After a lengthy eastern Canadian tour, St. John’s rockers Bleu are back home and have one last show to wrap it all up.

Seventeen shows, a few thousand kilometers, and a bunch of cassette tapes later, frontman Marcus McLaughlin says the tour was successful, but he and the band are glad to be back. He said the tour had its highs and lows, but the crowds were receptive to Bleu’s music.

“All the shows, no matter if there were a lot of people or just a couple of people … we got a good reception everywhere, just some bigger crowds than others,” McLaughlin said. “No matter where you go, people – even if there was ten people there – really enjoyed it. That’s all that matters, really.”

This most recent tour was the band’s first as a headlining act, making for a lot of work booking shows and finding places to stay and bands to play with, but McLaughlin said the work was worth it and it made the band a lot of good musical connections.

Bleu were joined on many of the tour’s dates by Halifax’s Strongboy, and both acts have a dreamy, jangly vibe that complements the other. “It was a sweet bill, it’s something that fits well together but is still different,” McLaughlin said.

The band also played with Newfoundland natives Gramercy Riffs at The Dakota Tavern in Toronto, and Repartee in Fredericton, and McLaughlin said after all that time on the road, Bleu is a much tighter band than when they first left St. John’s.

“I was playing and it was just so chill and I didn’t have to think about anything, I know this so well, it’s automatic … but we still have fun playing the songs.”

With the exception of a few scattered upcoming dates, Thursday (tonight!) will be the last show for Bleu for a while as the band’s members take time to work on other projects.

McLaughlin said his writing and recording process is pretty lo-fi and experimental, which takes time, but some new music is in the works, including a new song that the group have been playing on tour.

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Bleu will wrap up their eastern Canadian tour, along with Thom & the Tomcats, Sleepy, and Dandy Lions, tonight at Factory. The show gets underway at 10 pm.