I BUMPED into a young guitarist the other day whose opening line upon seeing me was, “Hey man, were you at my last gig?” to which I replied, “I really hope so.” Geddit? It’s a joke. No? Okay … tough crowd. Nothing else for it but to jump right in then, pay attention there is a lot to get through.

There’s a bit of a conflict of interests for those who like left-field, original music tonight.

At The Victoria, Songs of Praise continue their mission to totally subvert the musical expectations of the gig goer by offering up Diagonal People. This multi-disciplined bunch of musicians, film-makers, writers and uber-creatives blend sounds which seems to draw from all genres. Describing it would take more space than I am allowed here so probably best you just to go along.

Support comes from the wonderfully named Cupcake Diaz and The Felt Tip Pens, a mash up of punked pop and hot-wired indie, and Narrowcliff providing a bit of sanity. Bobby The Persuader will be flinging and spinning the vinyl.

But the problem comes with the fact that one of the most unique bands of our times can be found at The Beehive in the shape of Port Erin. Equally uncategorisable, they weave together space-rock, jazz, avant-garde, funk, psychedelia, ambient, progressive and more besides, without being fully associated with or tarred by any particular generic brush.

Things are equally dichotomised for the rock ‘n’ roll set on Friday with three helpings of old school and rockabilly beats on offer.

Out at Riffs Bar it’s the annual visit from Boston’s Jittery Jack, all the usual East Coast beat and 50’s grooves and this time joined by the real star of the show, Ms. Amy on guitar. Local crepe crusaders, Josie and The Outlaw are also on the bill this time being joined by Craig Shaw from vintage beat-blues heroes The Excellos.

At the Rolleston, The Runaway Boys will be paying tribute to The Stray Cats, so a second slice of stateside retro rock. The Teddy White Band will be at The Castle playing beat and boogie blues also with more than a hint of that era. Spoilt for choice or poor planning? Discuss.

The Beehive is well known for its ability to find bookings from all over the world that you won’t see anywhere else in this town and they continue the proud tradition with Huston based songstress Libby Koch, a vibrant blend of frisky folk, country, bluegrass and gospel.

The Locomotive are are holding a street party in Queens Street, just behind the venue. All monies raised go to Cancer Research and you can catch a couple of great cover bands.

Broken Image specialise in classic rock covers, while The Dirty Shirts say they play “anything from the past hundred years” so maybe a bit of Alma Cogan or Scott Joplin, but I suspect more likely Oasis and Kasabian.

The Tin Shack Band will be at The Queen’s Tap delivering all eras and all genres of music whilst 1000 Planets can be found at The Victoria paying tribute to those masters of dark, twisted and visceral rock, Killing Joke.

On Saturday, Chaney brings a dash of eclecticism to The Castle, jagged guitars riffs and live drumming mixed with triggers and samples that blends funk and soul with dance and pop.

Fans of big anthemic rock will want to be at The Victoria for the Four Fighters, a tribute to Dave Grohl’s seven to eight legged alt-rock onslaught, The Foo Fighters.

More general cover sets can be found from The Corduroy Kings at the Rolleston, Echo at The Queens Tap and Angel Up Front at The Woodlands Edge.

We covered this in detail last week so just a quick reminder that Flare-Up Festival is at The Nine Elms, West Swindon today. Raising money for research and awareness for Crohn’s Disease there is a day of music featuring Polar Front, The Harlers, Zero Return, The Billy Shinbone Show, Oscillator, Over To You and Dylan Haakerson.

Sunday brings more than the usual amount of gig options with Jake Martin and Jack More bringing driven and insightful solo acoustic shenanigans to Baila Coffee and Vinyl for a mid afternoon session and fresh from Rebellion Second in Line bring some frantic skate punk to Level 3 jointed by Athenian “regret-punks” Burnt Tapes and local punk tribute The Useless Eaters.

Finally, Wednesday sees the long overdue return to The Roaring Donkey of Sue Hart and her wonderfully nuanced blends of folk and country. At this point the appearance of her errant sidekick, The Mildly Disgruntled Man, has not been confirmed or denied.