BOILER ROOM

A triple-header featuring three of the most exciting parties in quite a while make the Subbie the only place to get caught this weekend - but good luck getting in.

Tonight, the venerable old club marks the inauguration of its very own record label, Nautilus Rising, with the kind of party that the average punter can really only dream of getting into.

This Boiler Room session features sets from some of the DJs on the label’s first EP release, which has been tickling the ears of the world’s tastemakers for some weeks already.

With Lord of the Isles, Vince Watson, Stephen Lopin and Alex Smoke providing a soundtrack of classic house and techno, and the whole thing being streamed live on the Boiler Room website for the world to see, it’s hard to shake the feeling that the lucky few in attendance will be talking about this for years.

It is a party 28 years in the making, after all.

On Saturday, Subculture brings the Norwegian cosmic disco wizard Todd Terje to Jamaica Street. Best known for 2012’s thunderingly good Inspector Norse (which its creator dismissed as “boring nu-disco”), he’s since released a string of EPs and an album –titled It’s Album Time – that have established him as one of the most exciting European DJs around. Resident Advisor said that Inspector Norse “captures the elusive feeling of having a supremely, impossibly good time” and, quite frankly, it’s difficult to describe Terje’s music better. Unfortunately the gig is sold out, so I’ll probably just spend Saturday night listening to that song on repeat in my living room. Which will still be fun.

The meat in this particularly delicious sandwich is Slam’s monthly techno night Return to Mono. Of the three parties, it offers the best chance of entry for anyone without a ticket already – a miracle when you look at who’s playing. Surgeon, the industrial electronica don from Birmingham, has forged an unlikely collaboration with New Yorker Lady Starlight, a techno DJ who performed with Lady Gaga in the early stages of the pop titan’s career. Together they make raw, uncompromising techno, and this warm-up for their gig at Berghain on Saturday should leave those in attendance feeling like they’ve been beaten up. In the best possible way, of course.

• Boiler Room, tonight, Sub Club, 7pm – 11pm, competition winners only.

• Return to Mono with Surgeon, tomorrow, Sub Club, 11pm – 3am, £14

• Todd Terje, Saturday, Sub Club, 11pm – 3am, sold out

Gonzo

TFI Friday’s shambolic recent return showed that ‘90s nostalgia just isn’t what it used to be. But as the kids who were hitting their teens in the early noughties approach 30, a new wave of longing for the old days is upon us. Enter Gonzo, the monthly night at Bloc that recalls the days when Zane Lowe’s battered brown sofa was a symbol of the emerging crop of rock and indie bands that made the decade such a great time to grow up. Expect to hear all those “The” bands you forgot existed - The Von Bondies, The Rakes, The Hives, The Long Blondes, anyone? – and don’t forget to tell your Myspace Top 8 you’re going to be there.

Also worth a visit – and also free- this weekend is The Rum Shack’s yard party on Sunday. It has live music from the Flying Mules, a Caribbean barbeque, and there might even be a free Sailor Jerry’s in it for you. If the weather holds, it’ll beat evading the rangers in Queen’s Park.

• Gonzo, tonight, Bloc, 11pm – 3am, free

Freshers’ Parties

The latest influx of students to our fair city are currently finding their feet around town: a process that generally involves scouting out the nearest off-license, takeaway and Tesco Metro to the halls of residence. Expect the more student-minded clubs to be heaving with new arrivals – Sugar Cube has a “Moving In” party on Monday, the same night as Mass’ first party of the semester at the Art School. And Kokomo has Erasmus Wednesday, which promises to be a veritable United Nations of vodka-fuelled EDM antics.

• Moving In Party, Monday, Sugar Cube, 11pm – 3am, £9

• Mass Freshers’ Opening Party, Monday, The Art School, 11pm – 3am, free

• International Freshers’ Party, Wednesday, Kokomo, 10pm – 3am, free before 11pm