In the beginning, the idea of a comedy roast was that friends of the (typically well-known) Roastee would gather and make fun of their chum on some notable occasion like a birthday or retirement or show-biz anniversary.

Television got involved and there are now 17,906 televised roasts annually. Even a molecule-sized amount of fame means a Network thinks you're worthy of a Roast. And instead of counting on friends to be funny — many of these people don't HAVE friends — a new brand of comic has evolved by necessity: The Comedian Who Shows Up at Every Roast Specifically Because She or He is Really Good at Insulting People Whether She or He Knows the Roastee or Not. (Intimacy or familiarity — once part of the charm of the concept — has nothing to do with it.)

Two of the best of these "professional roasters" are Jeff Ross and Dave Attell. They're so good at it, in fact, that they've conceptualized a comedy tour out of their roasting skills. See them Saturday as they hit the Mohegan Sun's Sky Convention Center and Uncas Ballroom on their "Bumping Mics" tour. Be forewarned: You might just be famous enough to feel their flaming rhetoric.

"Bumping Mics," Dave Attell and Jeff Ross, 8 p.m. Saturday, Sky Convention Center and Uncas Ballroom, Mohegan Sun; $39 and $49; 1-800745-3000.