roughneck riot
This Is Our Day
So we have an assembled group of musicians complete with tattoos guitars, bass, drums, ukelele, accordion. Armed with a manifesto of making the world a better place, ready to scream it out, ready to take you with them. “Is there anybody out there that can see what I see.. Question everything… Ignorance Is Easy when you’re told what to believe”. So what’s not to like for an Irish person?
Roughneck Riot have been compared to the likes of Real McKenzies, Dropkick Murphys and bands that have taken punk / hardcore and given it a traditional (maybe Irish folksy) with the addition of those non punk rock instruments. Of course we can say the Pogues started it off and these have taken it a step further but listening to the record there is one band that screams out to me. The Men They Couldn’t Hang. I remember the Men did a tour in ireland in the late 80’s and we followed them to as many gigs as possible. There was an urgency to their music that equated to many punk bands rebelling at the time. However the Men they couldn’t Hang were armed with mandolins and acoustic guitars. They were proudly anti-fascist and spoke of the dire conditions in Britain that they were living in. They were proud to support the miners in their battle and all workers in their fight for their rights. Listening to This Is Our Day I am reminded of those days. The gig in Drogheda Boxing Club when we were ready to take whatever fight we were asked to the people.
Of course since those days, many bands have come and gone and have kept us on that garden path. Roughneck Riot are a welcome addition and when they sing “All across the nation a distinct lack of patience, we sing our contempt in such imperfect cadence, in the hope that one day, we’ll make just one small change” I am screaming it with them knowing we are making small steps along the way.
niallhope
