Dutch rockers Tease & Denial starred in Zaandam Saturday

What was supposed to be a relaxed gig for Amsterdam pop/rock band Tease and Denial, quickly went all out last Saturday with band members and patrons alike agreeing that it was like “one great trip to heaven and hell and back!” Lead singer Mariska almost literally exploded. “Our climax doesn’t come easy,” grinned Mariska (Lie A Ling), who started the band together with her guitarist hubby Ivan. There’s an explanation for the naughty grin. “Maybe you should Google our name to see what kind of associations the name gets. We thrive on those,” she explained. But apparently that is where the joke stops; everything else about the band is pure, serious and unadulterated rock. “Our principle is obvious in our name; it’s about opposites that attract, and about pushing and pulling; you’ll also see that in our lyrics. It’s very exciting to build up tension in our music and at the same time to postpone certain things. Opposite forces that work together can lead to heat and friction … the climax does not come easy, but when it does, it does!” Last Saturday night’s audience at The Flux in Zaandam got an earful. T&D took them on a whirlwind tour, bouncing between some old favorites and newer stuff of their own; Tracks like “Burns Slow Riff”, Youtube hit “It’s Good”, slow building storm “Musk” and “Zinzitlies” a beautiful ballad that shut the audience up. They also did a Duran Duran cover that the audience immediately liked, enjoyed and granted applause. Mariska’s favorite of the night was “Like A Record” that allowed her to go out of her mind. “We finished up with “Fuses Pumping Live Heat.” A great song to close off the night,” she said. She described the repertoire as “obstinate, ranging between earsplitting and painfully fragile. We chose a beautiful array of truly unique songs; each one created its own universe, and we hoped that as a whole it would be appreciated. The fact is that we can do no other music than what we bring to the stage,” she said.

And from the looks of it, it was appreciated. “These guys need to play at festivals like Pink Pop or Lowlands,” one person said. Another could not believe this was actually a Dutch band no one had ever heard of before. “I’m glad to have seen them for a handful of Euro's. Soon it will probably cost a lot more,” she said. Another person called it “loud music for the adult connoisseur.” Mariska said the Zaandam gig was special, because it was the band’s first “real” gig here in the Netherlands. “Funny enough we have played at several highly appreciative gigs in Germany, but it took a while before we got a gig at home. And it was great to be the main act of the evening.” She tried to downplay the rock star treatment band members got when they arrived, but it was obvious that they enjoyed autographing their CD’s for the anxious crowd before the show got off. “Rock stars, pfff,” she chuckled. “T&D doesn't perform very often, so it was nice to have a good crowd that consisted of a nice mix of locals and Tease and Denial fans that came traveling from far to witness this special occasion,” she said. And as for “not performing very often: “We hope to do this type of gigs a lot more, here in the Netherlands and abroad.”