Blue Dog’s Comedy Pro Show is a hit!

Yesterday I made a desperate attempt to find the balls to venture outside into the blistering winter freeze, and make my way down to good ol’ Blue Dogs. I’ve concluded that freezing my ass off in the process was well worth it. This venue set up, for those who have never been, is very intimate and warm. I happened to arrive thirty minutes before the show was scheduled to begin, so to kill time I did what any eighteen year old girl does at a bar… ordered a double rum and coke!

Blue Dogs is a great bar for entertainment, and has a DJ spinning every night of the week. The music is incredible, and after the show that night I witnessed Blue Dogs transform from “intimate comedy venue” to “nightclub palace” in mere minutes. The bartender, Rashta Kruger, was a real sweetheart as well and that never hurts either. Her service was beyond exceptional and she was very friendly and open. Oh yes, both the laughs, and rum and cokes were plentiful last night.

Featured that night were comedians Geoffrey Appelbaum, Andrew Searles, Matt Corluka, Stephen Trepanier, Emma Wilkie, Eric Arsenault, and last but definitely not least, the host, comedian Eman El-Husseini.

So let us begin, as I take you on a journey of my personal favorites from that night

The special host of the night,as I previously mentioned was none other than Eman El-Husseini herself, whom I had the pleasure of seeing at this year’s SIRIUS XM competition for the JFL 42 festival that was happening in Toronto last September. She was beautiful and glowing last night on stage, and I absolutely adore her straight-forwardness when she performs her sets. Last night, she covered controversial topics such as the Quebec charter, religion, and racial stereotypes. Above all, Eman is a face not soon forgotten, and I really do hope to see more of her in the future

Comedian Geoffrey Appelbaum kicked off the show that last with an incredibly strong set. Admittedly, I’m pretty fond of Geoff as he is one of the first friends that I made when I moved to Montreal, but up until yesterday I had never had the pleasure of actually seeing him perform a set. I must say though, his vocal range is pure and utter insanity! I can safely say that I have never met anyone who could “out-voice him.” He exuded confidence during his set, and in my opinion, was the strongest comic in terms of stage presence and owning the room.

I had the pleasure of meeting Stephen Trepanier last night as well! He is very sweet and unassuming, and  I enjoyed watching his set a lot. He’s sort of like the “Michael Cera” of comics. This was my second time seeing him perform a set in person, and this man aims to please– and for some reason I keep attributing his strong points to the likes of celebrities. Anyway, all of his jokes were fantastic, and I downright enjoy ever minute of his presence, in general! Fantastic job, Stephan.

Emma Wilkie probably made the biggest impact on me last night. She has a unique quality about her that is hard to place or put into words. To truly understand, you would have to meet her in person. She is outwardly friendly and down to earth, and watching her stumble her way through her jokes was pretty hilarious, I’ll admit. There is a distinct quality about her that makes her very relate able, but not only that, she doesn’t have to wear a mask or put on a facade to be genuinely funny and like able, just observing her on stage was enough to tickle my funny bone in all the right places. In short, she is amazing, effortlessly.

Overall, fantastic venue, amazing show!
I look forward to returning to Blue Dog’s for the next one and if you’ve never been than I highly recommend you do. You will not be disappointed! Thank you to all of the comics who performed last night, you were all great! To keep updated on upcoming events, ‘like’ The Blue Dog Motel Facebook page, and follow on Twitter.

Happy laughing xo

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Grace Shaw