Live music in Liverpool this week: 22-28 Mar

We dive into the listings to bring you the essential guide to gigs in Liverpool this week – plus the latest news on festivals, tour announcements and more. Think we've missed something? Hit up will@theskinny.co.uk with the details...

Wed 22 Mar

You'd think life in one of the UK's leading electro-pop collectives would be busy enough, but Hot Chip's Alexis Taylor somehow found time last year to make Piano, a remarkable collection of fragile songs played on the titular instrument, and you can see him bashing the keys tonight (albeit gently).
Philharmonic Music Room, 8pm, £12.50

Fri 24 Mar

Dirty Hit Records pull together a trio of their finest acts for a three-punch knockout of a tour: Birmingham popsters Superfood lead the charge with able backing from squalling noise-punks King Nun and the 1975-approved Pale Waves. Not bad, eh?
Arts Club, 7pm, £10

Ever tire of the phrase 'hometown heroes'? You do? Hmm. What about 'local legends'? Oh, that too, eh? Oh well, never mind: Mersey indie quartet Circa Waves fulfil both categories, and they play cuts from recently-released second album Different Creatures at the Guild. 
Guild of Students, 7pm, £15

There aren't too many musicians out there who can claim to have worked with both hip-hop maestro Kendrick Lamar and thrash kings Suicidal Tendencies, but Stephen 'Thundercat' Bruner is certainly one of 'em. This is a marvellous chance to see the virtuoso bass genius as he tours his recent offering Drunk, an addictive selection of funk and off-centre jazz.
Invisible Wind Factory, 7pm, £18

Ben Bailey Smith, aka Kilburn rapper Doc Brown has been somewhat busy with his acting career in recent years, so if it seems a while since his last album, that's because it's been... umm, over a decade (!). Still, if recent single Corruptible is anything to go by, his return should be a right old treat.
24 Kitchen St, 7.30pm, £11.50-13.50

Meet Manchester Collective: a classical troupe with a difference. "Our aim is to challenge and inspire our audiences through the medium of live performance," they say. "We passionately believe in the power of music to move us and to excite us." This new show sees them celebrating the Anthony Burgess centenary with a performance of Inside Mr Enderby, a song cycle by composer Huw Belling – intrigued? We certainly are.
Buyers Club, 8pm, £12

Dutch punk rockers Black Volvo bring their glam/metal-soaked racket to Maguire's for another round of Antipop Records' Punk Rock Pizza nights. They're joined by Leeds garage-punks Nosebleed, Wigan riffmeisters Riggots, Oldham's old-skool punx The Crash Mats and the high-intensity noise rock of local oddballs Wan/Weird.
Maguire's Pizza Bar, 7pm, £5

Sat 25 Mar

Post-punk loons Fat White Family and Sheffield electro duo Eccentronic Research Council collide to form arch-psych party collective The Moonlandingz. They're a guaranteed good time, described by none less than Maxine Peak as "cosmic synth krautabilly group doing fuzzy Joe Meek-style pop." Admittedly that was during her guest appearance on the band's own concept album Johnny Rocket, Narcissist & Music Machine … I’m Your Biggest Fan, but still.
Invisible Wind Factory, 7.30pm, £12

'Psychedelic jazz' seems a fair enough decription of Bristolian quartet The Evil Usses, although it doesn't quite encapsulate the discombobulated batshittery of their off-kilter grooves. Catch 'em with similarly deranged drums'n'sax duo Run Logan Run as they reduce Kaz Gardens to a quivering wreck.
Kazimier Gardens, 8pm, £tbc

Sun 26 Mar

Whatever your feelings on the concept of 'British country music', there's no denying that Herefordshire-born guitarist Albert Lee is something of a legend in the field. His lightning-fast fingerstyle playing has seen him work Emmylou Harris, The Everly Brothers and many more besides – now the 73-year-old tours in his own right, and still puts on a mean show.
Cavern, 8pm, £20

Tue 28 Mar

Contemporary jazz? On a Tuesday? Hey, fuck it: the worst day of the week needs a reason for us to be cheerful, and the "chordless" Johnny Hunter Quartet explore the outer limitations of the genre with some style. They're joined by Leeds' polyrhythmic Zeitgeist, for a night will surely extinguish the onset of the midweek blues.
Kazimier Gardens, 7.30pm, £tbc

Open Circuit Festival (24-29 Mar)

Of course, it's not just another hectic week of shows: experimental music festival Open Circuit is a week-long look at the various fields that comprise the genre, from improv to electronics and even videogames. With concerts varying from Ensemble 10/10 (the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra's contemporary music collective) investigating new approaches to chamber music, to Philippe Manoury’s Partita I for viola and realtime electronics, there's a real commitment to representing the full potential of experimentation in music on show, not to mention some genuinely jaw-dropping experiences to be had.

There are also talks (including tantalising topics such as The Spatial Composer as Illusionist) and workshops aplenty, all held within the University of Liverpool's Victoria Gallery and Museum (Ashton Street) – the best part? It's all FREE! Get the full Open Circuit programme here, and reserve tickets via Eventbrite.

Liverpool Victoria Gallery and Museum