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.