Last night, Dave Attell provided dietary advice to the students of Syracuse University.

‘What’s the two things they tell you are healthiest to eat? Chicken and fish,’ Attell said. ‘You know what you should do? Combine them … eat a penguin.’

Attell, former host of the Comedy Central show ‘Insomniac,’ did a night of stand-up comedy in Goldstein Auditorium for a full house, quite a feat since University Union Comedy, presenter of the show, had only four days to advertise it, said Laura Garrison, co-chairwoman of UU Comedy.

Even though he drove all the way from New York City and arrived two hours before the start of the show, Attell was in full-on comedic glory. The subjects of the hour of comedy were to be expected from a college show: sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll. Yet Attell, using his own brand of slow opinionated humor, said what was really on his mind. He explained the hazards of drinking Jgermeister, the delights of eating pineapple, the sorry state of being a student at the State University of New York at Oswego after someone yelled that it was better than Syracuse, and what he really thought of SU.

‘This is the scariest fucking campus I’ve ever seen in my life,’ Attell said. ‘What’s that haunted house there for? Does Count Chocula teach a class here?’

Having finished the ‘Insomniac’ tour over the summer, and just returning from the USO tour in the Middle East, Attell is finally back on familiar ground touring clubs and colleges, a personal favorite of his.

The large crowd present may have been from the big-name act that UU Comedy provided for the campus. Many of them, never having seen Attell do anything else but tour late-night cities on ‘Insomniac,’ were excited for a night of stand-up.

‘I thought it was really funny; it was a good show,’ said Leif Enoksen, a sophomore education and geology major. ‘I’m really glad they are bringing bigger names. Last year I was aware of one huge show they had here, and already this is one and there are a few more coming up.’

Some of the funniest moments of the night came from Attell retelling personal stories of his encounters on the road – especially when they dealt with drinking, a subject that seemed to have no bounds for him.

‘When I was in Germany I banged a tranny,’ Attell said. ‘No one wants to bang a tranny, but if you do, it’s like Taco Bell. You only do it when you’re drunk, but when you do it, you can’t get enough, and then afterwards you feel you’re gonna die for three days.’

While the night started slow, audience members began to slowly get into it as time went on. And by the end, they were roaring with laughter at every joke about things like men’s fear of vibrators or the gruesomeness of shark attacks.

‘It was kind of a last-minute thing. I didn’t have anything else to do, but I’m glad I came,’ said Alyssa Bell, a freshman music education. ‘The material was absurd, it’s all about sex and drugs ’cause we’re in college. I enjoyed it a lot.’

Sean Rouse, a comedian who toured with Attell during the ‘Insomniac’ tour, opened the show. Working mostly with race humor, many seemed almost afraid to be the first to laugh. Yet Rouse was a master of targeting the right people to break the tense atmosphere, and from there the audience finally enjoyed itself.

‘What’s going on here?’ Rouse asked. ‘Any natural disasters? Just the football team? Yeah.’

Overall, people seemed to walk away happy from seeing a Sunday night of comedy. And Attell himself, a sort-of city aficionado, was actually happy to be in Syracuse.

‘There’s a late-night scene in every town, and everyone has something going on,’ Attell said. ‘I’ve heard good stories about (Syracuse); this is a very good party town, a good drinking place. I definitely would like to come back and check it out further. Do some more research, as I call it.’

Published on October 9, 2005 at 12:00 pm