Local (and international) legend Jean Leloup brings his wildly weird and eclectic brand of rock to the Métropolis this Friday, Dec. 9. And, thanks to the kind folks at Grosse Boite/Dare To Care who seem already wrapped up in the holiday gift-giving spirit, we've got 5 pairs of tickets to give away. This is a singer who's packed the Metropolis close to 25 times. If it's anything like his gig in 2009, you won't want to miss out.

I got my first Jean Leloup CD about 12 years ago, when I was living and working in Toronto. I was doing a project with the Montreal branch of our office, and I had asked for some good French rock music that wasn't Mitsou or Roch Voisine - which was basically the extent of my French music knowledge at the time, thanks to years of following their lyrics in grade school immersion classes. Although I haven't kept track of Leloup's work much in recent years other than what we've included on the podcast, his songs were the gateway tunes that led me to the many riches in the Quebec rock scenes. Leloup paved the way for the varied and diverse rock acts that we cover constantly on this site.

If you've got a memory of your own to share regarding Jean Leloup, do so below. The first 5 commenters will win a pair of tickets to the show.

Contest closes Thursday, Dec. 8 at 4pm.

Jean Leloup
w The Last Assassins
@ The Metropolis
Friday, Dec. 9, 2011

photo of Jean Leloup at the Metropolis in 2009, found on his website.