The recommendations are wide-ranging this week (i.e. a bit all over-the-plece this week, so please bear with us…) It’s also really really retro…

Firstly, The Waterboys resurface, with shows at Perth’s Concert Hall on Wednesday 4th, and Aberdeen’s Music Hall on Thursday 6th (and Inverness’s Eden Court on the 7th). However, same night – Thursday, that is – Slow Club play the Lemon Tree.

‘Scabies and James play Damned Damned Damned’ does what it says on the poster. Two original memnbers of The Damned celebrate the 35th anniversary of the UK’s first-ever punk album, with a tour that takes in Edinburgh’s Henry’s on Friday 6th, Dundee’s Beat Generator Live on Saturday 7th, and Bathgate’s Dreadnought on the 8th.
The other two original members toured the album last year under The Damned name, the difference here is that James wrote 5/6th of the first album (Scabies writing the other original tune, ‘Stab Yor Back’). Also, they’ll also be doing tunes from the ‘forgotten’ follow-up album, Music For Pleasure. More here.

The Mouse That Ate The Cat (possibly now shortened to tmtatc) are in Dundee, at Beat Generator Live (which could do with some shortening as well) The electro-pop duo fronted by Brian Henderson (lead singer of The Dykeenies), and partnered by Colin Keenan (ex-Drive-By Argument) play there on Thursday 6th (they’re at King Tut’s on the Saturday as well.)

Thursday also sees a show from Tango in the Attic, at Edinburgh’s Electric Circus. The band also play Dunfermline’s PJ Molloy’s on the Friday. And in a bus-like scenario, two shows in Dunfy in the same night as Fat Goth are at the Jam Jar on the same night, and at Glasgow’s Bar Bloc the night after.

Martin Stephenson – the folk-pop legend who actually played the first ever show at Glasgow’s King Tut’s – returns there on Friday 6th. He’s with his legendary backing band the Daintees, as well as Helen McCookerybook, and The Starlets. Stellar lineup actually.

Esperi, instrumental marvels and gig guide stalwarts, are at Aberdeen’s Project Slogan on Saturday 7th.

And on Saturday in Edinburgh, a reformed Monochorome Set play at the Voodoo Rooms and come highly recommended following their show at Mono last year. (And indeed, the gig guide tells us that on Friday they play Mono again).

Finally, US punks Flipper make a surprise (to us anyway) appearance at Glasgow’s Captain’s Rest. While up the road, at King Tut’s, the marginally more up-to-date slacker rock sounds of Nettles.