Or that’s what University Union Comedy is trying to express to Syracuse University by bringing comedian Dave Attell this Saturday night to start off its new year of humor.

‘The overall thing is we wanted to bring acts that appeal to a college crowd,’ said Laura Garrison, co-director of UU Comedy. ‘Dave Attell just got off the ‘Insomniac’ comedy tour and had a TV special last Sunday, so it’s very timely. He’s just really funny and a lot of college kids like him.’

Attell, a former ‘Saturday Night Live’ writer, is best known for his show ‘Insomniac,’ in which he tours different cities in the late hours of the night, doing a random assortment of activities while interacting with the local people.

UU expects a large turnout for the show because of the name recognition from such a big act, and the people who come will not be disappointed, Garrison said. Attell’s original style of comedy is always amusing and has gotten rave reviews from such performances on ‘The Daily Show,’ HBO, ‘The Late Show with David Letterman,’ ‘Late Night with Conan O’Brien’ and MTV.

‘A lot of comedians out there are aspiring actors, but Dave Attell is a comedian who loves doing comedy and loves to tour,’ Garrison said. ‘It’s great seeing people who love what they do.’

Recently, Attell has been touring around the country doing stand-up with Dane Cook, Greg Giraldo and Sean Rouse, who will be opening for Attell’s Saturday performance. Rouse, known for being a boyish-looking comic who surprises people with his open and blunt humor, is a perfect opener as his style perfectly complements Attell’s, Garrison said.

Attell is also no stranger to the college scene. He makes it a priority on any tour he is on to stop and do college shows along the way since he enjoys them so much, said Dave Becky, Dave Attell’s manager.

‘Dave loves going on the college circuit, because that’s his audience,’ Becky said. ‘He wants to be part of the college scene as much as possible and Syracuse is a great university. He’s really excited for the show.’

Due to a rule that advertising for a show can only be done when all the contracts are signed, UU has only recently been allowed to promote the show. Yet, now that everything is in place, the entire campus is being covered with fliers announcing the comedian’s impending arrival, said Dennis Jacobs, president of UU.

‘We’re doing the best we can,’ Jacobs said. ‘We’re basically doing a blitzkrieg of fliers. When you woke up and headed out, right away you saw that Dave Attell is coming.’

UU is very excited for this show as a kick off to the year. While they might not be able to bring such a big name comedian again, the organization is already planning different events – each with their own brand of humor and name recognition. Later this month, UU will be presenting the Empire Comedy Festival, which will be an entire weekend of different styles of humor culminating with a performance by the Upright Citizen’s Brigade.

‘This is a huge start for comedy,’ Jacobs said. ‘Starting off with Dave Attell, people are going to be looking at UU Comedy.’

Although ticket sales have been slow so far, tickets are still available at the Schine Box Office and will be sold until the day of the show; UU expects it to pick up quickly when words gets out.

‘It’s just going to be a fun time,’ Garrison said. ‘Comedy really allows you to take your mind off homework and stress. I want everyone to come and laugh and have a good time for a few hours Saturday night.’

Published on October 5, 2005 at 12:00 pm