Fallon will have 'em fallin' over with laughs

Earlier this week, I learned that former "Saturday Night Live" star Jimmy Fallon will be starting his 2009 in Poughkeepsie!

Jimmy will be performing several stand-up shows at Banana's Comedy Club January 3rd and 4th. Banana's, located inside the Best Western hotel on Route 9, will host the 34-year-old for a 7:30 and 10:30 p.m. show that Saturday, followed by a 7 and 9:30 p.m. show on Sunday. Tickets are $25, not a bad deal for a guy who's scheduled to replace Conan O'Brien as the host of NBC's "Late Night" show next year. Plus, it's a pretty cool way to ring in the new year, right?

Thinking these shows would quickly sell out, I went through the online ticket service (not Ticketmaster) that's handling these shows as soon as I got the e-mail Sunday night and ordered what I thought were 2 tickets to one of the Poughkeepsie show. As it turns out, Jimmy is also performing at Banana's club in Hasbrouck, N.J. the night before; and in my haste to buy tickets before they're gone, I got stuck with 2 tickets for a show I can't go to, as the online ticket service will not exchange my tickets. (How's that for customer service?!)

Hence, I'd suggest you contact Banana's in Poughkeepsie directly to secure your tickets. I've seen many shows there before, and their staff is always accomodating. Click here for their official Web site. (Tell 'em Sean sent ya!) I'm still working on getting tickets for one of Jimmy's Poughkeepsie gigs, so I hope to see you at the show!

I've long been a fan of Jimmy's as, in my opinion, he's was the funniest guy on "SNL" when he was on the show, from 1998 to 2004. The back-and-forths he had with castmate Horatio Sanz were hilarious, as they were always cracking each other up with inside jokes during their skits. (Ah, live television.) And his "Nick Burns, Your Company's Computer Guy" character ... don't we all work with one of them? "The Barry Gibb Talk Show," playing Sully of "Sully" and "Zazu" fame, and Randy Goldman from "Wake Up Wakefield" ... need I go on? Pure hilarity!

When Jimmy and Tina Fey teamed up for the "Weekend Update" portion of "SNL," it was a match made in comedy Heaven: They were both topical and witty, and they played off each other so well. Each Saturday, I'd fall asleep right after "Weekend Update," since I knew after that segment, the rest of the show would just lag, not being nearly as funny as the first half. As soon as I'd hear "Good night, and have a pleasant tomorrow," I could turn off the TV.

With all that, you can see why I'm excited to see Jimmy live in Poughkeepsie; and why I was so disappointed with the ticket snafu. But be sure to get your tickets before they sell out.