Sub Club Planetarium Takeover

One of the most talked-about gigs of recent months was the Sub Club’s takeover of the Science Centre Planetarium. It saw 100-or-so lucky ticket holders embarking on an immersive late-night tour of the solar system and beyond via the venue’s stunning 360-degree domed screen, while Subculture resident Domenic Capello fulfilled a long-held ambition as he laid down a set of stellar house beats as an accompaniment. On Saturday, it’s the turn of Subculture apprentice Telford to provide the soundtrack in this most unique setting, with two shows scheduled on the night to accommodate the demand caused by the first outing’s hype. Before the show you have the chance to explore the Science Centre’s exhibits with a beer, and the space flythrough will be in 4k quality and fueled by bleeding-edge data to give the truest sense of what it might be like out there. This is no space oddity: prepare for an unmissable exhibition of mind-blowing, psychedelic sight and sound. Afterwards, it’s back to the Subbie for their regular Subculture party, with – you guessed it – Telford playing all night long.

This all takes place less than 24 hours after the Bigfoot’s Tea Party crew welcome top European techno tastemaker Peter Van Hoesen to Jamaica Street. The Berlin-based Belgian’s recently-released Coast to Coast EP dabbles in emotive, widescreen techno on its title track before veering off the rails into hypnotic breakbeats and dancefloor-unfriendly weirdness. His set tomorrow night should err more on the side of bangers, but don’t be surprised to hear a little of the more esoteric stuff, too. Keeps it interesting, doesn’t it?

• Bigfoot’s Tea Party with Peter Van Hoesen, tomorrow, Sub Club, 11pm – 3am, £8

• Nautilus Rising x Sub Club: The Planetarium Pt 2, Saturday, Glasgow Science Centre, 8.15pm/9.15pm – 11pm, £15

• Subculture with Telford, Saturday, Sub Club, 11pm – 3am, free with Planetarium ticket/£8

Praia

There’s a significant body of scientific research that suggests proximity to water has a calming effect on the human brain. Of course, that all goes out the window when you introduce a boat full of Glaswegian ravers to the picture. We all saw the photos of the bold yin who bounced over the railings and started raving on the Tall Ship at the redoubtable Riverside Festival in May. And, at the time, we all secretly wanted to be him, didn’t we?

Well, the Praia Summer Boat Party, which sets off from the Riverside Museum tomorrow night, offers the opportunity to get extremely nautical to a soundtrack of unique electronica. Lisbon house DJ Dupplo, Optimo signings Happy Meals, and squelchy Parisian Phoene are on deck to supply the sounds, while the seductively eclectic local outfit Lylo play live. An afterparty at SWG3 looms in the distance like an all-consuming whirlpool – albeit one that looks tantalisingly fun to get dragged into.

• Praia: A Summer Boat Party, tomorrow, Riverside Museum, 6pm – 2am, £25

• Afters, tomorrow, SWG3, 11pm – late, £5

Desperados Clubhouse

Their beer tastes like the juice you might find at the bottom of a bin, but Desperados are doing excellent work this summer by bringing lost UK club nights back to life in new surroundings. Tonight, they’ve recruited JD Twitch, of the city’s prime party starters Optimo, to give the Poetry Club a flavour of those heady days when Optimo (Espacio) was a weekly occurrence. Support comes from Subbie residents Beta and Kappa, and Becky Marshall of Mute Records spins cutting-edge white labels and classic house too.

• Desperados Clubhouse with Optimo, tonight, The Poetry Club, 8pm – 12am, free

Merchant City Festival Launch Party

To mark the start of the Merchant City Festival – which is, for my money, consistently one of the top five fun festivals held annually in and around the Merchant City – there’s a quite enticing party going down in the Brunswick Hotel on Saturday night. It has Sub Club house specialist Oscar going back to back with West End Communications’ The Burrell Connection, who flits between rolling techno and floating house mostly. There’s also Ribeka, Subcity’s Rose Hips, and the Loose Joints DJs, and the best part is that it’s all completely free.

• Merchant City Festival Launch Party, Saturday, Brunswick Hotel, 8pm – 2am, free

Never Been Kissed

If you went to high school in the late nineties and early noughties – and if you struggled as badly as I did to get a lumber – then perhaps a chance to exorcise those painful memories is upon us, and not a moment too soon. The crew that brought you Milk, the hyperactive Thursday night indie party at Flat 0/1, are back with Never Been Kissed. It’s a night that piles on the nostalgia, bringing you the best music from back in the day, a problem page wall to share your teenage angst, and a music video time machine to help relive your wasted youth. With all proceeds going to Lighthouse Relief, you can bet my Adidas popper trackies are freshly pressed and waiting to go.

• Never Been Kissed: A ‘90s/’00s Anti-Prom Party, Saturday, The Rum Shack, 8pm – 1am, £5