Wednesday evening, a few dozen admirers of the Cowboys Fringants gathered on the doorstep of the Vieux Palais, at L’Assomption, a broadcast venue for which Marie-Annick Lépine is responsible for programming. They cried, laughed a little, and above all sang to mark the death of Karl Tremblay.
A little before 8 p.m., Jacques Richard sat on the sidewalk, in front of the gate of the Vieux Palais, with her electric piano and an amplifier. Behind him, in a corner of the short staircase leading to the hall of the hall, a small bouquet of flowers and a note: “Thank you Karl. » Lanterns placed by two young women were added a little later in the evening.
From around ten people, the audience slowly increased to around fifty fans. Some had seen the announcement of a gathering on Facebook, like these two women who came from Repentigny on purpose, and others, like Luc Germain, were passing by by chance and stopped. The latter was taking his daily walk when he saw people gathered in memory of Karl Tremblay.
He had learned of the singer’s death, like everyone else, at the end of the day. “I was very saddened by the news. I am even surprised to see how much it touched me, he said, comparing his emotion to that he experienced a little over 20 years ago upon the death of Dédé Fortin. I had the chance to see the Cowboys show at Saint-Jean, in Terrebonne. It was very beautiful to see everyone singing along with Karl. It’s a big loss for Quebec culture. »
A little behind the people gathered near the pianist, Marie-Noëlle and her daughter Victoria were embracing each other with their eyes in the water. They too had learned of the gathering by chance. “It seems like everyone feels concerned,” observed Marie-Noëlle, who has followed the group since its shows in the 1990s at La Ripaille, a restaurant-bar in Repentigny where Karl Tremblay and Jean-François Pauzé signed up for a amateur contest that would ultimately change history.
She communicated her love of Cowboys Fringants songs to her daughter Victoria, who found the little tribute “very touching”. Maxime, father of a 5-month-old baby, noted with regret that his child would not have the chance to see a Cowboys show. He has seen the group on stage a hundred times, he assures us.
“I’ve been following them since I was in secondary 4. The Cowboys are my identity. I’ve identified with Karl since I was around 15, so about 15 years later, it’s difficult to lose a big brother,” explains Maxime. The news of his death was a shock, even though he knew his idol was ill. “I had hope,” he admits with emotion. I was thinking about his two children… We can’t not have hope…”
Maxime was not the only one to hold back or wipe away his tears. However, the atmosphere was not heavy around the Old Palace. The emotion was palpable when the small crowd sang Toune d’Automne, Les Etoiles Filantes or Sur mon Shoulder, the chorus of which was performed a cappella. But in true Cowboys spirit, fans also sang lighter songs like As Long as There Will Be Love and Le shack à Hector.
Karl Tremblay, who kept his head held high until the end, would undoubtedly have been touched to see his admirers shed a tear. He would definitely have been happy to see them laughing together. Like a final snub to death.