I bumped into an old friend at a gig the other day.

Oddly enough, the resulting conversation didn’t revolve around what we’d been doing in the decade since we’d last seen each other but, in the quirky way we have, it turned to the subject of mondegreens or, in layman’s terms, misheard lyrics in songs.

Such questions were raised as – did The Stone Roses really “Wanna Be A Door?”; Why was Creedance Clearwater Revival telling us “There’s a Bathroom on the Right?”; How did The Stranglers get it so wrong when predicting “Never A Frown, With Gordon Brown” and oddest of all, what did Roberta Flack actually mean when she said “Tonight I Sellotape My Glove to You?”

Yes, we had been drinking!

Talking of confusing lyrics, not to mention more than a few “oh la la la’s”, “shubba-dubbas”, the occasional “ha!” and other strange utterances, Crash and The Coots are playing The Victoria tonight. Theirs is a strange and beguiling world of lateral thinking, experimental pop, but one that you all need to visit at least once.

Supporting them are Port Erin, a band who have swapped some of the early complexities of their music for balance, space and atmosphere and now ably mix pop leanings with mature musicianship. Three Letter Agency get the night started.

Blending folk with rock, accessibility with intelligence and kicking into touch the fey, hippyness often associated with her field, Thea Gilmore is blazing a path towards classic status songwriter. Catch her at the Arts Centre tonight.

Similar folky undercurrents can be found at The Beehive as Ron Trueman-Border brings his band, Perfect Strangers, along for some vivid, punchy lyrics and infectious tunes.

Staying at The Beehive for Friday and Pignose will be offering up some Old Town Blues for your delectation. This very narrow genre is a blend of gospel, rhythm and blues, country and rock... songs of the south if you like... and if it wasn’t for all the road works in that part of town would have probably made a break for the border a long time ago. Offer them a Mint Julep, make them feel at home.

The noisy brigade find their home out at Riffs Bar for a gig spearheaded by Severance, a band very much in the spirit of the NWOBHM (New Wave of British Heavy Metal) era and making their first visit to the place. And if you thought Stoner Rock had died out in the infamous flannel shirt famine of the mid-90s, then The Ashun might come as a welcome surprise. Optimal Prime are also on the bill.

More rock on Saturday, this time at The 12 Bar and headed by the metal-grunge hybrid that is Burnthru, with Toadstool filling that space between metal, blues and southern rock: kick a*se four, four grooves just like the old days. The Starkers continue their pop-grunge fixation… think Nirvana having a fight with The Libertines.

The Rolleston plays host to the one cover band I can handle, Kova Me Badd. What sets them apart from the norm? Their music selection is awful, delivery questionable, professionalism in serious doubt and antics not suitable before the watershed. In short, everything a cover band should be.

You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, it will change your life. Well, one out of three isn’t bad.

Something a bit special comes to The Victoria on Sunday. Back on the menu is old school hip-hop from Long Beach underground vigilantes Ugly Duckling; outsiders who, like The Beastie Boys and Run DMC before them, take humorous swipes at more commercial elements of their genre.

And on into Monday, the names keep coming. Uli Jon Roth made his name filling the shoes of guitarist for Michael Schenker in The Scorpions but over the years moved into more experimental pastures, and today his style encompasses neo-classical, heavy metal, blues and psychedelic, all of which can be seen, again, at The Victoria on Monday.

For something a bit more sedate – middle of the road even – Paul Carrack is at the Wyvern Theatre.

Staying at The Victoria for Tuesday, those lo-fi, folk-rock, indie-pop, Celtic-bop pirates, The Shudders, make a welcome return.

And we round off on Wednesday at The Running Horse. Nick Tann is becoming a bit of a regular fixture and his jazz inflected 12 string tunes and soaring vocals are always welcome.

He brings with him Marvin B Naylor, a man who blends folk, prog, the surreal and wonderful lyrical drives to create something truly unique.