Leftfield

BACK in June, Leftfield played their first gig in the UK in more than four years at a packed-out Barrowlands.

With their reputation as one of the biggest and most influential dance acts of the 1990s still intact, it would have been easy to play the nostalgia card: turn up, rattle out the classics from their seminal albums Leftism and Rhythm and Stealth, and keep the crowd happy.

As befits one of the most innovative British producers to emerge in decades, there was no room for nostalgia.

This was a set heavy on bangers from most recent album Alternative Light Source, an ecstatic, enormously noisy set of songs, and short on the thumping techno of their ‘90s heyday.

Tomorrow night at the Subbie the group’s sole remaining member, Neil Barnes, gets back to his roots with a Leftfield DJ set.

Expect a masterclass in selecting, ranging from driving techno to minimalist electronica and everything in between.

Support comes from Sub Rosa residents Spittal and Nowicki.

It’s an uncharacteristically quiet weekend on Jamaica Street: the only other opportunity for partying is Subculture with Harri and Dom on Saturday.

More’s the pity, but perhaps it’s just to let things calm down before the riot that is February ensues.

More on that in the coming weeks.

• Leftfield, tomorrow, Sub Club, 11pm – 3am, £12

Sophie

IT’S difficult to recommend the music made by DJ and producer Sophie, who takes over SWG3 on Saturday night.

He makes pop-influenced songs, but they’re not catchy.

Instead, they’re blunt, atonal, dissonant.

Just Like We Never Said Goodbye takes a bubblegum pop buildup to the point where you think it’s going to drop… and it doesn’t.

It leaves you hanging, before fading away into nothing.

L.O.V.E is horrendous to listen to: a jagged, ear drum-piercing nightmare that breaks into a tuneful, pleasant pop tune… for around 20 seconds.

Then it’s back to the darkness.

But these songs were never meant to be listened to in a living room on headphones: in the heat and chaos of a big room, with a few hundred other weirdos vibing off it, it could just work.

There’s only one way to find out, isn’t there?

• Sophie, Saturday, SWG3, 10pm – 3am, £8

Galantis

SWEDISH electro house duo Galantis scored two top 10 hits with last year’s inescapable Runaway (U & I) and its follow up: the soulful, disco-influenced Peanut Butter Jelly.

They’ll be bringing their populist take on house and electro to the O2 Academy on Sunday night for an early show, which should depend heavily on the bangers from their album Pharmacy.

Some of its filler tracks tend towards unimaginative EDM-by-numbers, but as Runaway shows, there is genuine mass appeal in their brighter moments.

• Galantis, Sunday, O2 Academy, 7pm – 11pm, £15

The Libertines

The Libertines, the country’s favourite reformed indie rock urchins, kick off their first UK arena tour at The Hydro later tonight.

And while Pete and Carl might wisely eschew the kind of partying that led to the band falling apart in December 2004, the band’s fans are famous for their rowdiness.

For many, tonight is the culmination of months of waiting: thankfully there are a multitude of pre- and post-gig party options to keep even the most eager indie kid happy.

Over in Finnieston, Dukes Bar – which once hosted a gig by Libs forerunners The Clash - hosts a pre-party with live music and DJs spinning indie rock from 3pm.

Firewater has the full day sorted, with indie promoters Camden Rocks hosting an all-day special from 4pm.

Gig-goers get in free with their Hydro tickets.

And at the Record Factory, support act The View will be DJing until 2am, pumping out raucous tunes and generally being the cheeky Dundonian scamps we all remember from 10 years ago.

Pre-Party, tonight, Dukes Bar, 3pm – late, £tbc

• The Libertines Pre & Post-Party, tonight, Firewater, 4pm – 3am, free with gig ticket

• Afterparty, tonight, The Record Factory, 10.30pm – 2am, £6

Melbourne bOz

A PROGRESSION from the uptempo, horn-infused Dutch house style,” Urban Dictionary reliably informs us, “Melbourne bounce (which also at times fuses elements of acid house and psytrance) is a descendant of the electro house umbrella with inspiring party-hardy jams, raucous horns, and goofy, fun-loving sensibilities. The squelching horns will melt your mind.”

We’re on board, even if we’re not quite sure what that means.

A new monthly night at 69 Below celebrates this bold new frontier in EDM, with a banging headline set from Newcastle’s Olly James.

• Melbourne bOz, Saturday, 69 Below, 9pm – 3am, £10

Bunker

WE’VE all come to dread the third Monday in January: the day that media outlets tell us is the most depressing of the year.

It’s hard to pinpoint why we’ve all started buying into this idea – that one particular day is somehow bleaker than the rest.

But let’s not beat around the bush here: it’s mince, isn’t it?

I didn’t know that Blue Monday was scheduled for earlier this week.

I don’t know how; it just slipped my mind.

I woke up as normal, I came to work, and I had busy day that flew in.

I didn’t succumb to the depression equation because I wasn’t thinking about how miserable that particular day was in comparison to all the others.

What’s more, I was coming off of an enjoyable weekend: one in which I drank well and consumed enough carb-heavy food to sustain a family for a week.

The science says I should have been ruminating over my poor choices and questioning my entire lifestyle, but there wasn’t even a trace of a comedown.

I didn’t have a blue Monday because I wasn’t thinking of Monday as Blue Monday.

Can I make it any clearer?

However, rotten your Monday gets, you can always turn to Bunker for warm vibes.

In the chaotic, casualty-strewn battlefield that is Bath Street’s bar scene, the basement stalwart remains a reassuring constant.

And the availability of free passes for its sister club Kokomo, which has been known to play host to emerging local house DJs on its Mile High Monday nighters, only strengthen the case for a spot of midweek debauchery.

The most depressing day of the year? Don't let it get you down.

Bunker

Q: What makes clubbing in Glasgow great?

1. Nina Krause, 18, Newton Mearns

Favourite Club? Bamboo

Favourite Bar? Bunker

Favourite DJ? DJ Toast

Favourite Band? The Hoosiers

First Club? Cirque

What You Drinking? Long Vodka

Describe Your Dancing? Mental drunkenness

2. John Blain, 24, Newton Mearns, “The vibes”

Tom McMurtrie, 20, Newton Mearns, “The variety of music”

3. Tricia McGuiness, 21, Partick, “Alcohol.”

Yasmine Devereux, 19, Parkhead, “Meeting new people”

4. Cameron Boyd, 20, City Centre, “The characters are like nowhere else”

Kirsty Martin, 19, West End, “Everyone’s fun”

5. Andrew McQueen, 19, Milton, “I like the bevvy”

Ben Cunningham, 18, Hillington, “The session never ends”

6. Bert Schafter, 22, West End, “It’s always a good laugh”

Ross McGuire, 30, South Side, “The choice of clubs”

7. Lora Addison, 19, Stepps, “Good clubs”

Zayn Younas, 19, West End, “The people of Glasgow make it fun”