IF you watched the recent XTC documentary, This Is Pop, then not only will you have gained a brilliant insight into the inner workings of the band but you would have also seen Fassine waxing lyrical about their love of them.

Tonight London’s Fassine can be found at Level III as guests of local dream-dance groovers Hail. Both bands revel in gloriously elegant futuristic dance built of cinematic washes and powerful dynamic changes and this will be something pretty unique musically for Swindon. Add to that Luke De-Sciscio opening the show and you have a very special night.

Not content with putting just one show on, Songs of Praise has another, very different, gig at The Tuppenny featuring the wonderfully harmonious, lo-fi, alt-country of The Shudders, always a very entertaining show plus Scott Freeman’s trashy, indie-acoustica kicking things off in fine style.

Maltese experimental outfit, The Ranch are back in town blending squalling rock, psychedelic meanderings, and jazz meanderings for a set filled with dynamics, energy and improvisation. They are reunited with their spiritual brothers Sex Jazz at The Beehive, it will seem as if Zappa never left us.

At The Groves Company Inn you will find Mia and The Moon, an acoustic-pop meets folk revival duo whose glorious harmonies and hazy vibes will appeal to fans of Eva Cassidy and The Cadbury Sisters.

The first of the Halloween shows rears its head at Level III on Friday with South West Hardcore’s Post Apocalypse show. The fancy dress guidelines are to pretty much come as an extra from Mad Max or The Book of Eli and a selection of suitably brutal sounds are provided by Roads To Nowhere, Erase The Rat, Ursula and Defining Our Demons.

Incendiary rock music is also on the cards at The Groves Company Inn as Voodoo Vegas return from touring with the iconic Y&T to deliver a salvo of high energy, mid-tempo, head-banging songs with Falls on Deaf Ears playing the role of the perfect opening act.

Darren Hunt can be found at The Rolleston, a one-man powerhouse rock show, one that is both small enough to fit in the car and big enough to blow your socks off. (Remember, always carry spare socks if attending Darren’s shows.)

At The Beehive, State of Undress, are back for another round of raucous roots-rock, fiddlesome, feisty folk and energetic alt-country all glued together with a theatrical stage presence and a Dorzet twang! Nineties music is explored by Hooch at Queen’s Tap, a great reminder that the decade was about more than just Brit-pop and Last Call cover a wide range of genres and styles at The Victoria.

This weekend marks 40 years since The Sex Pistols infamous, singular and game changing album came out, and to mark the anniversary The Rotten Aces will be playing Never Mind The B-word in all its crass and unhinged glory. The first show finds them at The Swiss Chalet and then on Saturday you can catch them at The Rolleston.

Saturday is also when the Halloween parties kick in properly so expect to see a horde of Harley Quinn look-alikes and maybe the occasional Donald Trump alongside the more traditional witches and ghouls wandering around the town. Options for the seasonal shindig are Peleton’s excellent set of Northern Soul, New Wave and Power Pop at The Victoria, The Wirebirds reliving the heyday of funky, bluesy, psychedelic rock at The Blunsdon Arms, Built For Comfort’s kicking R&B set at The Tap and Barrel and a real mixed bag of tunes cherry picked for the perfect party courtesy of Sound Affects at The Merlin.

Two gigs of interest to the rock fraternity are Down and Dirty playing rock from all styles and sub-genres at The Windmill and The Faux Fighters playing tribute to Mr Grohl’s post-grunge stalwarts at The Victoria.

Sunday is the day of rest but if you prefer a more energetic way for the weekend to bow out then either head to The Duke of Edinburgh for the most infectious and addictive of funk, soul and disco tunes from The Groove Radicals or The Tap and Barrel for Brit Pop Boys front man Ian Kenna in solo mode.

So, 28 bands to check out, so I don’t want to hear another word about there being nothing to do this weekend.