Who said being provocative was not funny? When your name is Sugar Sammy, you understand that a lesson in humility and humour can be a recipe for success.

As my first assignment as a blogger for the Lèche-Vitrine I decided go big or go home (that’s just how I roll!) And by big, I mean the premiere of Sugar Sammy’s new show, You’re Gonna Rire, at l’Olympia on February 29^th.  That same day, Sugar Sammy happened to be turning 9 years old (blame it on that crazy thing called a Leap Year birthday).

There’s something about Sugar Sammy’s aura that gets me going. How can you not love a guy that watches the hockey game in Punjabi and still lives with his parents? He is your typical first-generation immigrant stuck in the language vortex otherwise known as Quebec. He grew up in Côte-des-Neiges and went to public school in French. To him, it’s perfectly normal to hear people say: “Me, I go to the dep au coin de la rue…” Coming from the same background, I relate to each and every one of Sugar Sammy’s jokes and his aller-retour from one language to another. It didn’t even seem strange to me, my brain is actually wired that way too.

Talking about his love for hockey, the best part of the show was when he started on PK Subban and the Habs; apparently the two of them are good buddies. I wonder if he knew that Subban was in the audience when he made fun of him (not that he understood because that part of the show was in French).

Now, let’s talk posse. For his show, Sugar Sammy went all Vinnie Chase with his entourage! You rarely see one-man shows with more than one man (just saying…) First wingman, DJ Yo-C, warmed up the crowd with an upbeat mix of songs in French and in English that got show-goers feeling excited from the moment we stepped foot in the venue. It felt like a legit party, the kind where you fist pump and dance your bum off. Everyone in the audience had huge grins on their faces, not to mention they also left their dignity at the door (especially if sitting in the first few rows). What better remedy for the February winter blues then to have a good laugh at yourself (and everyone else sitting around you, Montreal being so multicultural)?

Next up were Dan Bingham, originally from Pierrefonds (or as he calls it, « Rock Bottom ») and Nile Séguin from Toronto. Funny how the Montreal guy did his number in English, while Nile Séguin (aka the guy with the million facial expressions) performed his in French. If one didn’t get that this was going to be a Franglais/Frenglish show, this was a good wake up call. Forget the stereotype of the first act just filling the stage before the actual show starts… These guys were on fire! There was a camaraderie between all of them that was really captivating.

I truly believe that it’s our duty as Montrealers to attend one of Sugar Sammy’s shows and witness this verbal stunt pilot live. After all, what’s the point of living in a land of stereotypes if you can’t poke fun at un ou deux of them?