Live Music Highlights - September, 2009

September features a bounty of live music goodness and the month gets off to a cracking start with the next Skinny Dip at the Bongo Club on 3 Sep. Featuring none other than Aidan Moffat & the Best-Ofs as headliners, with support from the Phantom Band's frontman Rick Redbeard in his laconic solo guise and the mesmerising Over the Wall, you know damn well this will be a night of top drawer revelery – don't miss it!

Badass new-wave pop bands are SWEET – particularly bands whose funk-inflected lead singer sounds like he's receiving 5000 volts of electricity through his testicles at ten second intervals. Yeah sucka, you gotta suffer to make great art – that's why we suggest you check out Future Islands at Glasgow Captain's Rest on 7 Sep and Edinburgh Sneaky Pete's on 8 Sep. Their singer's smoking ballbag demands it.

Formed around the portentously-voiced Robert Fisher (dude can make Leonard Cohen sound like Joe Pasquale), the Willard Grant Conspiracy will unload their apocalyptic balladry at Glasgow Stereo on 7 Sep, Aberdeen Tunnels on 8 Sep and Edinburgh Sneaky Pete's on 9 Sep. Moody loners take note.

Seems like Neko Case has been hammering away just under the mainstream radar for ages now, and it's a little puzzling why she isn't bigger than she is. Factor in the incredible voice, the dreamy, invigorating songwriting and the genuine charisma and you've got one of alt-country's brightest stars. Glasgow Òran Mór 7 Sep, Edinburgh Voodoo Rooms 11 Sep.

Best known for their association with Devendra Banhart, Vetiver deserve props on their own terms because a) they have never tried to sell me any cheddar, and b) they aren't a bunch of kooky try-hard fist-magnets. They also have a totally mellow line in folksy Americana – crucially of the catchy, upbeat variety that won't make you retch. Catch the good vibes at Glasgow Stereo on 8 Sep.

Electric Wizard are Dorset's most legit psych-doom lords: The Skinny has been drowning in their sludge for years and considers Dopethrone to be an all-time genre classic. Metalheads, stoners and all connoisseurs of fucking evil drug music who know what's up will assemble at Glasgow Ivory Blacks on 10 Sep to pay their respects.

2009 has seen some pretty great female-produced art pop (St Vincent, Florence, Bat for Lashes) and Theoretical Girl is another name to add to that list. Warm, sparkling melodies playing off against jagged, heartfelt lyrics is the vibe here. Glasgow Captain's Rest 14 Sep and Edinburgh Sneaky Pete's 15 Sep.

Glasgow based trio Zoey Van Goey drop into Glasgow Òran Mór on 18 Sep. Proudly brandishing the sceptre of technicolour folk pop, fans of classic Scottish groups like The Pastels and Belle and Sebastien should take note.

Howling Bells operate in a rather seductive middle ground somewhere between synthed-up celestial pop and grand, emotional rock music. There isn't really anyone else who's nailing the balancing act quite like them but their new record seems to be getting slept on a wee bit. Show some love at Glasgow Òran Mór on 19 Sep.

Ok, so we're assuming you're all feeling the Phantom Band because, well, they released one of the best albums to ever come out of Scotland and you'd have to be crazy not to be digging on it. Predictably they also kill it live, so let the scramble for tickets to their gig at Glasgow Òran Mór on 23 Sep begin now.

Anyone looking for a fix of hard-riffing, emotive rock would do well to check out the Xcerts – their yearning, youthful sound has been honed to perfection and they sound absolutely massive live. Definitely a hot ticket: Dundee Fat Sam's 27 Sep, Aberdeen Tunnels 28 Sep, Glasgow Òran Mór 29 Sep.

Genre-smashing New Zealand collective the Black Seeds round out the month with a gig at Edinburgh HMV Picture House on 29 Sep. Dub, soul, funk and reggae all ride high in their feel-good mix – if you're not dancing, you're dead.