It's not everyone who can draw guffaws from such mundane topics as cereal, the weather and cremation.

Jerry Seinfeld, of course, is a master at doing so, and he proved it again on Friday in the first of two shows in Shea's Performing Arts Center. It was the comic's fourth night since 2001 of back-to-back sold-out shows in the grand old movie palace.

Seinfeld could do no wrong during his fast-paced, 79-minute opening set. That was immediately apparent when, after bounding on stage, he launched into a Buffalo snow joke and most of the 3,019 in attendance willingly laughed along.

"I like it here in Buffalo. . . . Snow? You probably don't notice it. You're probably not aware it's winter 364 days a year," Seinfeld said.

Breaking the ice, the 52-year-old, Brooklyn-born and Long Island-raised comic, dressed in a gray suit, quickly warmed up.

Here were some highlights:

• "I was supposed to go to the gym today. That's OK. I know most of you didn't go, either."

• "My wife is a saver . . . and I like to throw anything out. Where's the wedding album? I thought you were done with it. And that was wrong."

• "Now they have wheels on the walkers and hand brakes at the top. If you need brakes on your walker, perhaps you have been misdiagnosed."

• "I think the Raisin Bran people are convinced we are not happy yet with the number of raisins in the product. . . . No one cares about the raisins in the Raisin Bran - nobody. You've eaten Raisin Bran, you've given up anyway."

• "My favorite suicide bombers are when they find one of these guys who accidentally blew himself up without injuring anyone else. Kind of a Jihad E. Coyote type of guy. Eventually he'll get roller-skates, a big rocket on them. "It better work this time!' "

". . . You know this is not a new strategy at war time. How did they decide who was going to be the kamikaze pilot in Japan? You think it was the really good pilot? Probably not."

During one routine, an audience member interrupted him to ask if he was talking about sex.

"No I'm not. You may have wandered into the wrong theater. I'm sure any one of the ushers can give you directions to Club Diablo, where you can get right into that subject," Seinfeld answered, drawing a thunderous applause.

He followed with this put-down: "Whoever you're with, I'm sure, is very happy to be with you, until that's over, of course, and then there's not much to talk about, is there?"

Seinfeld, of course, became a household name during the 1990s when he starred and co-wrote the self-titled, long-running NBC sitcom, which featured the comedian playing a fictional version of himself.

There were just two references to the show, and one came after a standing ovation brought Seinfeld back on stage. He answered two questions from the audience, including a final request to say, "Hello Newman."

Seinfeld explained how he would approach the unwelcome Postal Service employee who lived in his apartment building. "I wouldn't say it right away. I would always look into his beady little eyes. If you looked into those eyes you could see all the evil that ever existed," Seinfeld said, sounding sinister.

"When you'd see that, then you'd say" - as Seinfeld lowered his voice - "Hello, Newman," lacing the words with an extra dose of sarcasm.

After the mega-success of "Seinfeld," the comedian could have gone quietly into the night instead of resuming stand-up comedy. The audience was the happier for it Friday night, and judging by how much fun he seemed to be having, one suspected Seinfeld was, too.

Opening for him was the well-received Mario Joyner, who hit pay-dirt with jokes about new technologies, being single and especially hapless fix-it-uppers who go to Home Depot.