Rich “The Meister” Dillon here for CGCM Rock Radio and I was recently on location in Knislinge, Sweden at Time To Rock Festival 2023. And what an overall incredible event it was! Throughout that weekend there were a veritable crapton of great acts gracing stages. But a few of the bands stood out to me over and above the already highly established bar. In my Spotlight series, I’ll go into more detail about certain gig sets than I did in my daily wrap-up blogs. All of the Time To Rock coverage can be found here: Time To Rock 2023 – Complete Coverage.
This Ain’t No Teaze!
Time to be Canadian proud. It is my steadfast belief (and fuck, yes I’m biased) that Canada has some of the best bands in the world. In Windsor, Ontario, Canada back in 1975 a band called Teaze formed. Four albums were created to form the legacy. Here at 3 pm on Saturday, July 8th, 2023, I stood in the photo pit ready to bear witness to Teaze‘s first-ever gig in Europe! I had the pleasure to briefly meet the guys here yesterday and was excited about this.
Looking Up From The Pit
The Teaze set flew out of the gates in fine form with “Ready To Move“. Holy crap these guys were tight, all cylinders firing on point in an obviously well-oiled machine. “Gonna Have A Good Time Tonight” kept the mood on the upward swing. Not only were these guys such a seamlessly woven unit musically on stage, but the sound was so very crystal clear. Every bass twang, every hi-hat, chords and vocals were mixed to perfection! By the time we reached the third song “Reach Out“, I was noticing how much drummer Mike Kozak was into it. He was bashing away back there with the vigour and force of a caged animal finally set free. I almost felt the same escaping from the pit and stashing away the camera. I really love taking photos, but now I wanted to rock with Teaze!
Flash and Roses in A Heartless World
Guitarist Mike Bradac was a flurry of action dressed in the flashy silver coat. Yesterday in the field he had sported a wide-stripe black and white suit. The boy has a style and flash all his own and he looked happy as hell up there. Totally in his element and having the time of his life! Starting out a little slower, the Windsor boys served up “Roses and Chrome” next. Sorry to the band Prins Svart (which I think means Prince Black) over on the Rocknytt Stage. I don’t even know you, but I ain’t gonna make it over there at all! The boys seemed to be climbing even higher up the mountain, catching fire all the way as they really warmed up flying into “Heartless World“.
The Crash to a Halt
As Teaze was doing their level-headed best impression of a steamroller gathering momentum on a steep downhill incline, they seemed unstoppable! But I was wrong! After a chord or two of the sixth song, vocalist/bassist Brian Danter called out “I need a cord, I have no bass!” Seemed there was an issue with the wireless. But sadly after its arrival and connection, the cord did not correct the issue.
As the minutes ticked by in what seemingly became ages and ages, Kozak did his best to keep the crowd going. And to their credit, they hung in, cheering, chanting, fists up. Kozak jokingly called out “We’re ain’t cutting one damn song. We’re playing the whole set! If we get deported, we get deported!“…and finally after literally forever, “Here we go, set #2!“. All in all, we were probably about 20 minutes or so delayed mid-set. It is what it is, tech gremlins can show up at any time.
On And On As We’re Back In Action
Set #2 launched with “Through The Years” and straight into “Back In Action” a statement that rang true! Teaze were definitely back in action without losing a step of the energy. The crowd and band feeding off each other! “Rockin’ With The Music” And “Flames Keep Growing” followed, the latter bringing more bass issues as a massive buzz came through the speakers. “I’m not having a good day, but I’m having a great time!” Danter called out. They rolled on quickly this time right into “Young and Reckless“. “On The Loose” brought a big rockin’ jam session to close the number.
As expected, “Boys Night Out” would serve as the closing song. A closing that included band intros and brought Teaze to about 25 minutes over time! I thought the “We’re not cutting a song” comments were a joke. But they completed the whole set, so awesome of Time To Rock to allow Teaze to do that!
The First Time
Teaze‘s first time in Europe had that major mid-set hitch. It didn’t stop them from rockin’ and making a helluva impression on the audience. Many folks commented on them to me in the days following and I understand that their signing session lineup was much longer than anticipated! All in all a fantastic set with an incredible crystal clear sound mix throughout! Teaze will again return to Europe at Belgium’s Golden Age Festival in September…..will you be there?
TIME TO ROCK OFFICIAL WEBSITE / FACEBOOK
Follow along with all of my coverage here: Time To Rock Festival 2023 Full Coverage page.
Cheers,
The Meister
Meister Music Live To Air Radio/Video Shows on Mixcloud / CGCM Podcast
Find more of my album reviews and blogs here: Meister Music
Meister on Facebook / Meister on Instagram / Meister on Twitter / Meister’s Email
