Live Music Highlights – November 2011

King Creosote & Kid Canaveral play a slew of dates this month in support of their forthcoming collaborative 7" single. Perky indie-pop vibes and top-drawer songwriting chops together at last. See them at Edinburgh Liquid Room on 2 Nov, Dundee Doghouse on 3 Nov, Woodend Barn in Banchory on 4 Nov and at Fence Records' 'HOTTLOGGZ' Guy Fawkes shindig in Anstruther Town Hall on 5 Nov.

Video: Kid Canaveral in interview and session at T in the Park 2011

Alt-rock trailblazers Throwing Muses are set to play Glasgow Òran Mór on 7 Nov in support of their recent Anthology release. Ok, so Tanya Donelly isn't on board, but this has always been her stepsister Kristin Hersh's baby and she's still an unbelievably electric performer. So many great tunes. We wholeheartedly endorse this shit.

Arguably Wu Tang's most consistently on-form rapper, Ghostface Killah is set to play Edinburgh's Liquid Room on 9 Nov. Famed for marrying his supple flows with a relentless, aggressively fast-paced performance style, Ghostface has more classic cuts than will fit in a single live set – and don't be surprised if he drops some bangas from the Wu Tang catalogue to take things to the next level.

With a back story that involves organic farming and rural recording sessions conducted during the harsh Canadian winter, it's clear that Siskiyou are playing fucking hardball when it comes to projecting an image of earthy, hard-bitten folkiness. Thankfully they've got the skills to back up their front (not to mention some surprisingly rocking chops), as evidenced by their impressive new LP, Keep Away the Dead. See them at Glasgow's Captain's Rest on 10 Nov.

Hard-to-categorise retro operators Twin Sister (think Stereolab meets 80s soft pop via Cocteau Twins) stop by Glasgow Captain's Rest on 9 Nov and Edinburgh Sneaky Pete's on 10 Nov. If you can get past their slightly queasy aesthetic then this is some strangely compelling stuff.

Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks found a sweet, sweet groove with this year's Mirror Traffic LP, and the word on the grapevine is that his post-Pavement tour performances have been some of Malkmus' best in a long time. We expect a great night at Glasgow's Arches on 11 Nov.

So The Smashing Pumpkins have a new album dropping early next year, and as tempting as it is to write off Billy Corgan as a legit moron at this point (protip, baldy: taking potshots at your few remaining fans is not the road back to relevance), the material we've heard from it so far is actually very promising indeed. Take into account the fact that recent shows have found him dialing back the proggy excess that plagued the Zeitgeist tour in favour of dusting off old gems like Geek USA, Obscured and For Martha, and we reckon their gig at Glasgow O2 Academy on 13 Nov might be a very pleasant surprise.

Gizeh Records has put together a quality evening of performance featuring the cream of their roster, to take place at Glasgow CCA on 15 Nov. Stars of the Lid man Adam Wiltzie teams up with Chantal Acda to unfurl spectral vistas of slo-mo drone pop under their Sleepingdog moniker; Conquering Animal Sound will lay down some loop-tastic lushness; and Farewell Poetry will attempt to blur the boundaries between visual performance, spoken word and traditional composition. Nice.

St. Vincent's Strange Mercy has turned out to be one of the albums of 2011, and having previously been awed by her confidence and virtuosity when she stopped by on her Actor tour, we can't wait to find out what Annie Clark has in store when she plays Glasgow Stereo on 15 Nov, especially now she's rejigged her live setup to a more stripped back, synthy orientation – we'll take a wild guess at more awesomeness.

Having released a glowering hulk of a new song online in September (and with new single, Sick, dropping this month), The Twilight Sad are building anticipation nicely for their forthcoming LP, No One Can Ever Know. We expect nothing less than a visceral, brazenly emotional slab of rock action when they hit Dundee Doghouse on 13 Nov, Aberdeen Tunnels on 14 Nov, Inverness Ironworks on 15 Nov, Edinburgh Bongo Club on 16 Nov, Glasgow Nice n Sleazy on 18 Nov and Stirling Tollbooth on 25 Nov.

That man Vic Galloway is putting together another night of top Scottish talent at Edinburgh Electric Circus on 17 Nov. Prepare thyself for the swooning, vibrant sounds of Remember Remember, genre-defying electronic workouts from Dam Mantle and some tasty experimental solo jams from former Y'all is Fantasy Island man Adam Stafford.

Thurston Moore will play Glasgow Arches on 28 Nov to promote his recent solo offering, Demolished Thoughts. Seriously, we shouldn't need to hype this one. How this dude has maintained his full-time, full-tilt, red-hot maximum pace for so many years we'll never know. We're not worthy.