Colour Me Wednesday + Baby Brave - PUKE - Retro Bar, Manchester

Tonight was my first time at Manchester's Retro Bar, and it's a great gig venue; the bands play in the basement, which provides a close, intimate setting. I'm looking forward to, hopefully, seeing more bands there in the future.

The night was kicked off by Primeministers of the United Kingdom of England (or PUKE), which is actually members of Manchester band Claw the Thin Ice playing Presidents of the United States of America. I enjoyed this version of the band, and can honestly say that, of the two cover bands I've seen in my life, they were the best!

Next up were Baby Brave who, you may remember, I fell in love with back in February when they played at The Eagle Inn. Having arrived at the venue without any time to do a soundcheck, their first couple of songs basically filled this role - at first, I thought they sounded great but, once the bass became more audible, I realised that now they sounded great.

Oyonaxx is still my favourite song of theirs, but I'm also now developing obsessions with Jitters and Rock Paper Scissors. They also played a new song which, unfortunately, I can't remember the name of now. I can tell you that it also belongs on my list of favourite Baby Brave songs.

I've been a fan of Colour Me Wednesday for a few years now, but this was my first time actually getting to see them play. They didn't disappoint, and played a good mix of material from their new EP Anyone and Everyone, their split EP with Spoonboy, and their album.

Towards the end of their set, Jennifer and Harriet commented that they were both losing their voices ("talking too much shit in the van!"), but it didn't show.

After ending their set with Purge Your Inner Tory, they came back on for an encore of Sweaters, which just happens to be my favourite song of theirs, so was pretty much a perfect end to the night!

The Tuts + Baby Brave + Gurgles - Eagle Inn, Salford

This was my first time at The Eagle Inn, and I was taken aback at how tiny it is! I liked it; I'm not cool enough to have ever been to a house show, and this is the closest I might get to that experience, so I embraced it.

The first band on tonight's line-up was Gurgles, a three-piece who play synthy psych-rock and honestly don't sound like any other band I've listened to.

Wrexham-based Baby Brave were up next, another band I hadn't heard before tonight. I fell in love with their dreamy, jangly noise-pop immediately; it was bright and swirly and filled the room effortlessly. Oyonnax was my favourite song, closely followed by Alone in Tokyo (though that might change once I listen to them more!)... so much so, that I just have to include the video for it:

I was excited to find out the next day that they're in Manchester again, in April with Colour Me Wednesday.

There's always an air of excitement when The Tuts take to the stage, this time going straight into Tut Tut Tut, a high energy song that sets the pace for the rest of the bands set. This was quickly followed up with their live staple, Dump Your Boyfriend, with everyone seeming to be enjoying themselves by the end of.

Tonight was even more exciting though, as it was our first chance to hear some of the songs from their forthcoming debut album, which sounds like it's going to be amazing and you should go Pledge on now.

Between songs, the girls talked about the stories behind some of their songs, like 1982 which is about their "cunt" of  a manager they briefly worked with last year.

Once again, The Tuts put on a great show. They've now gone off to record their album, so keep your eyes peeled for when they hit the road again!