The Glasgow School

As bands return home from the South by SouthWest Festival to celebrate their international successes this month, The Dykeenies continue their climb to glory at the QMU on the 13th and YourSound invites previous winners We Are The Physics to host their monthly battle of the demos on the 1st.

This month's highlight might well be something a little more out of the ordinary; Butcher Boy are staging a benefit for the RAFA club on the 6th and planning something special to mark the occasion. The band say: "we're hoping to put a good evening together, with tea, hot crossed buns, a Glasgow film, a live performance, and then dancing & drinking till 1am." Butcher Boy are a gentle proposition in the first place, and have played some interesting venues in the past, including the Panopticon, a disused music hall. They take the efforts to deliver beyond the usual.

They're not alone in this endeavour to outdo the norm, however, as Lou Hickey - who releases an EP this month - performs between burlesque acts at Club Noir. Also Cossachok, the Russian restaurant in the Merchant City, has been holding performances by local and international folk and jazz artists on Sunday nights. Tchai-Ovna in the West End offers tea and intimate music three nights a week and the laid-back vibe of Mono is often accompanied by local musicians.

That's not to say that the traditional venues are lagging behind, as Bis return to King Tuts on the 6th for as intimate an encore as they could hope for. And of course, between the 25th and 29th, Triptych comes to town, managing to edge into the experimental whilst giving value for money in a series of shows that make use of some of Glasgow's more interesting venues. See Glasgow Live Music listings for full details of who to expect.