retiredmartin

13th February 2023.

I’d only been back from Manchester 12 hours and I was back again, along with James, for the Weyes Blood gig at the Ritz. Whether you can pronounce Weyes correctly* determines which century you live in, musically.

Sheffield may have all the best pubs, but Manchester still gets the top gigs, and has one of it’s top barbers, who met us for a late, late lunch at the new North Bar in Circle Square, the new development between Oxford Road Station and the flyover that divides the money from the student squats,

I’m a big fan of Oxford Road station, home to a trio of venues so close you only get to miss half an hour of your gig because the last train back to Sheff leaves at 22:24, the two later ones having been cancelled (again).

I know not everyone shares my affection for Manchester’s skyrise, old and new, but in blue skies it sparkled.

My second North Bar of the year; must revisit Leeds.

You know what it looks like, don’t you ?

To be honest, we picked this because a) it’s new, b) it might get in the GBG (the Cloudwater cask was superb),

c) they were definitely going to be open at 3:15 serving Bao Buns.

Matt gave me that look that says “Do you have to keep embarrassing us now you’ve finished your silly book“.

But he cheered up when the dirty fries and Bao Buns came. They were better than in Brum.

Note how Matt has the clean Pils and James the murky keg DIPA; it’s a metaphor.

The staff in North were really friendly, the trestle tables clean, though there were still trestle tables.

And the soundtrack;

As cutting-edge as you’d expect.

*WRONG !!!