Star Tribune photo by David Joles
Cy Amundson has some questions.
Why do couples throw birthday parties for their dogs? What compels a man to devour an entire Bloomin' Onion by himself at an Outback Steakhouse? Who tries to reason with 3-year-olds when they're 80 percent serial killer?
Watching the Minneapolis-based comic search for answers Wednesday night at Acme Comedy Co. raises the most puzzling question of all: Why isn't Amundson a household name?
That oversight will most likely be corrected in 2018 with Amundson poised to be one of the most successful stand-ups ever to graduate from the Acme School of Comedy.
The 33-year-old is already making a name for itself on Snapchat where he recently started drawing millions of social-media users as host of a quirkier version of ESPN's "SportsCenter." All signs point to him taking full advantage of that new exposure.
Wednesday's highly polished performance showed flashes of Lewis Black's anger with the late St. Paul native Mitch Hedberg's sing-song delivery. In particular, his routine on the futile nature of dog parties seemed tailor-made for a four-minute routine on late-night talk shows.
Many spectators in the unusually packed house for a mid-week show were probably on hand for a cameo from "Meat Sauce," the popular butt-of-all-jokes on KFAN's morning show. His fans being introduced to Amundson for the first time can now say they witnessed a star on the rise.
