Wary of high expectations, the Sydney Festival 4 night event was billed as a “rehearsal”, but there was heaps of fan anticipation when the original members of The Triffids, and a host of friends, took the stage to celebrate the words, songs & life of David McComb, principal songwriter & frontman of the band (who died in Feb ’99). It was, after all, the band’s first Australian performance in 18 years…

Wary of high expectations, the Sydney Festival 4 night event was billed as a “rehearsal”, but there was heaps of fan anticipation when the original members of The Triffids, and a host of friends, took the stage to celebrate the words, songs & life of David McComb, principal songwriter & frontman of the band (who died in Feb ’99). It was, after all, the band’s first Australian performance in 18 years, And what a wealth of songs David wrote for The Triffids, The Blackeyed Susans, The Red Ponies, Costar and for others to sing. Hell, he & Alsy & an ever shifting line-up of friends self released 9 cassettes of material and a handful of singles even before the first Triffids album proper, “Treeless Plain”, came out in ’83. Songs just seemed to pour out of the man.

The UK’s NME declared 1985 the year of The Triffids, but it may be that 2008 is much more deserving of that accolade: In January, Tornado Alley Productions commenced filming a documentary on McComb. Sometime this year is expected the release of a biography on him & The Triffids by NME’s Bleddyn Butcher. And the exquisitely produced deluxe re-issues of the Triffids’ albums & singles have been released by Domino Records worldwide (and by Liberation Records in the Antipodes). And then there was this grand 3 hour event back at the Sydney Festival, with the band joined by members of The Blackeyed Susans & others (a stand out being Steve Kilbey of The Church whose vocal performance on a handful of songs was breathtaking).

If you weren’t lucky enough to be in the audience, I believe footage from the 4 nights will be included in the documentary. In the meantime, you can listen here to 6 songs from the first night, each of which were originally on arguably the band’s greatest release, Born Sandy Devotional. Even tho recorded in London, the album is so evocative of Australia. At the time of its release, it was my soundtrack (along with the ‘tweens Liberty Belle) on my monthly “country-run” from Wagga Wagga, Albury, Bendigo, Ballarat & back to Melbourne, and the songs to this day evoke for me Australia’s horizon, wherever I am. R.I.P. David, long live the Triffids.

The Triffids & Friends: Metro Theatre, Sydney
“A Secret In The Shape Of A Song” Jan 17, 2008

The Seabirds (vocals by Mick Harvey)
Tarrilup Bridge (vocals by Jill Birt)
Wide Open Road (vocals by Steve Kilbey)
Life Of Crime (vocals by Mark Snarski)
Personal Things (vocals by Toby Martin)
Stolen Property (vocals by Steve Kilbey)

photo courtesey of Jamie Williams
www.flickr.com/photos/jamiewilliamsphotography/collections
Thanks once again to GT for his suPerb recording

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