For several weeks now – and after 12 years of fallowness – the group Karkwa has returned to see its fans on the stages of Quebec and Europe. Accompanied by photographer Marc-Étienne Mongrain, The duty had access Thursday to the backstage of the first of four concerts given these days at the MTelus in Montreal. Narrative.
It was a little after 12:30 when we arrived behind the MTelus. Keyboardist François Lafontaine, in his elegant beige trench coat, is installed on the metal staircase at the artists’ entrance, doing what he will do regularly in the coming hours: lighting a cigarette. The handshake is frank and he has the focused look of the veteran in control of the situation, serene in front of the series of shows that Karkwa is about to begin in the vast Montreal venue.
“Frank” opens the door and sets off at full speed into the twists and turns of the old Metropolis. He emerges into a room where his teammates are waiting for him, singer Louis-Jean Cormier, drummer Stéphane Bergeron, percussionist Julien Sagot and bassist Martin Lamontagne. The musicians cavort in front of the camera of another media, which tries to extract from them some at least semi-serious answers, which, we ourselves learn later, is a pleasant, but difficult, exercise.
“Five more minutes, is that good?” » says the group’s manager, Sandy Boutin, master of logistics clinging to his “ ear buds “. Everyone goes back down into the large cavern adjacent to the stage where the artists’ dressing rooms are set up. The guys from the injured group in the first part will arrive a little later, “and this is Watson’s dressing room”, says the now mustachioed Louis-Jean who acts as the guide.
Watson? Patrick Watson! The same one who formed the hybrid entity Karkwatson with his musicians, notably in 2018 during one of the rare moments when the guys from Karkwa had put their break on pause. Cormier will mention it to the crowd later: Watson’s surprise presence is a nod to the past: on April 27, 2006, the pianist opened for Karkwa at Club Soda. “Now he’s quite a bit bigger than us!” » laughs Louis-Jean.
The dial reads 2:05 p.m., and tour manager Guillaume Alix pushes the five members of Karkwa towards the sound check. In front of an empty room, the stage is overflowing with equipment — Karkwa does not travel light.
François Lafontaine is installed in front of an array of keyboards and flashing gadgets, Julien Sagot tests a new technical approach to add effects to the sounds he produces and Martin Lamontagne only talks about one thing: his brand new bass that he tries to push to the limit – that, in fact, of the big sound boss, Mathieu Parisien. The lively musician can’t believe his Fender Precision 1958 Custom Shop, even going so far as to give it a kiss. It’s mad love.
As for guitars, Louis-Jean uses “six or seven”, each having in his eyes – and in his ears – a distinct touch which better suits certain pieces of the group. “But it’s a bit of crossage,” he concedes. He will still take several minutes with stage technician Nicolas “Bobo” Beaudoin to review the waltz of the instruments. The “Strat” here, the “Gibson” there, etc.
What is surprising during this warming is the density of the installations. The stage is vast, but the five guys are stuck together, with Louis-Jean in the center of the close formation. “The way we are placed here [au MTelus], it’s practically the same thing as when we play in bars, we’re stuck like that, says Lafontaine backstage. We don’t want to lose that energy. We hear each other, we are able to perceive everyone by closing our eyes. »
New mindset
It’s 3:30 p.m. when the five members of Karkwa return to their dressing room, and morale is high a few hours before playing in front of more than 2,000 people, the biggest crowd of their tour.
It’s also time for bottles of red — which would ordinarily seem to be opened later in the pre-concert routine. Nervous, boys? Basically no, but a little nonetheless. Stéphane makes a sporting comparison: “it remains the feeling to play at home. “I didn’t sleep well,” admits Julien, referring to “constructive anxiety”, a concept which immediately provokes mockery from his colleagues – who do not fail to also tease the journalist before becoming more serious.
But after 12 years of absence, Karkwa is moving forward on this return tour feeling “zen”, strong not only from a 25-year complicity, but also carried by a different energy. In a way, the group’s driving force is not quite the same, they explain. The goal is no longer necessarily to shine more, to conquer new fans and new territories, but rather to “try to align the planets so that it is cool with what we want to do”, illustrates Louis -Jeans.
The five musicians are aware of having this luxury of being more in the present moment, of being “more detached”. The group does not want to “squeeze the lemon” and has carefully chosen its rooms, almost immediately excluding places where you sit on soft red velvet seats.
And paradoxically, “when you don’t really have a desire for influence and commercialization, that brings even more grist to the mill,” says the singer. François Lafontaine is swarming on his end of the sofa. “The path… the path, there, it is wide open to do what we want, the way we would like to do it. Then what is no longer in the equation is what I call antipersonnel mines. Everyone moves forward at the same time. »
Family
Once dinner is over, things start to get crowded in the dressing rooms. Friends, spouses and children are added, including singer Marie-Pierre Arthur in a relationship with Lafontaine. She had come as a simple spectator, here she is working with Patrick Watson on a collaboration on stage. “It’s like a family reunion,” says the pianist, his eternal cap on his head. We’re gonna cause some trouble ! It’s’fun ! »
The MTelus crowd is compact and at 8 p.m., they get a nice shake-up from the group Blesse, who accompanied Karkwa for part of the tour. The curtain then closes on the stage, before rising again a few minutes later, revealing the presence of the surprise guest. Howls in the crowd. She will abundantly sing the words of Patrick Watson, who between two bursts of his contagious laughter offered, among other things, The Great Escape And Big Bird in a Small Cage.
Downstairs, the tour director shouts: “Ten minutes!” “. The Karkwa guys are rather relaxed, the group not really having any ritual or routine, notes Louis-Jean. Julien multiplies metaphors to explain this state. “Karkwa is like a jewel that just turns, with lots of facets that shinent one after the other. And that means that when you’re not going, there’s always someone who is. shiner for you, that’s the strength of the team. »
The five musicians and the stage crew hug each other in a circle. “Enjoy this!” » shouts one of them. Everyone takes their place and Karkwa starts the machine for around twenty titles, delivering almost entirely the last disc In the second and punctuating everything with dives into the past, including the pieces The cold shoulder And The Coup d’Etat.
A true five-man attack, Karkwa took advantage of playing in a tight row, multiplying knowing glances, synchronized head nods and sequences of solos – including on The Glass Paths And Sleep during the day.
Finally, the evening was busy for Marie-Pierre Arthur, who returned to the stage for a beautiful version of Do not forget before accompanying Karkwa once again at the end of the concert, this time with Patrick Watson, who came to complete the family portrait during The real happiness.
The conquered audience made the room vibrate with their applause while the artists left the stage, happy but not completely satisfied. It’s after 11:30 p.m. and the Karkwa guys take a few moments to see what could be done better. “It’s like after a hockey game,” laughs their manager Sandy Boutin. Still thinking about his bass, Martin becomes philosophical. “Every evening, we tell ourselves that it’s starting to sink in. We’re going to be better on Friday, and then we’re going to say to ourselves that it’s starting to happen. And we’re going to be even better on Saturday! » Go ahead, the path is open.