand-up stylings range toward dry, observational humor, yet kept the audience laughing in spite of some expertly designed eye-rollers. Wenzel is a breathtaking talent for a comedian so young, and worked a set that was not so much clean in content as very wholesome in its delivery. Of the comedic school that relies heavily on stylized speech patterns, such as Mitch Hedberg or Steven Wright, Wenzel dresses like a Midwestern everyman and lays out his pithy observations in a (pseudo?) Southern drawl.

This is surely a comedic star on the rise, and not to be missed while performing so accessibly to the Detroit Metro area. The Magic Bag is a great venue for comedy, with lots of seating and tableside popcorn service to feed a crowd hungry for snacks and thirsty for laughs.

The Magic Bag Theater: 22920 Woodward Ave., Ferndale; 248.544.3030; http://www.themagicbag.com/