Feminist Punk Ain't Dead

So last night I went all the way to Manchester with my housemate who, last year while going to see Kate Nash, fell in love with an all-girl rock group called The Tuts.

When I first moved to England she played the album for me and I thought that they were quite cool and then got on with my life, but after last night all I want to do is play them really loudly and sing along until my voice hurts. Alas, I can't because I don't want to piss off the other people in the house, or use the scary word 'feminism', so I'm currently under the guise of doing college work while listening to Johnny Cash instead.

Firstly, The Fallow in Manchester is an amazing venue. When I first walked in, I was like 'this is nice and all but are we in the right building?', only to venture upstairs and find another bar and a small make-shift stage in the corner.
I'd already mixed some Jack Daniels in with my Burger King coke so I was fine in the alcohol department, and I was eager to see the first band, who appeared in the form of two people known as 'The Lab Rats'.

Lab Rats

This guy and gal duo, upon seeing them, had me thinking 'woah this is going to be heavy stuff', until the girl started singing with her acoustic guitar and the guy cracked out a mandolin. Again, I tried to predict the sound and only came up with something along the lines of REM.
Again I was wrong, they were political yet melodical and not over done. While I watched them I silently hoped they had an EP to sell afterwards, which they don't but you can find them on Band Camp. Their songs spoke of the social inequalities within the country, and I have to admit, it was a nice change from 'he loves me/she broke up with me yadda yadda'. With their instruments decked out in stickers and anarchy pictures, they musically combated all of the issues that plague us young people. These are certainly a group whose album I would track down, and try to see live again. Definitely recommended.


El Morgan

The second musical act that came on, consisted of two blonde women. Both took turns playing the acoustic guitar, and both gave me Stevie Nicks/Haim vibes. I think they were called El Morgan, now I could be wrong, I couldn't hear when they spoke and I'm just going by the venue listings, and process of elimination since my Google is acting up.
Easy listening, and as my friend described 'it's as if Elbow and Laura Marling had a baby'.
Again, this act can be found on Band Camp, and again I recommend them highly. I'd probably play them while driving (if I could), or lighting incense and looking for some chill time. Who knows, they might be picked up and you'll see them in a deep scene where the protagonist looks out  the window, dramatically.

The Tuts!

And then, the ladies of the night, The Tuts came on!
We'd seen them walking around, and even though I'd stood next to them earlier on (with my silent internal fangirl attacks), I couldn't get over how nice they were.
Between songs they were very interactive with the crowd, reminding everyone of how they're just like the rest of us, humans with day jobs, and even went so far as to go into the crowd while simultaneously playing!
They were loud, fast,and didn't give a shit. And just like the Lab Rats before them, they didn't waste any time singing about break ups or men. They were empowering, and I definitely saw why Kate Nash chose them as her support when she was touring the UK.
It's nice to see all-girl groups. We don't have enough women in rock, all I can think of is The Runaways and Hole, but even at that Courtney Love had  Eric Erlandson with her.
And it's not just rock, but drumming. The Tuts have a great drummer on their hands, easily bypassing Meg White, I'd rank her up there with Patty Schemel.
This time I don't have to say that I need to hunt down their albums as I got an album, shirt and badges right after the show. And luckily, they're on spotify!

Sadly, I didn't get to see the rest of the acts last night as I had to leave early, but I bet they would of been amazing.

It's good nights, with great bands like these that make college life worth it.

Disclaimer: I don't own the images as I was too short and the uber-fans had pushed to the front. I also only have a stupid little shitty blackberry with horrible camera quality.

The Uisce (Water) War

Well it has been in the news. It's been covered by the BBC (well only the BBC, if you believe that the RTE and TV3 is being censored because the owner apparently runs the water commission now too) and protested over with the past week or so, and being an Irish immigrant, always trying to keep up with the news of home, it was inevitable that I would eventually get my say in the water charges debate.

Please just keep in it mind that I'm not a lawyer or an economist, I am merely a person with an opinion that you may not agree with.

First of all, I just want to say that I find it atrociously unconstitutional. Surely there must have been some sort of referendum in advance? These protests have actually been going on a year, they've only been kicked into overdrive with the introduction of water meters, since the whole country refused to pay bills and standard charges originally, after the introduction of last years budget!
Water is a life necessity, and to have a price put on that without the consent of the people is ridiculous! I admit that the country needs more revenue and income if it is ever to leave this recession, but it is not okay when it is money being taken from the pockets of the people with no say in the matter!
If that's the case, would you like a kidney and a cup of tea while you're at it?

Also, apparently there was a report about a family in County Monaghan with 13 children that has calculated that with all of the water they would need to use in a year, they would be forced to pay almost 4,000 euro. What about these people with large families? Or those supporting parents and have them living with them, because they can't afford a nursing home in the first place? Also, will the introduction of these water charges mean an increase in the charges for nursing nursing homes? After all, residents will need water too, and any care assistant or nurse will tell you that it is incredibly important to remain hydrated when you are in your old age.

And yes, many countries already pay water charges and they are perfectly happy with it, they're used to it, they most likely paid them before they, themselves, had ended up in a recession too..

But if you think about it, with Dublin's new housing boom, homelessness is increasing, which shows how much people are struggling! So if people are struggling that much, then what makes the government and those in charge think that anyone can afford to pay for water? What about single parents expected to pay for the water that allows for drinking, showering, washing and cooking?

Plus, parts of Ireland still has dirty water that cannot be used, yet people in these regions are being forced to pay water rates, on top of their weekly bottles of water. This is just downright disgraceful. And as happy as I am to hear that the government is meant to be giving households an extra 8 euro per week, it annoys me that they still expect people to pay these charges with the money! It's like they're paying for us to pay. It's confusing, it almost becomes like a new version of 'what came first, the chicken or the egg?'

I'm sure that this could be fought from the perspective of the Human Rights Act....I mean I'm almost sure. I haven't looked into it. But surely there should be some law saying that everyone is entitled to sanitation, or to be clean or hydrated!

Also, could these charges come at any worse a time? It's October, the storms are beginning. Cork is flooded again! Thunder and lightening has been going all week! People need to buy oil, gas, coal, timber for fires! They have families to keep warm and healthy! These costs are beginning to accumulate, and everyone is expected to pay for water on top of that?! What if a pipe were to burst and water went everywhere? Would we be liable to pay for that water too? The water that will probably freeze over and maybe cause someone to fall, maybe cracking their head open?
Christmas is just around the corner and families are already struggling, so really, if the government is to introduce these new water measures, why not start last May?



But if you look at it in another sense, we are coming up to the centenary of the 1916 Easter Rising, and I'm pretty sure that with this big even coming up (one that is sure to attract tourism and people tracing their genealogical roots) people will be angered to look back on these people who died for a Free Ireland, only for it to be as badly off as it is now, and trying every method possible to extract money from the people against their will, in this case through water charges.

Hopefully, I will be returning home to Ireland this month for my birthday, but at the rate things are going I won't be going out for celebratory drinks. I may be standing with my family protesting out in the cold instead.

As someone who has immigrated because of the state of the Irish economy, these water charges were most likely be another push factor for young people and workers, causing them to leave too. And if this happens, we may see a bigger number of people immigrating than was seen in the recession of the 1980's.

None of these pictures are mine and are used to only get my point across.
Comments are welcome.