CARLOS VAN HIJFTE'S TRIBUTE
(Triffids friend and booker in Holland)

From 1981 until 1986 I worked at the Effenaar Club in Eindhoven in Holland; booking artists and running the shows was my job. I was in a luxurious position, each week I had a party for which I could invite an artist whose records I loved. That's how I met the Triffids.
"Raining Pleasure" and "Treeless Plain" were big records for me, I loved the sound and the songs, kind of traditional with beautiful, sometimes dark lyrics.

When they played Eindhoven it was great, I have a tape of one of those nights. It could be my favourite bootleg. I booked and went to many of their Dutch shows and I got to know them better. They were always friendly, sometimes shy. There were some great dressing room parties with David as the master of ceremonies.
From early 80's I have been working for Sonic Youth, I've done everything except for playing in the band. I travelled with them everywhere including Australia where I spent a memorable evening with Graham Lee and I also hooked up with Robert McComb. We didn't make it to Perth, too bad.
In the van I often tried to convince these New Yorkers about the beauty of the Triffids, some got it but some were so much into Coltrane, Monk and Mingus that I was less successful. If they only could see them live, that would convince everybody, I was sure. Late 80's Sonic Youth and Triffids played on the same day and the same stage at the Roskilde Festival in Denmark. I was nervous because all these people I love would be around and I hoped so much they liked each other.
The magic moment of that day was not on stage but in some catering tent. When David heard who I was with he got very nervous and hyper, he wanted to meet Thurston Moore. He threw over some tables and chairs, his eyes got this manic look and when he finally met Thurston he couldn't really say much. He started looking for something as a present, this again created some manic scenes, finally after emptying his pockets he found this beautiful, very small silver religious medallion and gave this to Thurston, a very emotional and special moment. Also for me and something we talked about many years later in Paris, when I told Thurston about David's passing some days before. I'm not sure if Thurston ever liked the Triffids but I do know that this one time they met created a lot of respect.

© Carlos Van Hijfte