WE have been pretty lucky of late regarding the quality of bands that have been found gigging in town. Tonight is no different, as a raft of acts from beyond our parish boundaries all vie for your attention.

If the idea of watching a bill of quality music at the same time as helping to raise awareness and money for a very worthy cause sounds like a good way to ease into the weekend, then The Victoria is your destination tonight.

Crohn’s and Colitis UK are the beneficiaries of the night and the bill is topped off by none other than garage-indie, gutter-rock rising stars Trampolene (any band named after a Julian Cope song are okay in my book).

Also on the bill are fellow trash rockers Sisterray (any band sounding like The Replacements and named after a Velvets song are okay in my book) and rapper Franko Fraize.

Fans of truly original music should also note that our favourite wandering kiwi, Luckless, will be bringing her emotive blends of anti-folk, alt-rock and cinematic sounds to The Tuppenny, where she is joined by the soulful jazz-pop of Holly Redford-Jones.

At The Beehive, Robert Brown is back with his dynamic acoustica, able to play with delicate Nick Drake-esque pastoral lines as easily as it captures an anthemic rock sound.

Two bands that have broken out of their respective local circuits and are heading towards a bigger arena are both in town tonight, though they are playing within 10 minutes walk of each other, so there are no excuses.

Port Erin have made a name for pushing musical boundaries and mixing and matching any number of genres to make wonderful new sounds. They are passing through town to promote their latest album, Ocean Grey, which sounds like a long lost 70s Floyd album only shot through with dashes of Zappa, Bowie and any number of other references.

Find them at The Beehive on Friday along with Sugar Candy Mountain, the musical answer to the question, what would have happened if Brian Wilson had dropped too much acid in Brazil and stuck around to record an album with Os Mutantes?

Just up the hill at The Castle, Raze Rebuild continue to rework punk vibrancy, alt-rock sonic blows, country tinged melodicism and heart on sleeve honesty into one of the best shows on the circuit, both in terms of music and performance. They are joined by low-fi, indie rockers, The Pigeons, and the night is opened by dynamic roots duo Canute’s Plastic Army.

Women in Rock at The Victoria is a celebration of some of the most iconic female rock vocalists of your time, a tribute to the likes of Grace Slick, Stevie Nicks, Alanis Morissette and Patti Smith.

But I think that they need a word with their marketing department. Of course any reminder of the massive contribution of female singers to rock music is more than welcome, but the fact that they feel the need to do so dressed in skin tight leather, thigh boots and fishnets seems to undermine the point somewhat.

Yes they look great, but is this really what Patti fought the punk wars for?

At Level III, Ursus, Severed Illusions, Not Quite Dead and Merithian all trade brutal back beats, riotous riffs, intense deliveries and energetic performances as they compete for a place at this years Bloodstock Festival.

And as is usual, after a plethora (and that is a word I don’t use lightly) of bands pushing their own musical agendas, the rest of the week settles down to deliver more familiar fayre; songs you know and adore, songs you can sing along to, pre-owned, pre-loved songs if you will.

Fans of Black Sabbath will want to be at The Victoria on Saturday for Sabotage’s tribute to the Brummy rock legends and a particular penchant for tackling some of the earliest material that many of their peers shy away from.

It’s possible that there will be some Black Sabbath in Loaded Dice’s set at The Ferndale but even if not a range of classic rock hits is on the cards.

Elsewhere, No Middle Ground at The Queen’s Tap and Reloaded at The Tap and Barrel will be providing a party sound track.

Sunday rounds the musical week off with all the punk classics from One Chord Wonders at the Queen’s Tap, rockabilly at The Victoria with The Corsairs and Last Call playing rock, pop-punk and indie at The Rolleston.