The most explosive cocktail in the history of the summer festival? Certainly the one that brought together the anarchist punk group Bérurier noir, their restless admirers, the Plains of Abraham and a violent storm in 2004.
It was quite a storm. rain, hail, wind. Across the city, emergency services had to respond to flooding and downed trees.
Chaos reigned on the plains where nature unleashed itself in the early evening. The terrain turned into a mud puddle and festival-goers, cheered on by the artists who played in the first part, started throwing them everywhere. Their main goal: the spectators who dined comfortably in the company boxes. These had to be evacuated.
The concert took place anyway and lived up to expectations. Porcherie, Hélène et le sang, Salut à toi, Bérurier noir delighted its fans for the ultimate and unforgettable visit to Quebec. A real Beurière festival.
This anthology show was also immortalized. A documentary on Bérurier noir’s presence at the Festival d’été and the entire performance is available on YouTube.
As for the plains of Abraham, they were in a sorry state after the French passed through.
“Everything was black. There was mud everywhere and it smelled of rot,” General Manager Daniel Gélinas recalled in an interview with the Journal a few years ago.