Laid low by a mystery bug over the weekend I found myself lifeless, crashed on the sofa and, in my less-than-lucid state, watching Britain’s Got Pop Factor, or whatever the current re-hashing of Opportunity Knocks is called.

While the acts themselves left little impression, I seem to have picked up one of the most annoying habits of the modern TV age……The Unnecessary Dramatic Pause. You know, when they pause for no reason before delivering their verdict, to heighten the tension and/or lengthen the show.

I have been trying to shake it off but will apologise in advance if it creeps into this weeks run down. Right……on with the column (sorry).

Tonight at The Victoria is a show for all fans of upbeat and intricate indie, with the return to Songs of Praise of Bristol’s Hello Lazarus. Merging pop-punk, indie and math elements, they are seen by many as a worthy successor to Biffy Clyro, and with support from Russian Blue, which contains ex-members of Sailors, and Lucy T, it’s sure to be a night of great music.

For those after something funky, bluesy, laidback and groovy, then Hiproute are just the band you are looking for and they can be found down at The Beehive.

One band that I have been meaning to catch for ages is……(tension, tension, tension) …..False Gods, so I shall probably be making my way up to The Victoria again on Friday.

False Gods exist in a swirling generic whirlpool fed in equal measure by torrents of punk, indie, rock and grunge. The fact that they have more than a hint of early Manics about them is just an added bonus. Support comes from the euphoric dance fuelled rock aficionados, Atari Pilot and the eclectic Oscillator.

For the big, and slightly risqué, rock show, then it’s over to Riffs Bar for New York’s infamous Lord Bishop Rocks. If groove driven, funked out, sleazy and suggestive rock and roll is your sort of thing then arrange an audience with the big man.

More sedate sounds wait for you at The Beehive. If you remember Ross Darby from his occasional solo shows some years ago, you may be interested to know that he is now out and about with a full line up. The Fallows are a great sounding band that manage to fuse quintessential English folk, Celtic fringe vim and Appalachian vigour. Nice.

Meanwhile, at the Arts Centre, Buddy Whittington will be putting on a show of contemporary blues and showing why he was named as one of Guitarist Magazine’ Top 100 Unsung Heroes.

Saturday has much on offer in the way of original music. At The 12 Bar, The Racket continue to spread their beautiful cacophony; imagine grunge mugging Britpop in a back alley while Madchester holds its coat (don’t worry, I don’t really know what that means either).

Something truly unique takes place out at Riffs Bar as Jenny Haan and Dave Pushon play chilled and re-interpreted versions of songs by the band that made them famous in the 1970s, Babe Ruth.

Great guitar work is two-fold; you can either go for white-hot blues from Lewis Creavan at The Rolleston or folk legend Martin Simpson at the Arts Centre.

Nostalgia trippers and alt-scene freaks will be heading down to The Furnace for a tribute to its former days as the infamous Level 3 and a chance to recapture their youth, or more simply put, hip music and hip dancing probably resulting in hip replacements. I can hear the opening bars of a certain Soul Asylum song even as I type. Is this going to be a winner…… a million percent, yes!

The big gig for Sunday is rapper Example at the Oasis and at the time of writing this, tickets are still available.

As usual Baker Street has the jazz fans’ interests at heart, this week with The Alexander Hawkins Quartet, whose improvisational leader manages to evoke past masters such as Theolonius Monk as easily as he beats a path into a jazz future horizon.

On Wednesday, A&T Live bring their eclectic funky, brassy, hip-rock, jazzbeat sounds to The Victoria, but the one I’m excited about takes place at The Running Horse.

Up from the south coast are two songwriter guitarists I got acquainted with last year. Among Nick Tann’s vast and versatile vocal range, elements of Colin Verncombe, Chris Difford and many others are hinted at, whilst The Real Raj has a hushed majesty that immediately conjures thoughts of John Martyn.

Is this a great week for music?......it’s a yes from me.