Luminescent Orchestrii, 4th Aug

A night for something completely different. Reluctance on the part of others makes me slightly late, so I tragically miss all the support bands. Whoops and catcalls greet me as I approach the Cube and the whirls of gypsy reels played on frantic violins leap into the air. It's a struggle to get close, even to get down the stairs as the enthusiastic audience have filled every available space.

I watch a strange girl concentrating extremely hard on her own feet, which seem to be possessed by the music. There is fear there I think, she is afraid that if she stops bouncing, they will carry on regardless. Her friends back away, dodging her wild hands. It's a mating dance, I am told. I think perhaps she is a bit too far gone even for that, another soul lost in the moment. A few tunes later, the party dies down and the band announce that they are going to be inside in a bit to play their real set.

The Luminescent Orchestrii are two violins, guitarron and resophonic guitar/harmonica/melodica. They all sing, and the music veers wildly off into freeform jazz, hip hop, tragic ballads, klezmer and very Eastern European folk. Sometimes it is all these things, sometimes it is indefinable. It is always fun.

The small cinema/auditorium puts them in more of a 'concert' mode and the guitarist tells us to not be afraid to dance and if anyone behind you complains then 'fuckem'. Of course this falls on somewhat deaf ears, although one reveller takes up the offer and through the gig leaps around on his own while everyone else acts terribly English about it all, myself included.

The gig is in many ways, quite incendiary. There are a couple of moments where the 'gypsy jazz' gets a bit too much - too anarchic and dissonant for my ears, but the dance music and folky hiphop with human beatboxing is great. The more traditional tunes are fantastic, covering a wide range of styles from frenchy folk to full on klezmer and still the guys at the front are jumping around.

For the encore, the band do a slow number and have to stop because the guitarrist can't concentrate with the drunken antics down at the front. You'll have to sit this one out, dudes, please, he begs, laughing. Being drunk, they enjoy being the centre of attention and the band stops again. No seriously guys, sit the fsck down! The laughing a bit strained now.

It certainly is a big gypsy knees up. There are rumours that the party continues into the night, but I just buy the CD and go home happy.

Glitchnight 8, 25th Aug

I listen to weird electronic music by Aphex Twin and Witchman and Mu-Ziq to try and prepare myself for another evening of non-stop glitchy entertainment at Glitchnight 8. The Arc Bar as usual is dark and colourful, with visuals projected onto the wall and ceiling.

Loxodonta has something a bit different up his sleeve tonight, beginning with a haunting melody on the theramin, drawn out and delayed while he pulls some scarey noises from his Korg synthesiser. Two drumkits sit empty and menacing while the atmospherics swirl in the darkness. Eventually Loxodonta gives the nod and the drums stools are occupied.

The two drummers have spent much of the previous week locked in a light-hearted battle of boasts and name-calling. Now it is time to put the macho posturing to the test. Drummer Rarg clearly wins on the shirt front... And we're off.

It starts slowly, a sedate rock rhythm rolling under the drones and squeals of the synth. The drummers trade conversations and paradiddles, moving into other rhythms as the fancy takes them. Local music/events rag venue hates this for being over-indulgent, tantamount to having two lead guitarrists and no singer, but the rhythms that develop are just mesmerising. They work really well together and while it doesn't turn into a full-on prog wig-out I know that that's not the point of this. Loxodonta gives the signal and it all dies down to a satisfying close.

Polestar fills the space left by Chemical Dub Theory admirably, with bassy laptop dance beats redolent of early Aphex Twin and other such minimalist bneatniks. His set wakes everyone up from the Loxodonta-induced trance and builds the evening nicely for Fred Moth who finishes proceding with a great mix of synthy basslines, complicated guitar-soloing and a pirate hat. He has a huge grin as he dances around his noise boxes, occasionally riffing a little melody on the guitar and twiddling knobs. The music moves from loop-based quirky dance music to a more drum and bass - mashed up jungle affair, just right for 1am on a Thursday

I stumble home, happy and slightly deaf, the sound of four crash cymbals going off at the same time still ringing in my ears.