When an artist reaches a certain vintage, they can stop worrying about being liked and say what they want. Dave Clarke has embraced this perk more than most. He pulls no punches in his sets or his interviews, coming across as a man whose most authentic self is a hard-hitting, principled puritan of techno, unafraid to tell everyone else where they’re going wrong.

Take these comments from his interview with Attack Magazine, from last year, for example. “Aiming to please is the worst thing that has happened to DJs… you only represent your desire to have power and discard all integrity,” he grumbled. “The middle ground is a place of emptiness and self-interest, a place for reptilian chameleons that change colour to suit the environment so they don’t stand out and look non-threatening.”

Quite. The man that John Peel dubbed “The Baron of Techno” takes his work seriously, and you should take him seriously too. His headline set at tomorrow night’s Pressure will feature no gimmicks, no pyro displays, no singalongs, and there will definitely be no hands-in-the-air cheerleading. Instead, prepare for a masterclass in pure, distilled techno: the genre as an art form. Clarke’s approach and his tendencies should make for a challenging set, but one that will satisfy even the most hardline purists. Also playing: Lyonnais producer Agoria (“one of France's finest techno stalwarts,” says Boiler Room), Manchester duo AnD (variously described as “relentless and abrasive” and “uncompromising” – all adjectives that spell fun to me), local duo Silicone Soul, and – as ever – Slam. Part-timers should stay away.

The following night, Hot Creations star Patrick Topping returns to Glasgow after a storming appearance at the Sub Club in April. After spending the summer taking his chunky, Balearic tech-house around the world’s festivals, then hosting his own version of the infamous Otley Run pub crawl in Leeds last week, he’s back to take on SWG3’s warehouse single-handedly. Meet him at the club on Saturday night to get those fast-disappearing Ibiza vibes back.

• Pressure with Dave Clarke, tomorrow, SWG3, 10pm – 2am, £16

• Patrick Topping, Saturday, SWG3, 10pm – 2am, £15

Vicious Creatures 3rd Birthday

In a past life, Late Night Tuff Guy (aka producer Cam Bianchetti) was the self-made Godfather of Australian Techno. The early ‘90s saw him running the country’s underground scene as DJ HMC, inspired by the emerging Chicago and Detroit styles that dominated dance at that time. After a period out of the spotlight – mostly to do with a Denis Bergkamp-esque chronic fear of flying, among other things – Bianchetti re-emerged as Late Night Tuff Guy, and started putting out the kind of soulful, groove-driven disco edits that drive informed dancers wild. He headlines this Vicious Creatures third anniversary special at the Subbie tonight, with residents Lárus, Forbes and Anton warming things up.

Vicious Creatures aren’t the only club celebrating their own existence this weekend. STREETrave mark the 27th anniversary of their first all-night, umm, rave with a corker of a party at SWG3, taking that venue’s epic party tally to three in two nights. They’re occupying the warehouse while Patrick Topping’s in the TV Studio, and you can expect old-skool classics all night long from the likes of US house vocalist Julie Mcknight, New York techno veteran Frankie Bones, and rave pioneer Danny Rampling.

And over on Queen Street, the ex-Happy Mondays vibes man and Madchester icon Bez ditches his maracas for a DJ set of deep, squelchy bangers at La Cheetah. The occasion: the coming of age for Let’s Go Back… Way Back!, the acid house night that started as a one-off at the Soundhaus in April 2000. “Bez has been a friend for years and lights up a party like no one else on the planet,” said the Let’s Go Back crew. “He just had to be our guest.” It’s not often you get to see a politician deliver a classics set in an underground sweatbox club, so grab this opportunity with both hands.

• Vicious Creatures with Late Nite Tuff Guy, tonight, Sub Club, 11pm – 3am, £8

• STREETrave 27th Birthday, Saturday, SWG3, 9pm – 2am, £20

• Let’s Go Back 16th Birthday with Bez, Saturday, La Cheetah, 11pm – 3am, £8

Wrecked on the Clyde

With boat party season drawing to a close, ravers are advised to jump on board this opportunity to take a trip down the water to a soundtrack of thumping EDM tunes. Paul Gannon headlines: a proponent of the fiercely popular Melbourne sound, the Irishman specialises in big-room house and electro. He’s joined by a bevy of local talent including Scots/London duo The Rhetoriks, and house and hardcore DJs Sparkos and Jack Diamond.

• Wrecked on the Clyde Boat Party, tomorrow, Riverside Museum, 7pm – late, £25